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Main on Maine Three downtown communities that are making their mark

A Piece of Maine:

DoverFoxcroft Mover & Shaker Presque Isle’s Larry Shaw

Food File

Healthy Home Cooking in Rockland

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December 2013

From dream to reality

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DECEMber 2013

contents

features Community is the key / 13 Larry Shaw from Maine Management Group knows that customer service makes the difference.

Sleep Tight / 16 Children with special needs can sleep safely, thanks to Millinocket-based Courtney Beds. building a dream / 20 A long-awaited dream for Bangor, the Cross Insurance Center, has finally opened its doors.

Main on Maine / 28 Three downtowns in our area are designated Main Street Maine communities. Find out what makes them different.

Creative concoction / 60 Maggi Blue’s Thai soup is a delicious winter warmer.

20 60

Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant / 64 Chef Simon Low goes out of his way to create food that anyone can enjoy, despite their diet.

28 2 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Photos: (top) mark mccall; (bottom left & right) melanie brooks

A Piece of Maine: Dover-foxcroft / 36 This community in Piscataquis County has a lot to offer residents and visitors alike.

Photos: (top) christine philbrick; (right) melanie brooks

68

in every issue

columns

TaLk of the Towns / 8 A famous schooner, tasty tea, and a creative space, from Castine to Bangor.

eye on industry / 14 Tis the season for Maine retailers.

Biz Buzz & sightings / 10 People and places on the move.

Metro Wellness / 19 Learning to accept sorrow is a lesson worth learning.

What’s Happening / 50 Celebrate the holidays in the Bangor metro area.

woods & waters / 70 Trading the rifle for the pen is harder than it looks.

Metro sports / 58 Husson University’s basketball coaches and MCI dancer Kelsey Hayes.

last word / 76 It can be difficult to yield to tradition.

Perspectives / 68 Christine Philbrick brings us eye to eye with man’s best friend.

36

savvy seniors / 71 Maine’s health insurance marketplace.

Special Section Fusion: Moving Bangor Forward / fusion1 This vibrant organization has been breathing new life into Bangor since 2005. And they’re just getting started.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 3

editor’s note

I

am the best gift-giver in my family, and I gloat about it. Finding or making the perfect gift for someone is a challenge I take very seriously.

As I write this, it’s the end of October, and practically all of my holiday shopping is done. I find it’s hard to enjoy the holiday season when you’re stressed out about buying gifts. There’s a person in my family (who shall remain nameless) who wait until the very last minute to start shopping. I don’t know how they do it. Just thinking about it makes me nervous.

Christmas with my family is always a fun event, especially now that there are more children in the family. Last year was the first year my 5-year-old niece Ayda bought each of us a Christmas present. Nothing expensive, mind you, but something she thought each of us would enjoy. I remember when I did that for the first time. I must have been about 8 years old when I took my savings and headed into LaVerdiere’s Drug Store in Orono to buy presents for my family.

I remember buying a mug in the shape of Santa’s head for my Pépère for Christmas. He made a show about how much he loved it and I was so pleased with his reaction. He kept it on his kitchen sink for years, holding a sponge.

When he died, I made sure to grab the mug for safekeeping. I still have it in a memory box. Even though he passed away 20 years ago last month, I still get emotional thinking about it. He didn’t have many possessions when he died, but he did have that mug—a gift from his oldest granddaughter.

Back in my LaVerdiere’s shopping days, my sister and I would pour through the Service Merchandise catalog with our respective markers, circling all of the things we wanted for Christmas. It was a ritual that now seems old fashioned. I wonder if children now make their wish lists on Pinterest or Amazon? In fact, I haven’t seen a catalog in a long time. Macy’s only offers an online catalog, and Toys R Us offers a “mobile” catalog, but what is more mobile than an actual, physical book?

Flipping through a digital catalog might appeal to some people, but it does not appeal to me. If you are a subscriber to this magazine, it probably doesn’t appeal to you, either. Many of you give the gift of a Bangor Metro subscription over the holiday season, and we really appreciate that.

No matter what religion you are or what holidays you celebrate, you can’t deny that this time of year is one of love and reflection. We hope you end 2013 on a high note, and we can’t wait to share many more stories from our region with you next year.

The Bangor Metro Region

4 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Photo: Kate Crabtree

Melanie Brooks, editor

www.bangormetro.com 263 State Street, Suite 1 Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: 207.941.1300

PUBLISHER

Jack Cashman

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Melanie Brooks melanie@bangormetro.com

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Tom Avila

Jack Cashman

Brad Eden

Henry Garfield

Carly Gettler

Emilie Brand Manhart

Jane Margesson

Chris Quimby

CONTRIBUTING Photographers

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Christine Philbrick

Bangor Metro Magazine. December 2013, Vol. 9, No. 10.

Copyright © Metro Publishing LLC.

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talk of the towns

CASTINE: The Maine Maritime Academy added a newsworthy aluminum sailboat to its fleet. The 70-foot ketch—a two-masted sailboat—was piloted into port by its donor and previous owner, television news anchor Geraldo Rivera.

The sailboat was built in the 1970s for former CEO of IBM Tom Watson Jr., who was an avid sailor, especially during his retirement. Rivera owned the Voyager for more than 15 years. He traveled around the world from 1997 through 2000; rang in the millennium with his family at the international date line; and documented his 2001 tour up the Amazon River, traveling through Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The decision to donate the yacht was difficult for Rivera, whose busy work schedule kept him landlocked. A friend suggested donating it to MMA, which appealed to Rivera because he spent so much time sailing along the Maine coast.

“We were very pleased to be able to accept the donation, knowing that we would be able to use the boat in our programs,” says Jennifer DeJoy, director of college relations at MMA. “A good portion of students’ training is handson, so the boat will really be serving as a floating laboratory for the students.”

According to DeJoy, the Voyager will be used in the sail training program, which is the only program in the country that leads to a U.S. Coast Guard license.

“In addition to the at-sea and underway requirements of the program, where actual sailing and boat handling are being taught, there are portions of the program that require work in boatyard operations and maintenance,” DeJoy says. “This is where students will actively participate in the maintenance, winterizing, and outfitting of Voyager, which is another essential part of their education.”

8 / Bangor Metro December 2013

photo: Karen Cukierski

A Seaworthy Donation

Tempest in a Teapot Stonington: “Tempest in a teapot” is a 19th-century idiom, meaning something small that raises a lot of commotion. It’s also a startup loose-leaf tea company based in Stonington that has lived up to its name. Co-owners Sarah Burrin and Jennifer Larrabee, who refer to themselves as The Tea Ladies, received quite a surprise this fall, when they found out that their tea was selected to be included in the glamorous swag bags that are gifted to red-carpet walkers at this year’s 65th annual Emmy Awards.

“They sent us an email,” Larrabee says.

“I completely disregarded it, thinking it was junk mail. We were such a new company.”

The tea ladies were discovered through MaineMade.com, a website that sells statemade products. Although their base ingredients—black or green tea—are purchased internationally, they strive to source blends with as many local ingredients as possible, including wild rugosa rose hips that grow on the beach in Stonington.

Two custom blends were selected to make the journey to Los Angeles: Rosie Tea,

their first ever blend, and Gentlemen’s Tea. According to Larrabee, each blend has its own story. Larrabee and Burrin blend all the teas and prepare all the packaging, decorated with turn-of-the-century animations.

“The Victorian theme and the images is what we’re drawn to, but it’s also the lifestyle of loose-leaf tea,” Larrabee says. “We live in a fast-paced society, so one of the

goals of the company was to give people an excuse to slow down.”

Unfortunately, slowing down is not something they will be able to do any time soon. Since the Emmy Awards, they have had more orders than ever, including a batch sent to the New York City Wine and Food Festival, which is hosted by the Food Network.

Create, Innovate, Collaborate

photos: (top) Sarah Burrin; (Right) kaylie reese

BANGOR: Eastern Maine Development Corporation has pioneered Bangor’s first coworking space, located in historic Norumbega Hall. The space, which officially opened November 1, is filled with cubicles, long worktables, and private offices.

The aim of the coworking space is to bring entrepreneurs, who often work at home offices or coffee shops, together.

“You can build that community where you can work to-

gether,” says Melissa Gerety, director of communications at EMDC. “There’s a huge need, and the community is so excited.

We’re glad we’re able to provide that for the community.”

Other organizations are partnering with EMDC to help make Norumbega Hall happen, including Husson University and the University of Maine’s Foster Center for Student Innovation. Professionals can choose from four membership packages, including a day pass, a virtual office, a dedicated desk, or a private office. Services vary with each membership, but all include access to Norumbega Hall’s wideband Internet connection, space to work, and other office needs. EMDC, which is based on-site, is also offering access to their regular services, including business support, training and technical assistance, and networking opportunities.

“That’s the main difference between working here and working at a coffee shop or home office—[here] you have people around you who can help,” says Seamus Higgins, program manager for Norumbega Hall and human resources manager for EMDC. Space is limited to 24 businesses, but the collaborations that can derive from energetic, likeminded professionals are seemingly endless. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 9

biz buzz On the Move STEPHANIE MCBRIDE of

Rockport has joined Allen Insurance and Financial as an account manager in the company’s voluntary benefits division. She has more than 15 years of experience in business ownership and management, sales, and human resources. www.alleninsuranceandfinancial.com JENNIFER KESARIS, RN,

MSN, FNP-C has joined the medical staff of Penobscot Community Health Care’s Community Care and Geriatrics. She has more than five years of experience as a registered nurse. www.pchc.com TANYA EMERY has been appointed as Bangor’s director of economic development. She joined the City of Bangor two years ago as a business development specialist and has been working as the interim director of economic development since June.

Emery previously worked as Brewer’s economic development deputy director and at the Eastern Maine Development Corporation. www.bangormaine.gov WILLIAM WOOD JR., MD has been appointed vice president of Medical Affairs at St. Joseph Healthcare. A board certified internist, Wood has served as a primary care physician at St. Joseph Internal Medicine since 1991. He has served in a number of leadership positions at the hospital, including medical director of St. Joseph Internal Medicine and chief medical information officer. www.stjoeshealing.org PEGGY CLARK , MA, CCC-SLP has joined the staff of Penobscot Community Health Care’s Warren Center to provide speech therapy services.

Prior to joining PCHC, Clark worked at West Texas Rehabilitation Center in San Angelo, Texas, providing diagnosis and 10 / Bangor Metro December 2013

treatment of pediatric and adult speech disorders. www.pchc.com Dr. MUDITA BHUGRA has joined the staff of Pen Bay Internal Medicine. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a member of the American College of Physicians.

Her medical interests are in rheumatology and autoimmune disease research. www.penbayhealthcare.org Officer JASON STUART was recently promoted to the rank of Sergeant for the Bangor Police Department. He is a two-time recipient of the Heroism Award from the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and is a volunteer for the Special Olympics. www.bangormaine.gov KAREN GONYA has been named

communication lead for The Aroostook Medical Center. For the past 21 years, Gonya has worked in the development and college relations office for Northern Maine Community College. She is a native of Houlton and a resident of Easton. www.tamc.org FRED WATTERS, FNP has joined the Blue

Hill Memorial Hospital. He will be seeing patients in Stonington at Island Family Medicine as well as Blue Hill Cardiovascular Medicine. Watters has more than 10 years of experience caring for cardiac patients. www.bhmh.org JENNIFER L. TALBERT has joined Wellness Chiropractic in Blue Hill. For the past three years, Talbert has worked as a chiropractor in Kansas City, Missouri and received a Best in the Northland Chiropractor award in 2011 and 2012. www.mywellnesschiro.com EDWARD ZANCA , DMD has joined the Penobscot Community Health Care Dental Center. Zanca is the first orthodontist to join the practice, as PCHC has recently added orthodontics to the range of services offered at the Dental Center. Zanca has been in private practice for more than 30 years. www.pchc.com

TINA BROWN, RN, MSN, FNP-C has joined the medical staff of Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor.

Prior to joining PCHC, Brown provided skilled nursing home care for Genesis Healthcare. www.pchc.com

Camden National Corporation has recently promoted three employees of Camden National. ARISSA EGAN, market research analyst, has been promoted to assistant vice president, market research analyst; CHAD PLACE , commercial portfolio manager, has been promoted to assistant vice president, commercial portfolio manager; and DEVON PERRY, assistant vice president, compliance officer has been promoted to vice president, compliance officer. www.camdennational.com DOUG MICHAEL has been hired as chief community health and grants officer for Eastern Maine Healthcare Services.

Michael is the former executive director and founder of Healthy Acadia, a charitable community health organization serving rural Hancock and Washington counties. www.emh.org JOANN GALLANT of Veazie has been

hired as the executive director at Dirigo Pines. She brings more than 25 years of experience at Kindred HealthCare to her new role. www.dirigopines.com

Awards JENIFER LLOYD, philanthropy project manager for Champion the Cure Challenge, is one of eight nominees nationwide to be honored as a Pink Power Mom by the Kids II Foundation.

This award is given to mothers who are breast cancer survivors and breast cancer advocates, who focus on community and compassion and serve as inspirational role models for others going through similar experiences. www.kidsii.com BAR HARBOR BANKSHARES, the parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, has been named one of the top performing small-capitalization banks in the nation by investment baking firm Sandler O’Neill & Partners. The Sm-All Star Award was given based on the

Eastern Maine Community College company’s performance in eight financial variables. www.bhbt.com EASTERN MAINE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS was recently ranked as one of

the Best Places to Work in Maine for 2013. The EMHS home office was ranked eighth in the state for large companies employing more than 250 people. www.emh.org VICTORIA HILLMAN, RN, CEN at The Aroostook Medical Center was recently awarded with the Karen O’Neil Professional Award from the Maine Emergency Nurses Association.

Hillman works in TAMC’s emergency department as a clinical educator and supervisor. The award honors excellence, motivation, endurance in the face of adversity, and the education and advancement of emergency nursing. www.tamc.org JENNIFER TROWBRIDGE , Ph.D, a

Jackson Laboratory cancer researcher, has been named a New Scholar in Aging by The Ellison Medical Foundation. The award recognizes newly independent investigators, still in their first three years after postdoctoral training, who show outstanding promise in aging research. The award is coupled with a four-year $400,000 grant to aid in her research. www.jax.org For the third year in a row THE ELLSWORTH AMERICAN has been named Newspaper of the Year by the New England Newspaper & Press Association. The paper finished first in the division for weekly newspapers with a circulation of more than 8,100. www.ellsworthamerican.com SYLVIA GETMAN, president and CEO of The Aroostook Medical Center, has been named to the Mainebiz 2013 Next list, recognizing her work guiding a rural health care system during a time of rapid change. The annual list is made up of the state’s 10 key players who are shaping the future of Maine’s economy. www.coa.edu

Ten attorneys from Eaton Peabody were ‘top rated’ by Super Lawyers New England Magazine. DAVID AUSTIN,

BERNEY KUBETZ , DAN MCKAY, NAT PUTNAM , NEAL PRATT, RYAN DUMAIS, SARAH NEWELL , JON POTTLE , JEFF SPAULDING, and JASON BARRETT were

Great College. Smart Choice.

Technical Career & Transfer Education

chosen based on a peer review selection process. www.eatonpeabody.com EASTERN MAINE MEDICAL CENTER , THE AROOSTOOK MEDICAL CENTER , and MAINE COAST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL earned an “A” in the Leapfrog

Group’s most recent Hospital Safety Score rating. This score rates how well hospitals protect patiences from accidents, errors, injuries, and infections. www.emmc.org www.tamc.org www.mcmhospital.org Five attorneys from Rudman Winchell Counselors at Law in Bangor have been recognized by New England Super Lawyers for 2013. PAUL W. CHAIKEN is recognized for business litigation, DAVID C. KING is recognized for civil litigation defense, FRANK T. MCGUIRE is recognized for employment and labor-litigation defense, GEORGE F. EATON II is recognized for business and corporate law, and DEBRA A. REECE is recognized for workers’ compensation law. The honors are awarded through a statewide nomination process, review of resumes, and peer evaluation selection process. www.rudmanwinchell.com

Grants The MOUNT DESERT ISLAND BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY has received $12.8 million in grant money from the National Institutes of Health. The grant will support funding for the next five years to scientists working in MDI Bio Lab’s Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine. www.mdibl.org The Old Town Rotary Club has donated $140,000 to SARAH’S HOUSE OF MAINE , a nonprofit organization that plans to build a hospitality house for cancer patients receiving treatment at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Cancer Care of Maine facility. Sarah’s House will occupy the former Fox Run Furniture building on Main Road in Holden. www.sarahshouseofmaine.org

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www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 11

sight ings 2

1

6

1: Tori Barber (far left) and Jon Prescott (far right) of Katahdin Trust Company present a $15,000 check to the Save Bigrock fundraising effort to Bill Getman and Ryan Guerrette (both center) of Bigrock Mountain.

2: Shelby Oakes, Staci Coomer, Gordon V. Page, and Robin McIntosh attend a recent Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce After Hours event at The Strand Theatre in Rockland.

3: Volunteer hostesses Jenny Robicheau and Suzette

12 / Bangor Metro December 2013

4

5

7

Vernon help out at the EMMC Auxiliary’s annual Kitchen Tour.

4: Dane and Lila Jackson enjoy a day at the Union Fair.

5: WLBZ NEWS CENTER 2’s Chris Facchini and Jackie Ward hosted the 2013 2 Those Who Care awards at the Gracie Theatre at Husson University in Bangor.

6: Husson University president and CEO,

8

Dr. Robert A. Clark, (right) presents Edward O. Darling (left) and Mary Ellen Darling (center) with a bronze eagle statue in honor of their support and service to the educational institution.

7: Allison Ahern, Emerald Russell, and Al Soucie attend the annual Bangor YMCA gala at the Cross Insurance Center.

8: Leona Lozanova enjoys pumpkin carving at the Belfast CoHousing and Ecovillage.

Photos: #1 Jeff Kirlin; #4 Sierra Jackson; #8 courtesy of Belfast CoHousing and ecovillage

3

movers & shakers

S

Community is the Key

Photo: Dave Allen of Dave Allen Graphics

Larry Shaw of MMG Insurance strives for high-quality, personal insurance, in Northern Maine and beyond. By Kaylie Reese

taying competitive in a world of insurance giants might seem overwhelming to a small-town company, but Larry Shaw, the longtime president and CEO of Presque Isle-based Maine Management Group (MMG) Insurance, is harnessing the power generated from a tight-knit community as the foundation for his business.

MMG began in 1897, insuring farms, potato houses, and other properties in northern Maine. “Community is a big part [to MMG], and it ties into our overall business approach,” Shaw says. “We’re big believers that we want our employees to be excited about their job, excited about where they live, and community plays into that. I see that as an intrinsic value for every employee—being able to give back.”

Shaw says that the competitive advantage their company has is based on a high-tech, high-touch model—people doing business with people.

“One of the beauties of being in Presque Isle is that our employees are talented, but they also bring a strong work ethic and they’re naturally nice,” Shaw says.

The company has expanded over the last 30 years, with locations in New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The strategic expansion into the latter two states came about as a means to diversify the business. The majority of the company is based in Maine—of the 175 MMG employees, 140 are located at the Presque Isle branch. According to Shaw, the greatest insurance risk policyholders are subject to in Maine is winter storm activity. Shaw says that the diversification allows MMG to stabilize their earnings, since the Mid-Atlantic states don’t have the same risks. But he works to ensure that policyholders receive the same high-quality, personal service.

MMG focuses on small to mid-sized accounts. They’re finding tremendous growth and success in that sector because they’re able to provide a high level of service to those policyholders, Shaw says. He and his team are also working to embrace the shift to technology.

“It’s a very interesting time, with the Internet becoming a bigger and bigger part of how we buy and research everything. Consumers are dictating how they want to be serviced and how they want to buy,” Shaw says.

Shaw grew up in Mars Hill and at-

tended the University of Maine in Orono.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1981, he returned to northern Maine and started his first job at MMG the following year. Hired as an underwriter, he moved through the ranks, learning the ins and outs of the company, from pulling staples to his spot at the top. When Shaw started 31 years ago, MMG was a very small company, but the early years were formative to his approach to the industry. He likes to call it an “industry education approach.”

“I think my start in underwriting— making decisions, exposing the company to loss—educated me on risk. But there is also an intuitive part of risk taking in decision making. That remains central to my decision making as a CEO,” Shaw says. “We’re still developing the company, and underwriting remains central to our overall results. It was really a great area to learn the business from.”

When Husson University opened its Presque Isle campus, Shaw enrolled for his master’s degree, graduating in 1993.

He is also a certified Associate in Underwriting and Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and he has participated in the Executive Education Program at Harvard Business School in 2008 and 2012. For his outstanding service to the insurance industry and community, he was awarded Maine’s CPCU Lee Allen President’s Award for Excellence.

Shaw and his team are working on a proactive approach to bring the next generation into insurance. The insurance industry is aging quickly, so there will be a lot of opportunity for turnover in the coming years, Shaw says.

“We think it’s the kind of environment that younger people should really consider, as there’s a ton of opportunity,” Shaw says. “It’s an industry that’s hard to describe to people, but once you make the connection, it’s really wonderful. You’ll learn the business and you’ll advance.”

This is a message that hit home for the Shaw family. Shaw and his wife live in Presque Isle, and they have three sons.

His two oldest sons work in the insurance business while his youngest son is a sophomore in college.

“I’ve encouraged them to take a look at the industry because I think it’s a great business,” Shaw says of his sons’ career choices. “There is a lot of challenge and a lot of reward.” www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 13

Maine’s Retail Industry Maine retailers have gone through some significant changes through the decades. But one thing is for certain—they are poised to cater to holiday shoppers. By Jack Cashman

R

etail in Maine, as well as in the rest of the U.S., has gone through dramatic change over the past 50 years. At one time, key shopping areas were located in downtown areas, and the majority of merchants were local. So-called chain stores, those with locations around the country, were somewhat limited, compared to today. F.W. Woolworth, W.T. Grant, and Sears Roebuck were the big names in retail chain trade. Maine’s larger communities of Bangor, Portland, and Lewiston were centers for retail business, whereas the midsize communities, such as Rockland, Old Town, and Presque Isle, had vibrant shopping areas in their downtown districts.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Maine began to see a proliferation of shopping centers.

In October 1978, the Bangor Mall opened, and a transition began. The prevalence of downtown shopping areas began to decline as they were being replaced by malls.

The third phase began with the advent of the big-box stores. Major shopping ar14 / Bangor Metro December 2013

eas today are a combination of malls and big-box stores that house large retailers.

Overall, they dominate the shopping areas, even as downtown marketplaces continue to have retail business in their mix, along with financial and professional services.

According to sales tax figures from Maine Revenue Services, for the 12month period, ending with the second quarter of 2013, the top three counties for retail sales volume are Cumberland, Penobscot, and York, in that order. The Maine Mall in South Portland, the Bangor Mall, and the big-box stores that surround both malls account for a good portion of the retail activity in Cumberland and Penobscot counties.

Employment figures in the retail industry confirm the sales tax information.

According to the Maine Department of Labor Center for Workforce Research and Information, the two major employment centers in retail are the Portland area and the Bangor area. They list full- and parttime retail jobs in Maine at 81,200. There

are 24,300 in greater Portland and 10,000 in greater Bangor. Lewiston-Auburn follows at 6,300.

The recession took its toll on the retail industry. Increased unemployment and decreased consumer confidence have resulted in 6,700 fewer retail jobs in Maine since 2007. Nearly two-thirds of those jobs (3,700) were lost in the Portland market.

The majority of the job loss occurred in the Portland market, but the entire state has felt the pinch of the recession.

James Gerety, general manger of the Bangor Mall, points out that things have improved in recent years. “In the Bangor Mall area, sales are certainly better than they were at the beginning of the recession,” he says Shopper traffic from Atlantic Canada is important to northern Maine retailers. More than 1 million Canadians cross the border into Maine every year. The Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle, located only 10 miles from the MaineCanada border, plans its business with that in mind.

“There are 285,000 people in the five New Brunswick counties that border on Maine. That means, in our target market, there are two Canadian shoppers for every U.S. shopper,” says Patti Crooks, general manager of the Aroostook Centre Mall. “A stronger Canadian dollar will increase the number of Canadian shoppers,” she adds. “Fluctuations in the currency value will have an impact on the volume of Canadian traffic.”

Just like the Aroostook Centre Mall, the Bangor area also benefits from Canadian traffic. Shoppers from Canada are attracted by the volume and variety of stores, the selection of goods, and the accompanying amenities offered in the Bangor market, not to mention the restaurants and entertainment offered in greater Bangor area. Just as manufacturing jobs generate indirect jobs related to the industry, retail activity generates other economic activity in the same marketplace.

Like the rest of the U.S. economy, Maine retailers are making progress as they are recovering from the recession, but they are not back to the pre-recession level of business. The busiest time of year for retailers is the holiday shopping season, and Maine retailers are hoping for continued progress.

photo: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/thinkstock.com

eye on industry

Maine Community HEALTH OPTIONS

metro health

Sleep P Tight One Millinocket dad proves that necessity is the mother of invention. By Kaylie Reese

16 / Bangor Metro December 2013

atrick Cyr worked at Great Northern Paper in Millinocket for nearly 30 years, when his life changed in 2003. Cyr was laid off with more than 1,000 other employees, when GNP filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But the layoff wasn’t the only thing keeping he and his wife Barb from sleeping at night. In 1992, their daughter Courtney was born. When she was six months old, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and developmental delay, and she had extreme difficulty with sleep, only getting a couple of hours each night. When she was 18 months old, she was unable to sleep for 11 straight days.

After several tests, Courtney was placed on prescription sleep aids usually prescribed to adults until her sleep improved, though it was never normalized.

Patrick and Barb often were required to sleep and work in shifts so Courtney could be monitored at all times. As Courtney’s mobility developed, she became active.

This only increased the Cyrs’ concern for their daughter’s safety at night.

Certain recommendations were made

by doctors to create a safe sleeping environment. The Cyrs complied, but Courtney still managed to injure her arm. The Cyrs were running out of resources and options. But, as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. In 1995, when Courtney was three years old, Patrick and his cousin, Ronnie Cyr, a carpenter by trade who also makes furniture, worked together to develop a solution that met all of Courtney’s needs. Within one week, Courtney was safely tucked into her new bed, and the Cyrs slept comfortably, knowing their daughter was safe.

“We were kind of apprehensive to put her in there, but we had peace of mind knowing she would be safe,” Cyr says.

“We did what we needed to do in order to protect her.”

The bed has gone through a few iterations since the first prototype, but several of the components are consistent. The four-poster bed has detachable fabric panels. Mesh sides are framed with customizable colored marine awning. The bed functions as a hospital bed, with a custom-made 8-inch Mason Medical

photo: Mark McCall

Isaac Falls of Bangor loves his Courtney Bed, pictured here.

photo: (top) patrick cyr; (bottom) Mark McCall

Products mattress that reduces pressure.

Mesh sidewalls are easy to see through, soft for an active child, and safe. Cyr even says they’re great for bouncing off. The center of gravity is low to prevent the bed from tipping over, and the top of the bed is open for children who enjoy jumping. Other safety measures have been put into place to accommodate varying needs. The posts are padded on the inside, and the combination of the mattress and the bottom frame rail makes burrowing difficult, not allowing children to be wedged between them.

Once home, the beds can be customized to fit the needs of the child. The solid ash frame is shipped in 27 pieces and can be assembled with just two Allen wrenches.

The fabric panels are individual, so one or all can be removed. Cyr and his team make several beds at a time, generally taking about six weeks per batch.

In 2006, the design was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and it was patented in September 2008—the same year they sold their first bed. As a result, they need to follow strict guidelines to stay in compliance. Patrick and Ronnie created a drill press that accommodates two different drills, one horizontal and one vertical, which helps to keep production consistent. The beds are sturdy, made from white ash harvested in Maine. But using Maine-based products isn’t the only thing that sets these beds apart. The design has been certified as a hospital bed, but it doesn’t articulate, meaning that there are no moving parts.

What weighs heavily on Cyr is the number of families who need beds but can’t afford them. Not having a safe place to sleep at night is often the breaking point for families that have a child or children with special needs. Cyr and his wife were faced with this dilemma, and they had few feasible options. Since he has come up with something that works, he wants to share it. Although there are several assistance programs that help families fund the beds, they aren’t always reliable.

One of these programs, the Robbie Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in southern Maine, funded a bed for the Bowman family in Newport. They received their bed in June of 2013. Susan and Rick Bowman of Newport adopted Kayleigh when she was

Kristina Falls pushes her son Isaac on his swing.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 17

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just a toddler. She has severe developmental and cognitive delays, has suffered a countless number of seizures, and requires constant attention. For many years, she slept in cribs with railings that protected her from injury. But this year, the active 7-year-old gained enough strength to pull herself up and throw herself over the side of cribs and playpens, which greatly concerned the Bowmans for her safety during the night. Susan was sleeping on the floor next to Kayleigh’s bed to make sure she didn’t hurt herself in the night. Susan says that receiving the Courtney Bed has allowed their family to feel more relaxed. And she loves it, too. “She’ll get up in the morning and will sit in her bed, watching DVDs or listening to music,” Susan says.

A couple of years ago, Isaac Falls received a bed of his own. Kristina Falls of Bangor heard about the bed through her mother-in-law, who knew Patrick Cyr. Isaac has severe and trouble sleeping through the night, and he is adventurous.

“It just got to the point where it was very unsafe,” Kristina says. The bed allowed the entire family to sleep comfortably at night. And Isaac loved his new bed from the start. “He’s happy to go into it. It’s not a struggle,” she says. Kristina greatly appreciates all the considerations that went into making the bed. Isaac receives all the benefits of a hospital bed without it looking like one. “It’s well-made, low to the ground, and doesn’t tip. He can’t take the mattress out because it’s set in, and it cleans easily,” Kristina says.

Being able to create a bed that keeps children safe at night is something Patrick is thrilled to be able to do. “I just want to help families protect their children,” Cyr says. “The bed protects the children, and that’s what it’s about at the end of the day—being able to know that your child isn’t going to end up in the emergency room every time she turns around.”

His ability to make an impact on people’s lives leaves him speechless.

He knows first-hand what it’s like to lose sleep, worrying that your child is safe. “These beds have just absolutely changed their lives,” he says. “It has enabled them to not have to worry about their kid, night after night after night, and that’s priceless. It makes me feel like I’m on this mission to do this.”

metro wellness

A Shift in the Foundation Not everything is happy all the time. Learning to fully accept sorrow is a lesson worth learning.

By Emilie Brand Manhart

I

credit and blame my parents for providing me with such a lovely and happy childhood; it never occurred to me that life could be any other way. My parents kissed each other every morning and lingered around the table after meals, with meaningful conversation. On summer camping trips, we would wake up with the sun and the smell

derstand and accept. Loved ones can get sick. Relationships can end. People can be unkind. Hard things come, and they keep coming.

But it’s more than that, more than just accepting that unhappy things will occur. I also understand that my pain was and is necessary. Leaning in close to my father when he took his last breath, being

“What is to give light must endure burning.”

photo: Mustafa Almir Mahmoud/thinkstock.com

—Viktor Frankl of bacon frying on the camp stove. After a day of skiing, we would all gather around long wooden tables, rosy-cheeked, to laugh and sip hot chocolate. This was my life, amid rooms lined with books, homemade bread in the oven, and a huge green backyard. I used to practice piano by the fire while wearing a corduroy jumper. I believed life would always be like this.

An unintended byproduct of this healthy childhood, this seemingly struggle-free world, was an insistence that everything had to be happy. As an adult, I was sometimes less than honest with myself about unsettled feelings or problems in my relationships.

The last decade has shifted my whole foundation. Both of my parents battled cancer. My dad lost. I got divorced. These tidy little sentences defy the layers upon layers of pain and need for emotional realignment that come with them. On the other end of the spectrum, I have experienced the heart-bursting love of mothering two amazing children, the kind of love that makes you laugh out loud and weep. I’m acclimating to a more realistic, more complicated world that I now un-

in the room when my mom received her cancer diagnosis, holding my children tightly in my lap when they were told of our divorce—I carry all of these moments with me now. Those intimate moments of shared pain feel more weighty, more mine than the lighter, carefree laughter of my childhood. Pearl Buck says, “Sorrow fully accepted brings its own gifts.

For there is an alchemy in sorrow. It can be transmuted into wisdom, which, if it does not bring joy, can yet bring happiness.” Okay, sorrow. I fully accept you.

Painful things in our lives are not just intermittent storms that rise over the plains and swiftly disappear. Instead, there is a constant stream, a complicated pattern of winds that we need to accept and learn to negotiate. Each new rough patch shapes us, stretches us, and leaves us understanding ourselves more clearly. Painful times make us more empathetic, better friends and listeners, and life-appreciators. We all know how much brighter and more vibrant the sunset is after a storm.

In hindsight, I understand that my childhood perception of such simple hap-

piness was a gift to me from my parents, a place they must have come to on their own terms. Only through their own struggles and losses were they able to instill such a steady feeling of happiness in me, their youngest child. I now understand that, while I indeed had a happy childhood, it could not have been the easy, untested happiness I imagined. And if it had been, it would not have provided me the foundation on which I have built this big, rich life.

Cultivating and constantly reflecting on our own happiness is as vital to our health as exercise and green vegetables. I aim to live for the goodness in each moment, to balance pain and joy, and to know that my happiness is not a fragile construct that may come crashing down upon me.

What I didn’t understand as a happy kid in the suburbs is that happiness is earned, not given. Meditation, hard exercise, talking with family and friends, reading insightful things by smart people, writing— these are not just coping strategies for adversity. Instead, this is what I do to live a full life.

My life is wonderful and tender, amazing and hard, both extremes at the same time. I now trust myself, no matter what happens to me. I can’t control it, but I can attend to the burning, let it create more light. I get to be happy, but it isn’t easy.

It isn’t the ‘la-la-la’ kind of happy; it’s a deeper, earned, stronger, more enduring kind of happy. When I nurture it for myself, then it is safe and sound within me.

And it can be for you, too.

Emilie Brand Manhart is a mom, runner, and triathlete who co-chairs the English Department at Bangor High School and writes the blog One Mom in Maine.

feature story

dream

building a

20 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Bangor’s new Cross Insurance Center has it all: a grand ballroom, huge arena, wired conference rooms, and top-notch locker rooms. It also has the admiration and support of the Bangor residents who voted to make the facility a reality. By Henry Garfield Photos by Mark McCall

B

angor writer and historian Richard Shaw stands in the foyer of the new Cross Insurance Center moments before the ribbon-cutting ceremony on a clear September morning. Over his shoulder looms the reversible escalator to the auditorium’s upper level. “It’s one of only three escalators in Bangor,” he says. “Do you know where the other two are?”

The man next to him recalls the one in the old Freese’s Department Store, now gone. Shaw nods in acknowledgement.

“Macy’s,” the man says, after a moment’s thought. “At the Bangor Mall.” Another pause. “Where’s the other one?”

“At the airport,” Shaw answers “But this is the only reversible one.” A reversible elevator is one that can be programmed

to go up or down at a moment’s notice.

Many on hand for the ribbon cutting have seen this new arena and convention center grow, from the rumblings of an idea to the completed building in which they stand. Sunlight streams through the tall windows in the lobby, where several past and present members of Bangor City Council sip coffee, munch pastries, and talk with friends and visitors. Beneath the clock tower outside, a small seating area has been set up next to the southeast entrance, in front of a stand for

feature story The Cross Insurance Center was designed to take advantage of natural light.

photographers and television crews.

It’s a sunny morning in Bangor, with the first hint of autumn chill in the air.

People begin to drift outside for the ceremony. Tanya Emery, director of Bangor’s Department of Community and Economic Development, urges them to fill in the seating section. The ribbon is rolled out. Members of the current council wield ceremonial scissors for the camera. In moments, the building— though it has already hosted an election and few small shows—is officially open.

Brief speeches are made by Nelson Durgin, chair of Bangor City Council; Brent Cross, owner of the Cross Insurance Company, which bought naming rights to the center; and Mike Dyer, the facility’s general manager.

“Pinch me—I think I’m dreaming,” Dyer says. “Well, the dream has come true.”

A GREAT OPPORTUNITY It has been a dream a long time in the making. “The process has gone on for 22 / Bangor Metro December 2013

about 20 years,” says Cathy Conlow, Bangor city manager. “Many different councils have been involved. The city tried to get a local option sales tax through the legislature in the early 2000s. And then Hollywood Slots came along.”

When Hollywood Slots, now Hollywood Casino, opened in 2005, the council saw the opportunity to secure funding for a new arena. “The council passed an order at the time that set aside money from the slot revenues to put into a fund that would pay for the replacement of the Bass Park [and Bangor] Auditorium and Civic Center,” Conlow says. “It’s a good deal for the city, as long as the revenues hold up. And it was a smart move on the part of the council. They had been looking for decades for a permanent revenue source to repay the debt, and Hollywood Slots became the tool that allowed them to do that.”

Susan Hawes, who has served three terms on Bangor City Council, was the original chair of the arena implemen-

tation committee, a group of 25 Bangor residents charged to draw plans for what was then only a wish and concept—replacing the aging Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center.

“We were 25 people from different businesses and backgrounds in a room,” she recalls. “We started with the basic questions: How big should it be? Where should it be? What should it look like?”

A number of sites were considered, but Bass Park, owned by the city and accessible from nearby Interstate 395, seemed like the best option. The city hired Denver-based firm Sink Combs Dethlefs Architects to design the building; Maine-based Cianbro was hired to do the construction.

But the people of Bangor needed to weigh in first. “The smartest thing we ever did was to put it out to a vote, because there was some opposition from a small but vocal minority,” Hawes says. “Having the vote, with 75% approval, allowed us to move forward without angst.”

BUILDING THE DREAM Paul Bunyan’s perspective has changed.

Although the iconic statue hasn’t moved an inch, he’s living in a different neighborhood. Paul once towered over a neglected waterfront, with the old Bangor Auditorium and Civic Center well behind him, over his shoulder at the top of a small hill. He looked like he was standing guard. You needed to go past his ax to get into the building. The same statue, now in the grassy courtyard of the new Cross Insurance Center, with newly-planted young trees nearby, comes across as a downright congenial doorman. Paul may have been cut down to size a bit, but he’s a friendlier sort, reflecting the changing city around him.

Now he gazes at the Hollywood Casino, across busy upper Main Street. The

casino paved the way for the new arena in more ways than one. It convinced skeptical Bangor residents that bold, new business ventures were possible. Under an agreement with the city, a portion of each year’s gambling revenues are used to pay back Bangor’s debt on the arena’s construction.

The Cross Insurance Center is the culmination of years of hoping, hand-wringing, planning, and spirited debate that finally resulted in decision and construction.

On May 4, 2011, Bangor voters went to the polls. By a margin of three to one, funding was approved for a new arena to replace the august but aging auditorium. The final tally, according to the Bangor Daily News, was 4,107 in favor and 1,363 against.

“The cost of center, all in, was about $68 million,” Conlow says. “In 2011, the

Paul Bunyan watched over the entire building process from his post on Main Street.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 23

feature story

The 26,000-square-foot arena has 5,300 fixed seats, manufacutred by southern Maine-based Hussey Seating.

city issued approximately $58 million in debt to pay for construction. It’s a 30-year debt. The money we receive [from Hollywood Casino] is dedicated to pay down the debt.”

Construction began almost immediately after the vote and was completed weeks ahead of schedule, thanks in part to the mild winter of 2011-12. By the following winter, the building was enclosed, and work continued unabated on the inside.

“Cianbro was a well-oiled machine,” Hawes says. “They hit the ground running.”

Through it all, Paul Bunyan stood stoically, as construction equipment rumbled all around him. Everything else on the site came down, including the pagoda; the offices for Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce; and the old auditorium, built in 1955, the site of many memorable basketball games, political rallies, circuses, concerts, and other notable events.

“That building that came down was a large part of Bangor’s history,” Hawes says. “It served us well for many years. I watched them take the first piece off, and I saw them take the last piece down.”

24 / Bangor Metro December 2013

The sentimental attachment to the old building was such that when the seats went up for sale, they were snapped up in a matter of hours. Ultimately, though, the majority of Bangor voters agreed that the old building, with its outdated electrical system, leaky roof, and poor acoustics, had to go.

“It’s replacing a venue from another time and another era that just doesn’t fit into the world of entertainment and conferences as we know today,” Dyer says.

“But, over and above that, I think it’s a tribute to the architects, design team, and a tribute to the City of Bangor. This venue is all the things that the old building wasn’t.”

A FINISHED PRODUCT The immediate impression in the new building is airiness. The Cross Insurance Center was built to take advantage of the daylight. Windows surround the auditorium on the second and third levels. When needed, they can be covered with opaque black curtains to the keep the sunlight out. The reception, or pre-function, area off the grand ballrooms looks out at the street and the casino, with Paul Bunyan’s

boots visible immediately out the side windows. From the upper level one can see the river and the hills beyond, and the activity in the surrounding neighborhood.

All the meeting rooms on the first level have been constructed with one thing in mind: flexibility. They can be partitioned to fit groups of any size, using a collection of one-size-fits-all room dividers. The ballroom, at 15,670 square feet, can host up to 1,100 people for banquet-style seating. It can also be divided into as many as seven separate rooms for smaller functions.

The building’s centerpiece, of course, is the 26,000-square-foot arena, which holds 5,300 fixed seats, manufactured

by Hussey Seating Company of southern Maine. An additional 1,700 padded seats can be deployed on the arena floor.

“There isn’t a bad seat in the house,” says Tiffany Sun, director of sales and marketing for the Cross Insurance Center. There are no nosebleed seats. Entrances on the second level provide easy audience access. The top level is ringed with suites leased to the 11 founding partners. The suites, equipped with couches,

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feature story overstuffed chairs, tables, and mini-bars, have been sold for the next seven years, Sun says.

The founding partners are Quirk Auto Group, the Bangor Daily News, Bangor Savings Bank, Bee Line Cable, Rudman Winchell Counselors at Law, Premium Choice Broadband, Tradewinds Marketplace, the University of Maine, and the City of Brewer. The City of Bangor, listed on the lobby wall as a founding partner, has the largest and most comfortable suite. “We are not a founding partner,” Conlow points out. “We are the owner.

The building is an asset of the people of Bangor.”

The auditorium floor is wired for trade shows, and Wi-Fi is available throughout the entire building. The arena’s acoustics were tested over the summer by the band Phish, who used it as a rehearsal space for their July 3 concert at the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion. According to Sun, both the band and the arena’s sound engineers pronounced the acoustics excellent.

High school basketball players and their fans are in for a treat this coming February, as the high school basketball tournament will be played at the Cross Insurance Center for the first time. The University of Maine men’s basketball team will play a substantial number of its home games in the new arena, as well.

The locker rooms for athletes and the backstage dressing rooms for musicians and performers are downstairs.

They are modest but modern, and they can adapt to the needs of any visiting team or entertainment entity, up to and including the circus. Through there is no “elephant room,” as there was in the old auditorium, there is enough room in

The Grand Ballroom can hold 1,100 people and can be separated into seven separate rooms for smaller functions.

the Cross Center’s basement for several elephants—though Sun explains that modern circuses travel with their own animal housing. Extra wall partitions are housed down here, as are the metal detectors brought over from the old building, several trucks and forklifts, and more tables and chairs and equipment. The center has three loading docks that can accommodate six tractor-trailer trucks at the same time. The arena’s grid system can hold a maximum of 100 tons—more weight than any band brings on a tour.

It didn’t happen without compromise and cooperation. “The council was diligent in only using the money from Hollywood Slots for the arena,” Conlow says,

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acknowledging the risk voters took in giving the go-ahead. “But if, for whatever reason, we don’t have a revenue stream to pay for it, then we have to use property tax revenue.”

That said, Bangor voters overwhelmingly accepted the risk. “We did have to pare back a few things,” Hawes admits.

Original designs called for a walking bridge over Main Street, between the casino and the center. The council also decided to forego an ice surface, since Bangor has no hockey team to serve as an “anchor tenant.” However, the building was constructed in such a way that add-ons are possible. The connecting doorway to a future footbridge, for example, is already in place. Sun points it out when she gives tours of the building.

The bridge may be built someday, Hawes says, “when the time comes, and someone comes along to give us the money.”

Early reports from the first few shows at the arena indicate that audiences love the facility, and that there have been few glitches. Out by the Paul Bunyan statue, a new bicycle rack welcomes two-wheeled visitors. And multiple entrances make for easy pedestrian access.

The Cross Insurance Center is managed by Global Spectrum, a division of Comcast-Spectacor, the Philadelphiabased company that manages dozens of arenas and stadiums nationwide. The

local name is a wonderful asset to the building, Dyer says. “The fact that a really local company, the Cross Insurance Agency, saw the opportunity and value, and were willing to give back to the community is incredible. We worked closely with them; they’re very proactive. It has been a wonderful experience.”

Putting their name on the facility was an easy choice, says Royce Cross, the president and CEO of Cross Insurance Agency. “My father started the insurance agency around the same time the old auditorium was being built,” he says.

Woodrow Cross would work on his business during the day and moonlight at the new auditorium at night, making sure the heating equipment was working properly. “This facility was a huge commitment for the city, and we wanted to step up and show our support. The Bangor area has been very good to us, and it’s a way for us to give back. It was something my family felt strongly about.”

“We’re going through a growth period

and a change period,” Conlow says. “The city is no longer the operator of the facility. We’re getting Broadway shows, lots of shows we might not have been able to do without the horsepower of a private company doing it.” Global Spectrum also has a cooperative relationship with Waterfront Concerts. For example, the two business entities recently collaborated to bring Hank Williams Jr. to the center, after a previously scheduled outdoor concert was canceled.

“I think Bangor, in a lot of ways—from the casino to the Waterfront Concerts, and development around the mall—is poised to grow at a rate that will make everybody happy but won’t be crazy enough to create it’s own set of problems,” Dyer says.

“Bangor is a happening place on a lot of different levels.”

Paul Bunyan must be looking around and wondering what’s going to happen next. The Cross Insurance Center is only the most recent transformation for the area. Next year, construction will

Community minded.

AuthentiCAlly mAine.

Since 1917 Rudman Winchell has been proud to support our community. By becoming a Founding Partner of the Cross Insurance Center we are honored to support this amazing facility and all that it will mean for the entire region for years to come.

begin on a hotel built by Ocean Properties, on the same side of Main Street, which will give visitors another nearby lodging option. And the city is working on a five-year improvement plan for the surrounding neighborhood, which they are calling the West Side Village. “In five years, that whole area is going to look different,” Conlow says.

“The Cross Center has brought hundreds of of construction and hospitality-related jobs to the area, and is a big part of the revitalization on this end of Main Street,” says John Osborne, general manager of Hollywood Casino Hotel and Raceway. “We expect that the success of the Cross Insurance Center will be a game change for our region.”

“We’re very happy that the region has embraced it, and the people of Bangor should be proud,” Conlow says. “The building belongs to the people of Bangor.

At the end of the day, that’s important to them. They came out en masse and supported it en masse, and it’s theirs.”

BeCAuse A 31–foot PAul BunyAn AlwAys tAkes Center stAge. is it Any wonder why we PrACtiCe lAw here?

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www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 27

Photo: melanie brooks

feature story

28 / Bangor Metro December 2013

main on maine Keeping our downtown areas thriving is the key to preserving the Maine way of life. By melanie Brooks

B

efore malls and big-box stores, the economic hub of each community was along its main street at the town’s center. Once business began to move away from center of downtown and the buildings began to age, the risk of losing a downtown focus began to be imminent. But thanks to a program though the Maine Develop-

ment Foundation, these areas are home to historic architecture, small businesses, and community members who rely on each other to promote and preserve their way of life.

The Main Street Maine program is an invaluable asset in helping these areas to survive economically, ultimately allowing the social vitality of the communities

A view of downtown Belfast.

feature story

to be able to thrive once again. In 1980, the National Trust for Historic Preservation developed the Main Street program.

The program aims to encourage economic development, preserving historic downtowns in such a way that they can fit today’s marketplace. The Main Street program is currently used in more than 2,200 communities across 44 states.

In Maine, the Main Street ideology is being led by the Maine Development Foundation’s Downtown Center (MDC).

The Maine Development Foundation 30 / Bangor Metro December 2013

(MDF) is a nonprofit organization that works to drive sustainable, long-term economic growth for the state. The MDF established the MDC in 1999 to advance preservation-based economic development in Maine’s downtowns. The mission of the MDC is to foster downtown revitalization that results in business growth, job creation, housing revitalization, historic preservation, and cultural enhancement. There are currently 11 communities statewide that have achieved and maintain the Main Street

Maine designation: Augusta, Bath, Belfast, Biddeford, Brunswick, Gardiner, Rockland, Saco, Sanford, Skowhegan, and Waterville.

“You see the change in these participating communities,” says Roxanne Eflin, senior program director for MDC. “Property values are going up, the buildings are being maintained, the storefronts are filling, and there’s more activity on the street. People are loving their downtowns again, and they’re connecting with their community in a new way.”

Photo: melanie brooks

Main Street in Rockland.

Maine’s secret to success is the Main Street Four-Point Approach, one of the most powerful economic development tools in the nation. The four points—organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring—work together to build a sustainable and complete community revitalization effort. They also stand for the four subcommittees each Main Street community has to populate with volunteers.

The application process for national designated as a Main Street is rigorous.

Communities are judged on the following criteria: local funding commitment, breadth of support, existence of a vision and work plan for downtown revitalization, existing capacity, and the likelihood of demonstrable change.

Communities need to be well organized in order to apply to become a Main Street community. The National Trust Main Street Center has created 10 Standards of Performance that each community must meet in order to receive national accreditation. These range from mission and vision statements and an adequate operating budget, to having an active board of directors and committee members.

“The application process and program requirements are very rigorous, which is why the rewards are so great,” Eflin says. “We don’t bring them on and have them nationally designated until we know they are ready. They need to prove that they are ready to take it on.”

It’s a unique program, in that it requires strong support from both the public and private sectors. About one-third of the financing must come from the applying municipality, Elfin says. The other two-thirds can come a variety of sources that are unique to each community.

Once a community has been designated a Main Street Maine community, the Maine Downtown Center assists them with specific services and training that will help them to sustain their efforts. For example, the MDC helps chosen communities hire and train a manager for the local program. This program manager works to market the downtown area, plan and carry out promotional and developmental projects, and help the program implement its objectives. Experience has demonstrated the need for this role for communities large and small.

For municipalities with more than 5,000 residents, a full-time program manager is required. Managers for smaller communities must work at least 25 hours a week. Funding for this position must come from each municipality.

The MDC also supplies each Maine Street community with a start-up library, help with organizing a board of directors, technical assistance and training, community outreach, public relations, and much more.

Elfin has been in her current role for four years, but she was a part of the group

impact According to the Maine Street Maine Community Cumulative Statistics, the communities of Belfast, Rockland, and Skowhegan have been impacted by the program in the following ways: Belfast, since 2011: • 7 net new businesses • $5.7 million in public and private downtown investment • 1,990 volunteer hours • 55 net new full-time jobs • 24 net new part-time jobs • 6 rehabilitations and improvements • 1 public improvement project • For every $1 invested in the Our Town Belfast program, an additional $38.02 has been invested in downtown Belfast.

Rockland, since 2009: • 6 net new businesses • $11.8 million in public and private downtown investment • 12,351 volunteer hours • 76 net new full-time jobs • 45 net new part-time jobs • 20 rehabilitations and improvements • 4 public improvement projects • 4 housing units created • For every $1 invested in the Rockland Main Street program, an additional $49.91 has been invested in downtown Rockland.

Skowhegan, since 2005: • 23 net new businesses • $4.9 million in public and private downtown investment • 28,334 volunteer hours • 34 net new full-time jobs • 16 net new part-time jobs • 88 rehabilitations and improvements • 41 public improvement projects • 2 new construction projects • 4 housing units created • For every $1 invested in the Main Street Skowhegan program, and additional $9.62 has been invested in downtown Skowhegan

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 31

feature story

to launch the program to Maine 14 years ago. Her job isn’t easy, she says, but it’s incredibly rewarding. “When you invest in the future of the downtown then you are going to receive the benefits back,” she says. “Downtowns are the heart of the community. It’s where the greatest property value per acre lies. It’s where the infrastructure resides. It’s where irreplaceable architecture exists. Opportunities for businesses of all sizes happen in these areas. It’s where social interaction takes place.”

ROCKLAND Lorain Francis was a part of Rockland’s bid to become a Main Street Maine community from the very beginning. As executive director of Rockland Main Street, Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to keep up Rockland’s Main Street national accreditation, Francis is 32 / Bangor Metro December 2013

responsible for focusing on ways to keep the downtown area buzzing. She previously helped her hometown of Fairport, New York earn the Main Street designation. She and her husband moved to Maine in 2009, and she volunteered her time and expertise to help Rockland earn the national accreditation. She has since been hired to continue her efforts.

“It’s critical to have a staff person. I am the orchestra leader who holds everyone together,” she says. “The Main Street program brings stability and focus to a downtown area. It has worked beautifully in Rockland.”

Rockland’s Main Street is lined with historic buildings that made it a great candidate for the national designation, which they earned in 2009. They also have two big assets—the Farnsworth Art Museum and The Strand Theatre. Another asset, the new Center for Maine

Contemporary Art Museum, will join the downtown area on Winter Street in 2015.

“Our downtown galleries, restaurants, and retail businesses grow off of these assets,” Francis says. “We’re focused on building our arts and culture here. We’re a destination.”

Being nationally accredited by the Main Street program instills confidence in businesses that are in Rockland and those looking to move to the area. “It makes a huge difference,” Francis says. “They know someone is here that is watching what is happening, making sure this area is successful. Maine is not made up of big cities; our whole economy is based on community. Keeping Main Streets vibrant is critical for the state of Maine.”

The statewide program managers and executive directors meet every August for a retreat to help build their own community. “Each town has its own assets, and

Photo: courtesy of main street skowhegan

Downtown Skowhegan

each manager has his or her own assets,” Francis says. “We feed off each others’ expertise. We work together to back each other up. We have an amazing network.

It’s cool to be a part of.”

SKOWHEGAN Dugan Murphy has been the executive director of Main Street Skowhegan since March. The southern Maine native had just earned his master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati in urban planning when he applied to be the project manager for Skowhegan’s Maine Street Maine program in January of 2013.

While he was familiar with Skowhegan, he hadn’t spent much time there since 2005. “When I came for the interview, I noticed a lot of improvements to the downtown area,” he says. There were new businesses in the downtown storefronts, and the local jail had been converted into a grist mill. Murphy was excited.

These improvements included new sidewalks and light poles. “We got banners to put on the poles to advertise annual events and show off community pride,” Murphy says. And because the downtown area is located at the juncture of U.S. Routes 2 and 201, pedestrian crosswalks were also improved. “Our location is a boon for local businesses, but it’s challenging for pedestrians. We wanted to make our downtown pedestrian friendly.”

The great thing about an organization like Main Street Skowhegan, Murphy says, is that its focus is dedicated to improving the downtown area. While these public improvement projects were handled by the municipality, Main Street Skowhegan pitched in to help make them happen. “We helped free up time for the people in the economic development department by taking on some of these projects downtown,” Murphy says.

“That way, they could focus their time and energy on projects outside of the downtown area.”

Since the town was designated a Main Street community in 2005, 41 public improvement projects have been completed. “When people think about Skowhegan, they think about downtown. It has the highest concentration of public infrastructure and public buildings. It’s the heart of the community. Because of our focus, we can assist the city to get a project moving along that might have stalled.” www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 33

feature story One of those projects is the restoration of the Skowhegan Indian sculpture—the tallest sculpture in the world depicting an American Indian. Created in 1969 by Bernard Langlais, the sculpture sits on one edge of a municipal parking lot in downtown Skowhegan. It’s owned by the Chamber of Commerce and is in need of maintenance and restoration. Over the past decade, the chamber raised $22,000 of the $65,000 in restoration costs. Last year, Main Street Skowhegan became involved, creating a joint committee with the chamber of commerce, bringing the funding up to $60,000. “Because of our volunteer base and our 501(c)(3) tax structure, we were able to leverage funding, including grants, that the chamber couldn’t,” Murphy says. Work on the sculpture is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2014.

BELFAST The city of Belfast has changed a lot over time. Gone are the shoe factories and sardine canneries. Today, Belfast is an artists’ community filled with funky

Main Street in Belfast.

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Photo: melanie brooks

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boutiques, inns, and restaurants.

“Belfast itself brought me to Belfast,” says Breanna Pinkham Bebb, executive director of Our Town Belfast. “My husband and I decided to live here because of all of the amazing stuff going on all year long.”

Bebb, who has been in her job for about a year and a half, is quick to talk about the collaboration between Our Town Belfast, the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce, and the municipality. “The Main Street program communities have to show that they have financial support for the program,” she says. “What the city of Belfast shows by their support is that they are behind this program. The city has to focus on the entire space, but they realize that the downtown area is a big part of Belfast.”

Unlike other communities, Belfast is fortunate that most of their historic buildings do not need to be renovated.

Bebb believes that businesses and building owners on Main Street will be able to take care of their historic buildings, if they are successful. “In the 1970s, the downtown area was decaying, because no one was shopping there anymore,” Bebb says. She believes that if Our Town Belfast helps these businesses survive and thrive, there’s more money to help maintain the buildings.

And empty storefronts don’t last long in downtown Belfast—or any of the Main Street Maine communities for that matter. Our Town Belfast has great relationships with business owners and helps to attract new businesses to the area. “Our organization is a huge bonus for people coming to the area,” Bebb says.

One of the most visible projects of Our Town Belfast is their Please Be Seated program. Benches created by local artisans and craftspeople are strategically placed around the downtown area. They offer a whimsical place to stop and rest and enjoy the surroundings. “This year we had 35 Please Be Seated benches, and 15 of them were new this year,” Bebb says.

The Annual Street Party, held on the first Monday of every August, is Our Town Belfast’s most popular event. While it’s not a fundraiser for the nonprofit, it’s a fun service to the community.

“I love the wholeness of our downtown,” Bebb says. “From the galleries to the churches to the hardware store, there’s something for everyone here.”

Relationships. Caring. Joy. Giving.

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Happy Holidays from ©2013 Machias Savings Bank. Member FDIC.

a piece of maine: dover-foxcroft

Rural Beauty

S

ometimes a road trip goes just right. You find one place that makes you realize the time in the car was completely worthwhile.

And sometimes, when you’re really lucky, you bring not one but a handful of great experiences back with you from a Saturday well-spent. Dover-Foxcroft is a town that holds such promise.

36 / Bangor Metro December 2013

The downtown boasts several hidden gems, including Bob’s Farm, Home, and Garden, which sells everything from cookware to children’s books to organic chocolate to bales of hay. The young at heart can enjoy a game of pinball at Pastimes Pub on Main Street, where strangers and regulars mix easily, in a space that still houses the vaults from when its

Photo: melanie brooks

Dover-Foxcroft is a town brimming with history and natural beauty. Take a closer look, and you’ll find a collection of hidden gems. By Tom Avila-Beck

Photos: courtesy dover-foxcroft Historical Society

The public landing at Sebec Lake.

building was once a bank.

Explore a moment of history on the shores of Sebec Lake, where the Rollerland pavilion—first opened by Frank and Virgie Allen in 1949—still stands alongside the busy public landing. Take a hike through Peaks-Kenny State Park or a stroll around Kiwanis Park.

Whatever it is that first catches your eye, Dover-Foxcroft is the kind of place that makes you wonder what else might be waiting just around the corner.

HISTORY The history of Dover-Foxcroft is a tale of two cities. More accurately, it’s a tale of two towns, with Dover sitting on the south side of the Piscataquis River and Foxcroft on the north.

In its early days, Dover was agricultural, with rich, fertile soil below its beauti-

Top: The Opera House, located in Foxcroft, was built in 1892 and burned New Year’s Eve 1935. Middle: A log drive on the Piscataquis River with the main section of downtown Dover in the background, circa 1911.

Bottom: Central Hall, located in Dover, was built in 1882 and is presently being renovated. Photo circa 1966. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 37

a piece of maine: dover-foxcroft Peakes-Kenny State Park sits on the shore of Sebec Lake.

ful landscape. The land was surveyed by Samuel Weston in 1791 and purchased by Chandler Robbins, Jr. in 1794. Eli Towne of New Hampshire became the first permanent resident after less than a decade.

In 1812, the area was established as the Dover Plantation in 1812, and Dover itself was incorporated in 1821. The area flourished, thanks to abundant crops of potatoes, corn, and grain.

The history of Foxcroft is more industrial, fueled by the power of the Piscataquis River. The plot was one of five townships, from Massachusetts to Bowdoin College, conveyed in 1796. In 1800, Col. Joseph Ellery Foxcroft purchased T5 R7 NWP for a sum of less than $8,000.

Six years later, the Spaulding family staked their claim and built the town’s first mill. By 1859, the Spaulding’s mill inspired a number of sawmills, tanneries, and carriage makers on both sides of the river. There were two woolen mills, an iron foundry, a sash and blind factory, grain mills, a spool maker, a prominent dye manufacturer, and even piano and organ builder Hughes & Son Piano Mfg. Co. (1866-1921).

Dover and Foxcroft boomed their way into the 20th century, serving as the birthplace and home to individuals as diverse as Boston Red Sox pitcher Clarence Blethen (1893–1973) and Lillian M. N. Stevens (1844–1914), co-founder and a president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. But there were limits to what each location could accomplish on its own, including the real financial cost of maintaining two towns just a bridge away from one another.

In 1915, the Maine Legislature approved an act authorizing the towns of Dover and Foxcroft to become DoverFoxcroft. The move required voters in both towns to agree to the transition.

Dover residents held back, ultimately delaying the formal establishment of Dover-Foxcroft until March 1, 1922.

A view of Main Street.

38 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Standing on the edge of Sebec Lake, it’s hard to imagine a time of year when the view wouldn’t be spectacular. In the summertime, there are beaches for swimming and spaces for picnicking.

In the fall, as the trees start their vibrant transformation, one can enjoy that postseason quiet of Maine’s lake regions.

Throughout the winter and into the

Photos: melanie brooks

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

spring, Sebec’s 10-mile stretch of clean, clear water reminds residents why they live in Maine and inspires others to contemplate a move.

It’s impossible to talk to anyone about Dover-Foxcroft without mention being made of the abundance of outdoor activities.

The Four Seasons Adventure Trail ends its run north from Newport, near Fairview Street in Dover-Foxcroft. As the name implies, hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers, and people on horseback take year-round advantage of the 29-mile trail, a route that takes them past Sebasticook Lake, near the Corinna Bog and through the town of Dexter.

There are also the 839-acres that make up Peaks-Kenny State Park. In 1964, the land was given to the state of Maine by Francis J. Peaks, a lawyer who served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives. The park opened on July 4, 1969 and was named in memory of his sister, Annie Peaks Kenny, and parents, Joseph and Eliza.

The hardwood forests, hemlocks and pines, that encouraged the 19th-century growth of a lumbering industry, now shelter 56 campsites and an amphitheater. Right outside the park is the conveniently located Park Grocery, run by the local Merrill family, where visitors can make a quick stop for food and supplies before enjoying nearly seven miles of hiking trails or heading out for one last boat ride around the lake.

FOXCROFT ACADEMY Foxcroft Academy opened its doors on January 30, 1823. Of the more than 100 other town academies that opened before Foxcroft Academy, only nine remain.

Foxcroft Academy received its namesake after Colonel Foxcroft, who the original town was also named after. It was the first school to be chartered after Maine became a state. “This school has a storied history and has stood the test of time,” says Mark Chevalier, director of communications for Foxcroft Academy.

“That sense of tradition means a lot.”

But tradition has not kept the school from evolving to serve the needs of a changing community. When Foxcroft Academy was first established it was known as a “poor man’s college,” offering a chance for the region’s pioneering settlers to pursue an education.

Today, Foxcroft Academy offers high school students access to 21 advanced placement courses, 25 visual and performing arts courses, 24 classes in technical education, five language programs, special education services, and some 23 varsity athletic programs.

It also provides students a diverse community for learning. “In any given year, we’ll have students from 10 to 15 countries here,” Chevalier says. “Not only are the students from this area experiencing new cultures and ideas, our international students are exposed both to American culture and to the cultures of the many other nations represented.”

Students are also committed to giving back to Dover-Foxcroft. Prior to graduating last June, members of the Class of 2013 accrued 7,258 community service hours during their time at the academy.

In addition to his duties as director of communications, coaching varsity baseball, and teaching filmmaking and applied media, Chevalier and his wife are also dorm parents—or, more accurately, a dorm family.

“My wife and I had our first child about a year and a half ago. For us, living in the dorm and raising a child is perfect,” he says.

“I’ve lived in many different places, from huge cities to smaller towns.” Chevalier continues. “What’s really different about Dover-Foxcroft is the tight-knit community feel. It’s easier to get to know people in town, make friends, get to know the parents of our students, and easier to

fit in and find your niche. We have the benefits of the communal nature of the Foxcroft Academy campus and the great community of Dover-Foxcroft.”

MAYO REGIONAL HOSPITAL The history of the Mayo Regional Hospital is nearly as remarkable as the present day facility. The nonprofit hospital, based in Dover-Foxcroft, serves the needs of 26,000 residents in Piscataquis, Penobscot, and Somerset Counties, The hospital offers a full-service radiology department, cardiopulmonary services, psychiatric counseling, physical and occupational therapy, hospice volunteer services, and much more.

Named for Col. Edward J. Mayo, whose family owned and operated the Mayo and Son woolen mill, the hospital came into being when Colonel Mayo died in 1935. He left his estate to the town of Dover-Foxcroft for use as a hospital, providing an additional $10,000 for free medical treatment for those in need.

Keeping in mind that this would have all been in the midst of the Great Depression, the generosity of the Mayo family becomes even more striking when, just one year later, the Colonel’s widow, Gertrude Mayo, left an additional $10,000 to the hospital in her will.

Mayo Regional has since grown to become the largest health care provider in the Penquis region and the thirdlargest employer in Piscataquis County.

What sets the hospital apart, however, is the fact that it is staffed by people who www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 39

a piece of maine: dover-foxcroft

nation room to the board room.

“Mayo Regional’s board of directors is selected like a school board, composed of people elected by peers in their town meetings or on town ballots. Board members earn a seat by being elected to represent the concerns of that town. It allows us to be very in tune to the needs of the people the hospital serves,” McDermott says.

It’s that connection to the community that excites people like McDermott, who has dedicated 20 years of his life to Mayo Regional. “There’s so much happening here in Dover-Foxcroft and so much happening at Mayo Regional Hospital. I’m really excited to be a part of how we’ve got-

dover-foxcroft stats Population: 4,200 Incorporated: 1922 Mil Rate: 17 (.01765) Major Employer: • Mayo Regional Clinic

40 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Schools: • SeDoMoCha Elementary and Middle School • Foxcroft Academy • Penquis Higher Education Center Natural Resources: • Peaks-Kenny State Park • Sebec Lake

ten to where we are and to now be part of setting the stage for the future.”

A CHANGING COMMUNITY A certain breed of optimism has always characterized Dover-Foxcroft—a willingness to transform obstacles into opportunities.

“It’s a genuine kind of place,” says town manager Jack Clukey. Clukey was born in Dover-Foxcroft and has served as manager for almost a decade. “It has changed over time, but there are a lot of things that are very true to how they’ve always been. If people leave and come back, they’ll still recognize us as DoverFoxcroft,” he says.

Some of that recognition can be attributed to the buildings and architecture that mark the downtown. What would be seen as a contemporary zeal for historic preservation elsewhere demonstrates a mix of practicality and respect here.

“There’s a commitment to using the resources we have in the best way possible,” Clukey says.

When the decision was made to consolidate, the town’s offices were moved into one of the buildings, rather than bulldozing the town’s two elementary schools.

The shift allowed for an expansion of city

Photo: melanie brooks

are inspired by the same dedication to community that the Mayo’s founding gifts displayed.

“I think what makes it a special place is the people who work here,” says Dr. David McDermott, Mayo Regional’s interim president and CEO. “We’re neighbors caring for neighbors.

“We’re also one of only two municipal-based hospitals in the state,” McDermott explains. The hospital is governed

by Hospital Administrative District 4, a group comprised of 12 towns and organized to ensure residents had a voice in their own health care. This takes the neighbors caring for neighbors idea a step further, bringing it from the exami-

services, and the consolidation made accessing those services easier for residents.

The other elementary school building was remade into the Penquis Higher Education Center. Created through a partnership between Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine System, Penquis Center offers advanced educational opportunities to the people in the region.

The historic Central Hall building, which had previously housed the town office, was taken over by the historical society. Plans to revitalize the building include the creation of a senior center.

Center Theatre, located in the heart of the downtown, is another prime example of this creative inventiveness. Built in the 1930s as a movie theater, the art deco gem had largely gone dark by the late 1970s. The demolition of a separate historic building downtown in 1999 inspired a small group of community members to launch an effort to ensure that Center Theatre wouldn’t meet the same fate. Several years and several million dollars later, the theater re-opened in 2005.

“We do everything here,” says Angela Bonacasa, executive director of the Center Theatre. “We have just upgraded our movie projector to the latest in digital, so now people don’t have to go to Bangor to see a first-run movie.

We have a community theater troupe, The Slightly Off-Center Players, who do three to five shows a year. The Bangor Ballet comes here. We have classes and lectures. We have concerts. We have a really successful show that we run every year that involves kids. This year it had 48 children in it. There’s literally something for everyone.”

Running at breakneck pace, with just two full-time employees, the Center Theatre is also a place where everyone can be involved. “We have entire families volunteering together—families who do shows together, come see concerts together, go to the movies together,” Bonacasa says. “It’s one of my favorite parts of being here and part of this theater.”

As impressive as all the reinvention projects the town has undertaken, its biggest reveal might be just around the corner. In February of 2007, Moosehead Manufacturing, a decades-old furniture company, ceased operations. Plants in Monson and downtown Dover-Foxcroft were closed. The Monson facility was

sold to a group of investors who planned to continue to make furniture, but a different plan was hatched for the DoverFoxcroft buildings.

“The owners felt it wasn’t suited to continue manufacturing, so they tried to find a suitor to redevelop it as a mixeduse space that would fit in a downtown,” Clukey explains. The town picked the project up in 2008, when the owners turned the buildings over.

“We’ve been steadily working on the redevelopment of that property ever since. Now, with a developer on board, we expect that we’ll have it completed by the end of 2014,” Clukey says. “When it’s completed, we’ll go from our downtown being home to a furniture plant to what we hope will be a vibrant facility where we’ll have housing, office space, an inn, a data center, a restaurant, and a café. The developers are also committed to using renewable energy, so geothermal heating and cooling will be installed and solar panels will be on the roof. We already have a hydroelectric facility that

goes with the site.”

It will be a massive change for DoverFoxcroft, an infusion of new ideas, and a chance to make life in the beautiful Maine highlands even better, which is how it seems they like to do things. “Every time there’s a change, we look at how that change can fill a need,” Clukey says.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 41

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Photo: (top Left) digital vision/Thinkstock.com

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Gift Certificate Coach House gift certificates are the perfect stocking stuffers. Whether you choose to dine in or take out, the Coach House has something for everyone.

Sterling Silver Infinity Ring Stylish and elegant this sterling silver infinity ring from Day’s Jewelers possess a look that celebrates the beauty of everlasting love.

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Sterling Silver Tree of Life Necklace Day’s Jewelers tree of life necklace is a symbolic representation of your family tree—an ideal gift for her this holiday season.

Photo Engraved Dog Tag Get a photo engraved dog tag for the one you love at Quality Jewelers.

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Gift Certificate Whether you are coming in for one treatment or a full day of beauty, you will find the relaxation you are searching for. Treat her to a gift certificate from Anthony John’s Day Spa, Salon, and Boutique.

Gift Certificate You can never go wrong with getting her a gift certificate to Lougee & Fredericks, offering everything from the finest floral arrangements to greeting cards and candles.

Shearling and Suede Slippers Cozy shearling and suede slippers are a classic gift and perfect for winter. Get her a pair at Valentine Footwear.

44 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Hot Gifts for Her - Under $100 Gift Certificate Can’t decide on which piece of jewelry to buy her? Let her pick it out with a gift certificate from Quality Jewelers.

Your Sweet Tooth is Our Specialty!

Handcrafted Chocolates Gourmet Truffles Homemade Fudge Old-Fashioned Candies Authentic Italian Gelato Sugar Free Selection Event Favors Corporate Gifts Custom Chocolates Gift Certificate Treat her to a day at the spa. World-class service, state-of-the-art facilities, Fudge 4UJMMXBUFS "WFOVF #BOHPS .BJOF t

and a variety of spa treatments will nurture your body and lift your spirits.

Bar Harbor Inn & Spa gift certificates are the perfect choice. They can be applied to any services on the Bar Harbor Inn property.

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Sterling Silver Dancing Diamond Pendant Give her a gift she will have forever: the Sterling Silver Dancing Diamond Pendant from Day’s Jewelers.

Holiday Meals to Go Don’t feel like cooking this holiday? Let the Whistling Pig Smokehouse do the work—order your holiday meal to go!

Debbie Brooks Wristlets These wristlets by Debbie Brooks are beautifully handcrafted in the U.S. Get one for her at Quality Jewelers.

849 Stillwater Avenue | Bangor | 207-990-0778 Gift Certificates Whether you are coming in for one treatment, or a full day of beauty, you will find the relaxation you are searching for. Treat her to a gift certificate from Anthony John’s Day Spa, Salon, and Boutique.

Sea Bags Made out of recycled sails in Portland, Maine, Sea Bags make the perfect gift for any occasion. Find them at Anthony John’s Day Spa, Salon, and Boutique.

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SHOP LOCAL THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Hot Gifts for Her - Over $100 Blondo Waterproof Leather Boots Does she want a waterproof leather boot that’s not clunky? Oh, yes! Valentine Footwear has several styles from Blondo that she’ll love.

Hot Gifts for the Kids - Under $10 Chocolate Soldier A Chocolate Soldier from Specialty Sweets makes a great stocking stuffer for the kids.

Tiny Tooth Fairy Box Day’s Jewelers’ tiny Tooth Fairy box makes a great place to keep your child’s baby teeth, while they wait for the Tooth Fairy.

Visit our NEW boutique for gifts for everyone on your list!

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We ship lobsters!

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Now available at Bear Brook Kennel, Brewer

hot holiday gifts Simon Kidgits Club Sign your child up for the Simon Kidgits Club at the Bangor Mall. Kids will enjoy fun events at the mall throughout the year, a special birthday gift, and a T-shirt just for signing up, all for the price of your morning latte. $5.

Hot Gifts for the Kids - Under $25

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Maine Plate T-Shirt Your child will love one of Dysart’s Maine Plate T-shirts. Order online or pick one up at Dysart’s Truck Stop today.

Pink Jewelry Box With its pearl white interior and three compartments this jewelry box from Day’s Jewelers makes the perfect gift for girls of all ages.

Gift Certificate The American Express Simon Giftcard is the perfect gift for any occasion and makes a great stocking stuffer. It can be used virtually anywhere American Express is accepted in the U.S. There are no fees after cards are purchased, and funds don’t expire. Get them in the Bangor Mall or online at www.simon.com

Hot Gifts for the Kids - Under $50 Gift Certificate The American Express Simon Giftcard is the perfect gift for any occasion and makes a great stocking stuffer. It can be used virtually anywhere American Express is accepted in the U.S. There are no fees after cards are purchased and funds don’t expire. Get them in the Bangor Mall or online at www.simon.com

Hot Gifts for the Kids - Under $100 Gift Certificate The American Express Simon Giftcard is the perfect gift for any occasion and makes a great stocking stuffer. It can be used virtually anywhere American Express is accepted in the U.S. There are no fees after cards are purchased, and funds don’t expire. Get them in the Bangor Mall or online at www.simon.com

Hot Gifts for Pets - Under $2 Dog Bandanas Dogn’i bandanas are a great way for your dog to have an up-to-date look.

They are reversible, with coordinating fabrics. Our bandanas are contoured to fit around your dog’s neck and allow the bandana to lay flat.

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Hot Gifts for Pets - Under $50 Custom-Fit Dog Jackets Custom-fit dog jackets from Dogn’i allow your dog to run, jump, and play at ease. Let your dog have a fun, warm, and dry winter.

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Classical Series

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performing musical cameos

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what’s happening

New Year’s Eve Dance Party Bangor • December 31 Party the night away with your friends and welcome in the New Year in style.

This all-inclusive event is the place to be this New Year’s Eve. Annual Gingerbread House Competition Belfast • December 14 This fantastic event showcases some of the best baking creativity in the area.

Register in advance to participate, or just stop by to gaze in wonder at the contestant’s offerings.

50 / Bangor Metro December 2013

december 14 Gingerbread House Competition / Belfast

Photos: (top) fuse/thinkstock.com; (Left) NAN104/thinkstock.com

december

December 31 New Year’s Eve / Bangor

November 29–December 1 Festival of Lights Celebration Rockland Sponsored by Rockland Main Street, this event hosts a visit by Santa, the lighting of the lobster trap tree, horse-drawn carriage rides, and more.

593-6093 www.rocklandmainstreet.com November 29–December 1 39th Annual Thanksgiving Arts & Crafts Show Brewer Auditorium Make your holiday Maine made by shopping locally and giving the gift of quality. Fri. 10 am–5 pm; Sat. 9 am–5 pm; Sun. 10 am–4 pm. www.unitedmainecraftsmen.com November 30 & December 1 Eastport Historic Homes Holiday Tour Eastport Tour eight beautifully decorated historic homes and enjoy refreshments at each location. 1–5 pm. $15.

853-0800 • www.eastportchamber.net November 30 & December 1 Arts and Crafts Fair UMaine Fort Kent Sports Center With more than 100 different vendors, you are sure to find something for those people on your Christmas list. Sat. 10 am–4:30 pm; Sun. 10 am–4 pm.

834-5354 • www.fortkentchamber.com December 1 The Nutcracker Stearns Performing Arts Center, Millinocket Join Robinson Ballet for the timeless tale of Christmas dreams, brought to life by dancers from our very own community.

2 pm. $15. www.robinsonballet.org December 1 Roosevelt Dime Unity College Center for the Performing Arts The world of Roosevelt Dime blends acoustic jug-band blues, classic New Orleans soul, and neo-folk to create a truly original sound. 8 pm. $10 in advance; $12 at the door.

948-7469 • www.unity.edu/uccpa December 5 Manheim Steamroller Christmas

Events Cross Insurance Center, Bangor The spirit of the season comes alive with the signature sound of Manheim Steamroller. Grammy Award-winner Chip Davis has created a show that features the beloved Christmas music of Manheim Steamroller and dazzling multimedia effects performed in an intimate setting. 7:30-10:30 pm. $41-$77.

561-8300 www.crossinsurancecenter.com December 1 “Tipping” Field Trip Grand Lake Stream Join the folks at the Downeast Lakes Land Trust and learn how to collect balsam fir bough tips for making holiday wreaths. The collected tips will be used at the wreath-making workshop on December 3. 2 pm.

796-2100 • www.downeastlakes.org December 3 Wreath-Making Workshop Grand Lake Stream Local wreath makers will show you how to make your own holiday wreath.

Cocoa and cookies will be served. 6 pm.

796-2100 • www.downeastlakes.org December 5 P.A.W.S. Auction for the Animals High Mountain Hall, Camden This annual fundraiser will showcase a collection of fabulous items for you to bid on. Doors open at 6 pm; bidding starts at 7 pm.

236-8702 • www.pawsadoption.org December 5 Village Holiday and Midnight Madness Sale Bar Harbor Welcome Santa to the Village Green at 5 pm, then watch as the community tree is lit. Children’s activities and family fun can be found at the MDI YMCA from 5:30–7 pm. Shop deals at downtown businesses from 8 pm to midnight. Dress in evening wear for extra discounts.

800-345-4617 www.barharborinfo.com December 5 & 7 Merryspring’s Holiday Bazaar Merryspring Nature Center, Camden Shop for plants, fresh seasonal greens, plain and decorated wreaths, live

Theater

Music

arrangement, and exciting gifts for this holiday season. Thur. 2-6 pm; Sat. 10 am-3 pm.

236-2239 • www.merryspring.org December 5–9 Cinderella: A New Telling of an Old Tale Bangor Opera House This holiday musical extravaganza breathes fresh life into the classic fairy tale, featuring outlandish costumes, exuberant choreography, spectacular sets, and a cast of colorful characters.

942-3333 • www.penobscottheatre.org December 6 A Christmas Carol Radio Show The Grand, Ellsworth A part of The Grand’s Performing Arts for Children Series, this show is recommended for children in Grade 1 and older. Charles Dickens’s classic holiday story is presented in an interactive radio-show style. 10 am. $3.

667-9500 • www.grandonline.org December 6 Holiday Celebrations in Calais Calais Don’t miss the Christmas parade, downtown moonlight madness, or the tree lighting ceremony. This evening is packed with holiday fun for the whole family. 6 pm.

454-2308 • www.visitstcroixvalley.com December 6 Chris Stout & Catriona MacKay Unity College Center for the Performing Arts Having gigged, explored, and sculpted their musical identities together for 15 years now, Scottish harpist Catriona McKay and Shetland fiddler Chris Stout continue to evolve and create a unique sound and style. 7:30 pm. $20.

948-7469 • www.unity.edu/uccpa December 6 Northeast Harbor Christmas Festival Northeast Harbor Join Santa around the bonfire at this annual holiday event.

276-5040 www.mountdesertchamber.org December 6 & 7 Home for the Holidays House Tour Thomaston www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 51

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This annual fundraiser features one of Thomaston’s magnificent homes.

354-7029 www.thomastonhistoricalsociety.com December 6 & 7 A Christmas Carol Troy Howard Stage, Belfast The Midcoast Actors’ Studio is performing a stage adaption of Charles Dickens’s classic Christmas story. $15; $10 students.

370-7592 • www.midcoastactors.org December 6 & 7 Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers: The Grinch The Grand, Ellsworth The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers are back with their holiday hilarity and the great curmudgeon character, the Grinch. Fri. 6 pm; Sat. 12:30 pm. $7; $5 for youth ages 12 and under.

667-9500 • www.grandonline.org December 6 & 7 A Christmas Carol Marsh River Theater, Brooks The beloved holiday story, staged in a 1940s radio show, is coming to life at Marsh River Theater. 7:30 pm. $10; $8

Music students and children.

722-4110 December 6–8 Christmas by the Sea Camden Celebrate the holiday all weekend long with shopping, live music, community tree lighting, and more. This event is sponsored by the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce.

236-4404 www.mainedreamvacation.com December 6–8 The Nutcracker Camden Opera House The Atlantic Ballet Company presents a colorful version of this holiday tradition.

Fri. 7:30 pm; Sat. and Sun. 3 pm.

236-7963 www.camdenoperahouse.com December 7 Merryspring’s Holiday Bazaar Merryspring Nature Center, Camden Shop for a variety of plants, fresh seasonal greens, wreaths, and gifts for your loved ones. 10 am–3 pm.

236-2239 • www.merryspring.org

museums Aroostook County Caribou Historical Society Caribou 498-2556 • www.cariboumaine.net Hancock County Abbe Museum Bar Harbor 822-3519 • www.abbemuseum.org George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History Bar Harbor 288-5015 • www.coamuseum.org Knox County Coastal Children’s Museum Rockland 596-0300 www.coastalchildrensmuseum.org Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center Rockland 596-6457 www.farnsworthmuseum.org 52 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Maine Lighthouse Museum Rockland 594-3301 www.mainelighthousemuseum.com Owls Head Transportation Museum Owls Head 594-4418 • www.ohtm.org Penobscot County Hudson Museum at the University of Maine Orono 581-1901 www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum Maine Discovery Museum Bangor 262-7200 www.mainediscoverymuseum.org University of Maine Museum of Art Bangor 561-3350 • www.umma.maine.edu

December 7 High Tea in Merry Olde England Thomaston Experience high tea, English style, at Nancy Baker’s 1892 home in Thomaston. 4 pm. $40 members; $50 nonmembers.

594-5166 • www.georgesriver.org December 7 Annual Poinsettia Ball Ramada Inn, Ellsworth This festive, semi-formal event celebrates the holiday with an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, dinner, dancing, and a cash bar. Proceeds will benefit Maine Coast Memorial Hospital.

5:30–11 pm. $100.

664-5548 • www.mainehospital.org December 7 Festival of Lights Parade Downtown Bangor The Rotary Club of Bangor will host its annual Festival of Lights Parade, presenting a spectacular nighttime parade. This year’s theme is Season’s Greetings. 4:30-8:30 pm. www.bangorrotary.org December 7 Solstice Celebration Collins Center for the Arts, Orono Vocalist Tierney Sutton joins forces with the two-time Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet at a concert that showcases the music of Festival of Lights. 8 pm. $38.

581-1755 www.collinscenterforthearts.com December 7 Holly Berry Fair Rockport Opera House This event features homemade gingerbread houses, baked goods, and other treasures. Sponsored by the Rockport Garden Club. 8 am–1 pm.

594-4449 December 7 Holiday Light Parade Presque Isle The parade starts at North Street, proceeds south on Main Street, and ends at the UMPI campus, where warm refreshments will be served. 7 pm.

764-6561 www.centralaroostookchamber.com

You’ve You’ve earned earned responsible responsible solutions, solutions, not not harmful harmful cuts. cuts.

December 7 Ringing in the Season Holiday Handbell Concert First Congregational Church, Camden The eighth annual concert features several Maine handbell choirs ringing holiday music. Pre-concert music starts at 3:30 pm; concert at 4 pm.

230-6628 December 7 Annual Christmas Parade Downtown Ellsworth The theme of this year’s parade is Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

This fun, family-friendly event is sponsored by the Downtown Business Association.

667-5584 • www.ellsworthchamber.org December 7 Tree Lighting Ceremony Princeton Don’t miss the annual tree lighting ceremony in Legacy Square. 6 pm.

454-2308 www.visitstcroixvalley.com December 7 Ugly Sweater Dance Lee Pellon Center, Machias If you’re digging out those old, vintage, ugly Christmas sweaters this time of year, throw it on and attend the Ugly Sweater Dance, sponsored by the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and Machias Savings Bank.

8 pm-midnight.

255-4402 • www.machiaschamber.org December 7 Home for the Holidays Bangor Five historic, architecturally impressive homes will be open to the public, so stop by to view holiday decorations, listen to live music, and enjoy refreshments.

Proceeds will benefit the outreach programs of St. John Episcopal Church.

12–4 pm. $25. www.stjohnsbangor.com December 7 & 8 Holiday Open House The General Henry Knox Museum, Thomaston See Montpelier beautifully decorated for the holidays. Enjoy live music, baked goodies, and more. Canned goods will be

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accepted at the door for the Thomaston Food Pantry. 1–4 pm.

354-8062 • www.knoxmuseum.org December 8 Festival of Trees Jackman Welcome Santa at this family friendly event as he lights the trees, then visit with him for a while before he heads back to the North Pole.

668-4171 • www.jackmanmaine.org

December 8 Community Christmas Party The Gates House, Machiasport The Gates House will be all decorated for the season, so stop by for some mulled cider, refreshments, and carols sung in the parlor.

6255-8860 www.machiasporthistoricalsociety.org December 10 Bangor Greendrinks Central Street Farmhouse, Bangor Enjoy a pint with your friends and www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 53

Events

Monitor your money

neighbors while networking and learning about sustainability. Be ecofriendly and bring your own drinking vessel, or buy one on site. 5–8 pm. www.bangorgreendrinks.org

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Theater

December 11 PBRCC Business After Hours PBRCC & Maine Lighthouse Museum, Rockland All Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce members are invited to this monthly Business After Hours networking event. 5–7 pm.

506-0376 www.mainedreamvacation.com

Three convenient locations: • 177 Main Street, Bucksport • 200 Main Street, Ellsworth • 2410 Route 2, Hermon

207-469-6341 • 800-639-2206 • www.seaboardfcu.com

Ideal Location, Luxurious Guest Rooms, Onsite Restaurant, Elegant Grand Ballroom, Delicious Catering Services, and More...

“Everything, right where you need it.”

December 11 Belfast Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours Camden National Bank Don’t miss this fun annual event where you can celebrate and network with area businesses.

338-5900 • www.belfastmaine.org December 11 Taping of The Nite Show Next Generation Theatre, Brewer The Nite Show with Danny Cashman is filmed before a live studio audience.

Audience members must be at least 14 years old. There is no charge, but reservations are required. 5:45 pm.

989-7100 www.theniteshowmaine.com December 11 Winter Holiday Tour of the Thomas Hill Standpipe Bangor See wintry Bangor at the top of the Thomas Hill Standpipe. 2–5 pm. www.bangorwater.org

250 Haskell Road • Bangor, ME 04401 • 207-262-0099 • www.bangor.hgi.com

December 13 Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Baileyville Join your friends and neighbors at the annual Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony. 6 pm.

454-2308 www.visitstcroixvalley.com December 13–15, 20, & 21 It’s a Wonderful Life Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft The Slightly Off-Center Players present a stage adaptation of this classic holiday tale. 7 pm on the 13th, 14th, 20th, and

54 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Music 21st; 2 pm on the 15th and 21st. $15 at the door; $12 in advance and for seniors and students. www.centertheatre.org December 14 Verdi’s Falstaff The Grand, Ellsworth The Strand, Rockland A Metropolitan Opera Live in HD production. Robert Carsen’s production—the first new MET Falstaff since 1964—is set in the English countryside in the mid-20th century.

1 pm. $26; $19 students ages 15 and younger.

667-9500 • www.grandonline.org 594-0070 • www.rocklandstrand.com December 14 & 15 Penobscot Bay Singers Present Handel’s Messiah Belfast Armory Enjoy a concert performance of this iconic piece of music. 7–9 pm. www.facebook.com/pages/PenobscotBay-Singers December 14 2013 Maine Indian Basketmakers Sale and Demonstration Hudson Museum, UMaine Orono This annual holiday event features Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot basket makers, who sell their handmade, one of a kind, ash splint and sweetgrass basketry. 9 am–3 pm.

581-1904 www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum December 14 Annual Gingerbread House Competition Chocolate Drop Candy Shop, Belfast This annual event is open to all ages, but you must register in advance. 1 pm. www.facebook.com/ chocolatedropcandyshop December 14 Holiday on the Harbor Rockport Village This traditional community celebration of the season is fun for the whole family.

236-3023 December 14 Songs of Solomon Gospel Choir Rockport Opera House Join us for this lively and uplifting

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Events

Theater

holiday concert. The Songs of Solomon Gospel Choir, serving kids from Harlem, is committed to maintaining traditional, inspirational music in an environment that is supportive of young people of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They strive to serve the world community through music. 3 pm.

236-2823 www.baychamberconcerts.org December 15 Down East Singers: Holiday Concert 2013 Camden Opera House This year, the Down East Singers will perform Black Nativity: Gospel Music for Christmas. Maine music historian Aaron Robinson has recreated this performance from the original recording. 2:30 pm.

236-7963 www.camdenoperahouse.com December 17 Odeon Winter Concert Rockport Opera House

Music Music students of all ages will present a free concert of popular works, together with works for chamber ensembles, in their annual winter concert. 6:30 pm.

236-2823 www.baychamberconcerts.org December 20 & 21 Holiday Art Show at High Mountain Hall Camden This sixth annual event showcases area artists working in a variety of media.

Gala opening on Fri. from 5–9 pm; Sat. 10 am–4 pm.

236-3412 www.pattybolzgoldsmith.com December 21 5th Annual Holiday Pops Concert Strom Auditorium, Camden Hills Regional High School The Pops program features the Maine Pro Musica Orchestra and local performers. The event is a benefit for United Mid-Coast Charities, supporting more than 50 nonprofit agencies that

have been serving Knox and Waldo Counties since 1942. 4–5:30 pm.

236-2299 www.unitedmidcoastcharities.org December 21 & 22 The Nutcracker Collins Center for the Arts, Orono Unwrap this treasured holiday gift, featuring the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Robinson Ballet, and the Bangor Area Children’s Choir in a full performance of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet that’s perfect for the whole family.

Sat. 2 & 7 pm; Sun. 3 pm. $21–$37.

581-1755 www.collinscenterforthearts.com December 22 The Sleeping Beauty The Strand, Rockland Captured live at the Bolshoi Ballet and transmitted to Maine, this epic love story is played out in dance. 2 pm. $15 adults; $10 students.

594-0070 • www.rocklandstrand.com

With Maine Pro Musica Orchestra

Janna Hymes, Music Director SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 AT 4 PM STROM AUDITORIUM, ROCKPORT

TICKETS: $25/$37 18 and under: $8/$10

Tickets are available online at unitedmidcoastcharities.org; at KAX Office Center, 21 Elm St., Camden; at HAVII in Camden, The Grasshopper Shop in Rockland, and The Green Store in Belfast; and can be ordered by phone at 207-236-2299; by emailing umcc@midcoast.com; or by mailing UMCC at P.O. Box 205, Camden, ME 04843.

56 / Bangor Metro December 2013

December 31 New Year’s Eve Dance Party Spectacular Event Center, Bangor Make sure to get your tickets to this awesome event. Your ticket covers all beer, wine, liquor, appetizers, dinner, dessert, champagne toast, and dancing all night long. Entertainment will be provided by Dana Lavertu. 7:30 pm. $125.

941-8700 www.spectaculareventcenter.com December 31 Forever Plaid Bangor Opera House Don’t miss your favorite men in plaid during their limited engagement at the Bangor Opera House.

942-3333 • www.penobscottheatre.org December 31 Annual New Year’s By the Bay Belfast Celebrate the end of 2013 with family friendly events all around town.

2 pm–midnight. www.nybb.org December 31 Downtown Countdown Downtown Bangor Celebrate the new year on the streets of downtown Bangor with family, friends, and neighbors. There will be plenty of activities, including the traditional ball drop. www.downtownbangor.com December 31 New Year’s Eve Sardine & Maple Leaf Drop Eastport Where else can you see a gigantic sardine and maple leaf descend from above? Nowhere but downtown Eastport. The maple leaf is dropped at 11 pm and the sardine at midnight. www.eastportchamber.net December 31 New Year’s Eve with Brian Catell & the Jump City Jazz Band Peakes Hill Lodge, Dedham Have a blast ringing in the New Year with family and friends at Peakes Hill Lodge. 8 pm–12:30 am. www.peakeshilllodge.com

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155 Robertson Blvd., Brewer • 989-2435 • www.whittens2wayservice.com www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 57

metro sports: college

Experience in Motion

H

usson is an ever-growing university of more than 2,500 undergraduate students that have the opportunity to compete in 18 different varsity sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level.

But in 1993, Husson was a small college, competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Back then, Warren Caruso, the recently graduated 1989 alum, served as the assistant to men’s basketball head coach Bruce MacGregor. Today, Caruso is at the helm. Current women’s basketball head coach Kissy Walker had a similar beginning. She served as an assistant with the program starting in 1988. Neither spent a long time as an assistant, though. The 2013-14 season marks Caruso’s 20th season as head coach and Walker’s 23rd.

Today, under the direction of Caruso and Walker, the men’s and women’s teams have plenty to celebrate, with 13 conference championships and 16 cumulative NAIA and NCAA tournament appearances.

After having worked, coached, and traveled with one another for the last two decades, the coaches have a wellestablished routine.

“When we travel together, our plans are seamless,” Walker says. “We know what time the other will want to leave, where he’ll want to eat, and what we’re each going to do. Warren [Caruso] is one of the most prepared coaches out there.

He is always watching film or reading over old game notes on the bus, but he can also fall asleep at the drop of a hat.”

Caruso’s preparation has paid off, as he just led Husson men’s basketball through its 42nd consecutive winning season in 2012-13 and finished with a 20-9 record; a North Atlantic Conference Championship, the team’s third in the last five years; and a trip to the NCAA tourna58 / Bangor Metro December 2013

ment, the team’s ninth in 19 years.

“When we recruit, we try to build our team with a foundation of Maine student-athletes,” Caruso says. “With 11 Division III basketball teams in the state, all looking at the same guys, this can be a challenge, but we choose the four to six Maine athletes who fit our team and recruiting profile. We fill in the rest of our roster with out-of-state recruits. Over the past few years, we’ve been equally proportioned, and that’s been a winning formula for our program.”

Walker’s program also has a recipe for success. Husson women’s basketball has made 10 straight North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament appearances, winning in 2010 and 2011. In her 22 seasons, she has led her team to the NAIA tournament four times and to the NCAA tournament on three separate occasions. She attributes a lot of her success to the growth and development at Husson, which allows her to attract talented student-athletes.

“Husson is a great place where our student-athletes can feel like they are at their second home,” she says. “The Husson professors and coaches know the names of the students here, and they care about how they’re doing. Additionally, lots of the best Maine student-athletes want to stay close to home, where their families can see them play. Husson affords them that opportunity, while offering them a great education at a great price.”

Both coaches are optimistic about the 2013-14 season and proud of where their programs currently stand.

“We’ve developed into a very good Division III basketball team,” Caruso says.

“Husson has always been committed to successful athletic programs, and basketball, having been around for so long and having had so much success, has always been at the forefront.”

Photos: courtesy husson university

Husson University’s men’s and women’s basketball coaches have decades of experience coaching at the Bangor-based school. They’ve created a recipe for success that is hard to beat. By Carly Gettler

metro sports: high school

Photo: courtesy Maine Central Institute

En Pointe Kelsey Hayes says that dancing is akin to breathing— she can’t imagine her life without it. By Kaylie Reese

W

hen Kelsey Hayes was 3 years old, her pediatrician predicted that she would be tall and recommended that she start dancing to prevent awkwardness. Now a senior at Maine Central Institute (MCI), the 5-foot-7-inch Bossov Ballet Theater student can’t imagine life

without it.

“It definitely has its ups and downs, like everything,” Hayes says. “The best way I can explain it is like breathing. It’s something that I have to do.”

Bossov Ballet Theatre, housed at MCI, draws dancers from around the world. The program is named after Andrei Bossov, a

world-renowned ballet dancer from St. Petersburg, Russia. Bossov founded the program in 1996 and works as the artistic director. Bossov Ballet Theatre consists of dancers who study at MCI and dancers who do not. A special curriculum has been designed for MCI students.

Students dance before and after their academic classes and receive academic credit for their dance courses. They also have the opportunity to continue the program through the summer. When they are preparing for a production, rehearsals can range from three to eight or more hours a day, including Saturdays.

“Sometimes it seems like a lot,” Hayes says of the rehearsal schedules. “But once you’re there, you don’t realize how fast the time is flying by.”

Hayes began dancing with Bossov Ballet more than a decade ago, when her family moved to Maine from Massachusetts. During her sophomore year at MCI, she was cast to play the lead Princess Maria in Bossov Ballet Theatre’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Two years ago, she auditioned to dance with Boston Ballet for the summer. While there, she had the opportunity to work on a piece from her favorite ballet, Giselle.

This year’s Bossov Ballet Theatre production of The Nutcracker, which will run December 13-15 at the Waterville Opera House, will be special to her in more than one way. Not only is this her last year with the troupe; she will be performing on her birthday.

“The really great thing about Bossov is that they let you grow into your role,” Hayes says. “It’s not you becoming your character, it’s the character becoming you.”

In addition to her studies, she also participates in many student organizations and clubs. Leadership comes naturally to Hayes. In addition to being a class officer, she is also president of the student council and she is also a member of key club, cultural diversity club, French club, read-write-think club, and kindness crew.

You might wonder she has time to do anything else, but Hayes, who is interested in pursuing law school, has found a way. “Being busy is part of who I am,” she says. “I jam-pack my schedule on purpose. It’s definitely about prioritizing.

Bossov is a priority, and school is a priority.” She is certainly excelling with both.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 59

food file

Creative

Concoction

Maggi Blue is a creative powerhouse in the midcoast region. Her colorful Thai soup is as warm and inviting as her personality. By Melanie Brooks 60 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Photos: melanie brooks

W

arren, Maine is a small, picturesque midcoast town.

It’s where Maggi Blue, her husband Dwight, and their 7-year-old son Atticus live in an old New England farmhouse. The front porch swing is inviting, and a calico cat patrols the yard, weaving between the chickens that roam free.

“Don’t mind that my stove is sitting in the middle of the kitchen,” Blue says. “It’s new—we’ve gone through three stoves in the past 10 years.” The family is hard on their stoves, Blue says. They cook a lot.

Off the kitchen is the family dining room, and beyond that sits Blue’s studio. There are various pieces of earrings in the making hanging on the wall, and a kiln that is just waiting to bake some glass. Blue is the owner of Magpie Creative, a business where she puts her 15 years of expertise in graphic design and jewelry making to work. She loves helping small businesses, artists, nonprofits, and municipalities brand themselves, online and in print.

Her glass pendant necklaces are her most popular item right now. “I’ve been working with glass for about six years or so and got started in it like I get started in most things: I jumped in feet first,” she says. She found a used glass kiln on Craigslist. “Metal and glass are particularly fascinating to me as mediums. They all start in one form that is seemingly unforgiving and, with the addition of heat, become malleable and inspiring.”

Back in the kitchen, Blue has a pot of salt water on the stove. “It’s my new project,” she says. She’s been collecting gallons of seawater from Lincolnville, Camden, and Rockland, and boiling them down into sea salt. Mason jars full of salt sit on her counter, labeled with their origin. “It’s really fun. It’s something Atticus and I can do together.” You don’t get much sea salt from a gallon of water, so the amount of salt in those mason jars is a testament to Blue’s perseverance.

Along with her freelance business and side projects, Blue works part time as the marketing and communications manager for the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. It’s a new position for the chamber, and Blue is the first person to hold the job. For the past eight months, she has been helping the chamber with in-house design, press outreach, photography, social media

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management, web content, and other marketing-related tasks.

It’s hard to imagine how she does it all, especially considering that she also volunteers time on the board of Midcoast Magnet, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to promoting the vibrant culture, entrepreneurship, and professional networking in the midcoast area.

“There’s never enough time in the day to do everything I want to,” Blue says.

One of the events that the Midcoast Magnet puts on is PechaKucha, an informal and fun gathering where creative people show off their ideas, work, and passion. People create a presentation of 20 images that are shown for 20 seconds at a time. “January 2014 will mark our 20th event and the culmination of five years of PechaKucha in the midcoast,” Blue says. It’s a project that is close to her heart as a creator.

With so much invested in the midcoast region, you’d think Blue was actually from there. But she’s not. She grew up in Illinois and attended high school and college in Ohio. Her parents, who had vacationed in Camden during her childhood, decided to trade the Midwest for midcoast Maine and moved while Blue was in college.

Blue and her younger sister ended up following their parents. Blue’s first job after graduation was at Burgess Advertising in Portland. Her sister settled in Scarborough. Blue and her husband tried to live

in his home state of Nebraska for a couple of years, but they returned to Maine. He is a teacher at a local high school.

Blue talks constantly as she cooks, which makes the process go by slower than usual. The recipe she is using is printed on a much-loved piece of paper that she keeps on her refrigerator. The printout is about a decade old. The recipe came from Susanne Ward, owner of Rock City in Rockland, a coffee shop that Blue used as her office for years. Blue loved the soup so much she asked Ward for the recipe. Luckily for Blue, Ward agreed to share.

Each time Blue makes the soup it comes out a little different, mostly because the vegetables change depending on the season. “You can throw in whatever vegetables you like or have on hand,” she says. Today she’s using bok choy, cabbage, and scallions. Instead of coconut milk, she uses cream of coconut, which you can find in the drink aisle at the grocery store. “It’s sweeter than coconut milk, and I prefer it.” She also uses dark meat chicken, because that’s what she likes.

The smell of garlic and onion fills the little kitchen as the soup bubbles in a huge cast iron stockpot on the stove. The contrast between the red peppers and the yellow turmeric is festive and inviting.

“The great thing about this soup is that it freezes well,” Blue says. “Which is great because I always make way too much!”

recipe

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup 1-2 Tbs. garlic, chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped Drizzle of corn oil 1-2 tsp. turmeric Pinch of cayenne pepper, more if you like it hot 11/2 lbs. chicken 4-8 cups chicken broth, depending on the size of your batch of soup 3/4-1 cup cream of coconut 3/4-1 cup crunchy peanut butter Tamari (or a dark soy sauce) to taste 1/4 cup lime juice Sliced veggies, such as zucchini, green cabbage, bok choy, yellow squash, or carrots Rice noodles, cooked according to package directions Scallions Fresh cilantro, chopped Salt and pepper to taste Crushed peanuts (optional) Grab a large heavy bottomed stockpot and brown the chicken in a little oil. Remove chicken, keeping all the crunchy bits in the pot, and set aside. Sauté garlic, onions, and red peppers in oil in the same pot. Add turmeric and cayenne. Cook, stirring for about a minute. Add chicken broth, cream of coconut, tamari, lime juice, peanut butter, and veggies. Cook until veggies are tender.

Add the cilantro, scallions, salt, and pepper.

Cut up the chicken and add to the soup.

To serve, ladle soup over a handful of cooked rice noodles. Garnish with cilantro, scallions, and peanuts, if you’d like.

Maggi Blue uses chicken thighs, but white meat would work, too.

62 / Bangor Metro December 2013

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kitchen confidential Where are you from and how did you end up in Maine?

I’m from San Diego, California, and I came to Maine for two reasons: to further my education and because I love the outdoors. My father and stepmother showed me a few pictures of Maine. It was beautiful, and I couldn’t get here fast enough.

What is your first food memory?

My first food memory is of Mexican street vendors. Their food was amazing.

I remember walking on the boardwalk with my parents and being stopped right in my tracks by the smell of handmade churros, which are Mexican pastries. It was not an option to walk passed them.

What are some of your early cooking experiences?

Cooking with my mom. She always made our meals from scratch, and they were great—no frozen pizzas for me when I was growing up.

Any family influences on your style and taste?

My parents are from Chicago, so Old World Italian food was on the table frequently. We never gave much thought to dieting and counting calories. To some extent, I still hold the view that I’d rather die happy than healthy. My food definitely shows that influence.

Simon Low loves authentic cuisine, whether it’s Italian, Fillipino, or Mexican. His tastes translate to delicious meals everyone can enjoy. By Melanie Brooks

64 / Bangor Metro December 2013

When did you realize you were a chef?

Ever since I was young, I enjoyed cooking. Chefs who don’t love cooking are like teachers who hate children. And I have to admit that I love it on a fanatical level. I have three sets of double-door cabinets at my house, filled with ingredients from all over the world. On my days

Photos: mark mccall

Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant

Where did you study/apprentice?

I studied with Eric York at Penobscot Job Corps, but I already had been a line cook at several restaurants in the area before I began there. I also apprenticed many times under Leucio Pacelli, an excellent chef at Guinness and Porcelli’s in Bar Harbor. Leslie Thistle at Café Nuevo in Bangor was another great influence.

She never accepted anything short of perfection. There wasn’t one single heat lamp in the kitchen, so entrees for a table of 15 all had to be completed at exactly the same time.

AUTO | HOME | BUSINESS | HEALTH | LIFE

off, my children are my guinea pigs. I make them everything, from Indian to Italian to Thai to Japanese—whatever sounds delicious and challenging.

What do you consider to be your pivotal career move?

I would have to say taking a course in public speaking at the University of Maine at Augusta-Bangor . I had always been a skilled cook, but I couldn’t convey to my bosses in the past why I was capable of moving up or why I deserved a raise until I aced that course. I instantly began being promoted.

When did the restaurant open? How/ Why did it happen?

Miguel’s opened in 2007, and I was just a sous chef at the time. The owners—Chris Jones, Cassady Pappas, and Michael Boland—were thinking the same thing I was. No where in Maine could you find authentic Mexican food. We decided to change that by opening a place ourselves.

It was a rocky beginning, and we often sensed that the end was near. Chris Jones decided that the place had too much potential to let go, and he bought the other shares of the business from his partners.

We gave it an excellent last-ditch effort, taking trips to Mexico every year to study the food ingredients and culture. I believe we now have the recipe for success.

We actually have people from Mexico tell us the food is just like home.

What do you love about your location?

This was a troublesome location for

many years; nothing seemed to last here.

But I believe this was the result of a lack of proper planning. For example, putting an Italian restaurant next to the Olive Garden is probably a bad idea. That said, I think this location is serving us well.

What is your favorite ingredient to work with?

I have two favorite ingredients. I love masa harina, which is the flour that is used to make corn tortillas. You can do anything with it, from fresh breads and pasta to cakes and won tons. It can be transformed into anything, giving the subtle flavors of white corn and lime. I use Mexican flour in much the same way. My second favorite ingredient is dried chilies, because their flavors vary so much.

Ancho chilies have a mild heat and a raisin-like flavor while pasilla chilies are bold and sour, blending great with sweet fruits like mango and watermelon.

What is the dish we will be featuring?

How did it come about and what ingredients are used?

The dish is pork carnitas. I was making a version of it that was based off a street vendor’s dish, but I’ve since gone authentic all the way. I’m sure many people will enjoy that. A pork shoulder is first fried, then it’s braised in citrus, bay leaves, pepper, garlic, manteca, and Coca-Cola.

The flavors are complex, and the smell is mouthwatering. Carnitas are served on handmade corn tortillas, with our fireroasted tomato and habanero salsa and queso fresco, a fresh Mexican cheese that

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What is your favorite restaurant?

I’m a big fan of Fiddlehead, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, and Thai Siam, all located in Bangor.

Least favorite job-related task?

That would have to be inventory. It’s math torture.

What does a perfect day off look like?

I love the outdoors and, in turn, love Maine. Fishing with my kids and my dog is a perfect day for me, as long as I don’t get any cellphone reception.

What would you want your last meal to be?

I would have to go for a Japanese meal.

Some nice yakitori, a good bottle of sake from Kyoto, and fugu sushi would be it.

It’s risky business, unless it is your last meal.

What do you love most about your job?

I love when customers walk away happy, especially in the summer, when Mexican families come here to eat and enjoy it. It makes me feel like we’re doing it right.

more info Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant 697 Hogan Road, Bangor 207-942-3002 Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 am-10 pm; Sun. 10 am-2 pm Specialties: Handmade, authentic Mexican food, accommodating most allergies and diets, including Paleo.

Accolades: Trip Advisor’s 2013 Certificate of Excellence; Bangor Metro’s Best Mexican Restaurant, 2009 and 2010.

First-timer tip: Be adventurous! Don’t just order ground beef.

Sample menu item: Buñuelos, a dessert made of fried sweet dough, topped with candied plantains in a dark rum and banana liqueur sauce.

Directions: 697 Hogan Road, Bangor

66 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Brewer —

we’re anything but business as usual “Brewer means business! The city officials are terrific—from the City Manager to Public Safety, everyone has a friendly, hometown attitude. We feel it and so do our customers. Folks come to Brewer to buy, knowing we are easy to find and can exceed their expectations.

Customers from Calais, Portland or Houlton can get here through just 2 traffic lights! Our customers and our business have benefited greatly by being in Brewer.”—Geoff Battick of Winterport Boot

Pictured L-to-R: Mike Allen & Geoff Battick

Contact D’arcy Main-Boyington, Supplied Original Economic Development Director 989-7500 • www.brewermaine.gov dmain-boyington@brewermaine.gov

131%

95.5%

75.6% www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 67

per spectives

Christine Philbrick 68 / Bangor Metro December 2013

Christine Philbrick is rarely more than an arm’s length from a camera or a dog at her home studio in Stockton Springs.

“Dogs just make me laugh,“ Philbrick says. “I love the way dogs are completely confident about what’s important in life, and they live by it. You never meet a dog wallowing in regret. Swamp water, maybe, but not regret. They can sniff out cancer cells one minute, comfort the cancer patient the next, then go fetch a ball, all with equal seriousness and equal joy.”

The easiest way to get good dog photos? “Take a bunch. A plethora.

Oodles! And get down on the dog’s level physically. Sure, you’ll get a few shots that are nothing-but-nostrils, when your dog comes over to sniff the camera; but you’ll get powerful portraits too.”

Christine’s paintings and handstamped jewelry and dog tags can be found at www.dogfoolery.com.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 69

maine woods & waters

Cobbling Together a

Column

Coming up with an idea for a column and then putting one word in front of the other isn’t as easy as it might appear.

By Brad Eden

about hoot owls, was inspired by a road kill owl I found. And a porcupine that got in a scuffle with bird dog provided fodder for my October column. Sometimes highly incendiary events that affect sportsmen in Maine demand to be addressed, such as when I tackled the issue of gun control in April.

When a year comes to a close, I usually start an outline of subject matter I want to speak to the following year, and I try not to be redundant with past columns. One contentious issue I plan to wrestle next year is the upcoming bear referendum, with certain factions wanting to end bear trapping, hunting bear with hounds, and hunting bear over bait in Maine. I have been pressured by some in the sporting community to address this right away, but I have learned that timing is everything in publishing. I want to wait until my column and opinion will gain the most traction.

Certain issues that have stuck in my craw for years—such as no hunting on Sundays, days where only Maine residents can hunt deer, and how the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is funded—will likely make an appearance in my Woods and Waters column next year. But not to worry, as there will continue to be plenty of the standard fare concentrating on interesting wild animals, a wildlife quiz, and general observations on the outdoor opportunities for those who enjoy the waters and woods of Maine.

I am always interested in feedback from the readership, and any suggestions for future columns are greatly appreciated. You can email any comments, critiques, or suggestions to editor@bangormetro.com.

One contentious issue I plan to wrestle with next year is the upcoming Bear Referendum… the theme of a particular issue, such as education, energy, or health care, will suggest a subject matter. But for the most part, my past and present experiences—from rummaging around in the outdoors to the wildlife I encounter— spark the final idea for a column. For instance, my March column this year,

70 / Bangor Metro December 2013

I just checked my word count for this column, and I think I’m in good shape.

Now I need to decide whether to chase upland birds, wild turkey, or deer this afternoon. See you all in 2014!

Brad Eden is an artist, writer, and registered Maine Master Guide.

photo: Marko Cvetkovic/thinkstock.com

L

ast Sunday at church a fellow parishioner told me he read one of my recent columns and enjoyed it. He didn’t realize I wrote for Bangor Metro. After I told him I had been writing this column since 2005, he asked how I came up with an idea each month. It’s a good question and one I get asked often. My response this time was that it’s not easy, after having written close to 100 columns over the years.

And this month’s deadline had me fretting over my column more than most.

Given the timetable of magazine publishing, I was pecking away on my keyboard in mid-October for this December issue. Not only does October mark my first love—the upland bird-hunting season—it also marks the season for hunting wild turkey and expanded bow-hunting for deer. I have been running around like an old rooster with its head cut off, trying to balance my outdoor passions with my work and family responsibilities. So, I decided to write a column on writing a column.

There are general parameters that lead me down a path for writing a column. First and foremost, the subject matter needs to be strongly connected to the woods and waters of Maine, with an emphasis on traditional sporting activities. This is somewhat unusual for a regional magazine, where most outdoor articles or columns are recreationally based. That also makes it the challenging, since I’m not necessarily preaching to the consumptive sportsmen choir.

If I am struggling for an idea I can often rely on the month in which it will be published for a compass bearing, such as a column on spring fishing in May or deer hunting in November. Sometimes

savvy seniors

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While the open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace runs through March 31, 2014, it is best to seek answers to your questions now so

you and your family can make an informed decision without being under the pressure of a looming deadline.

There’s another reason to start taking a look sooner rather than later: there could be a tax penalty for those who miss this deadline.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, health care in America is on the road to being more accessible and more affordable. In the past, consumers could be denied coverage if they had a pre-existing condition. Others might be dropped www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 71

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savvy seniors in the middle of an illness if they hit a cap on how much insurers might pay for needed treatment. These and other negative scenarios are now a thing of the past.

Even if you are already insured, the health care law provides critical new benefits and protections. For example, did you know that your insurance company can no longer drop your coverage because of an honest error on your application? Believe it or not, that was not uncommon in years past. Nor can insurance companies put lifetime or annual caps on essential medical services.

The law also makes it possible to keep your children on your family plan until they reach the age of 26—an invaluable protection as this younger generation struggles to find their footing in the new economy.

In addition, all insurance plans are now required to provide more preventive care such as health screenings for certain cancers, diabetes, and heart disease.

Many organizations like AARP offer free tools such as HealthLawAnswers. org, and HealthLawFacts.org that can help you better understand the benefits and protections of the health care law for you and your family. You can also contact Maine’s Consumers for Affordable Health Care for answers to your specific questions. They have operators ready to help by telephone at 1-800-838-0388 or 1-800-965-7476. You can also use their website at mainecahc.org.

When shopping for health plans in the Marketplace, keep in mind the three Cs: Coverage, Costs, and Compare.

Coverage. Although all insurance plans offered in the Marketplace are now required to cover important health care services, like emergency care, hospitalization, physician’s services, and prescription drugs, there are still other factors you should consider when purchasing health coverage.

Costs. Most health insurance plans have a monthly premium, which is a fee that you pay the insurer for your health insurance coverage. You also need to consider the other costs that a health plan might not cover. Be sure to get a clear picture of your costs before selecting a plan.

Comparisons. The Marketplace will allow you to directly compare the costs and coverage of health plans in Maine, find out about financial help, and get your health coverage questions answered.

Remember, open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace runs through March 31, 2014. After that, if you still don’t have coverage in place, you may

have to pay a tax penalty. Sign up by December 15 and you can start getting coverage by January 1. The time you invest in researching your options will pay off with the peace of mind that comes with knowing you and your family are covered.

Jane Margesson is the Communications Director for AARP Maine.

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Consumers for Affordable Health Care

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Attorney General Health Care Crimes Unit

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last word

The Power of Tradition Holding on to traditions, especially around the holidays, can be futile. By Chris Quimby

Chris Quimby is a husband, father, Christian comedian, writer, and graphic designer from Brooks. Visit him on the web at chris quimby.com or nachotree.com.

76 / Bangor Metro December 2013

image: jupiter images/thinkstock.com

I

was recently informed that one of my daughter’s good friends is allergic to Christmas trees. I was not aware that such a thing was possible, save for the Grinch and his descendents.

Her friend, however, is not a Grinch. In fact, she has spent quite a bit of time at our home lately, and she is welcome to spend more. With the expectation in mind that she would continue to be around quite a bit during this Christmas season, my family and I began to engage ourselves in a discussion about how to handle upcoming weeks.

The first and most logical thought was to forgo having a pine tree this year. I suppose the most sensible alternative would be to use an artificial tree, but we just got rid of ours, and I didn’t want to buy another one.

My son suggested we use a birch or some other kind of tree. I personally do not get too wrapped up in tradition, but I found myself suffering a bit of hesitation. The smaller percentage of me was wondering how we were going to have Christmas without a Christmas tree.

It would be at this point, during any number of Christmas television programs, when tiny elves would enter, holding hands and singing in high-pitched voices about how Christmas is in our hearts and not in all of the traditional elements. Those annoying little elves. But I agree with them.

It’s amazing how deep of a relationship we unintentionally develop with tradition. In fact, if we’re not careful, we can get into such heated disputes whether a Christmas meal should feature ham or turkey for an entree that we risk a conflict that might result in being impaled by a turkey baster. It’s sad, really, since the goal of the holidays is often to simply restrain oneself around one’s family members in an effort to create holiday memories void of dysfunction and felonies.

After all, traditions are supposed to be the framework upon which we enjoy the intended season. Unfortunately, it’s easy for traditions to become the priority, usually after the foundational elements have decomposed beneath, due to lack of attention.

This happens with many other settings in life, too. This even includs churches, where people should, ideally, gather around the principles of serving God and other people at the expense of their own agendas. All too often, though, peripheral details based on tradition and personal preference become the focus of arguments over music styles and carpet colors. This only increases the probability of someone catching a hymnal upside the head, which kind of misses the whole goal of loving others.

I do not want people to be hit with large books in my house, partly because it’s unloving and partly because I want my books kept in good condition. Also, one of our volumes is a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, which weighs 7.2 pounds. Someone could be killed from being hit with that reference tool, and the offender would certainly pull a back muscle in the process, holding and swinging it from above his or her head.

All things considered, it seems best to choose the needs of actual people over the preservation of personal traditions. With that in mind, we will possibly purchase a fake tree or cut the top off a birch tree; or we might look for a fake birch tree so everyone’s requests are represented in the decision.

All that’s left, then, is the sublime enjoyment of the integration of relationships and the creation of memories built on the love that’s shown through a submission of one’s own will for the good of others.

But I hope there’s turkey. And there better be gravy, too.

produced by

moving bang 2 / FUSION:Bangor 2013

E

ight years ago, empty storefronts represented the struggles of Bangor’s downtown and the overall angst of the area’s aging population. An old, outdated arena loomed over a waterfront that was just beginning to realize its revitalized potential.

But Bangor has experienced a youthful revitalization. And a big part of the reason is a loosely knit but highly focused organization called Fusion:Bangor.

The Great Gatsby-inspired 2013 Fusion Extravaganza was held at the Union Street Brick Church in November.

or forward

By Henry Garfield

Photos:: (cover) Anne Schmidt; (this page) jeff kirlin

Maine maintains the oldest median age of any state in the country, at 43.5 years.

Young and ambitious Mainers often leave the area to find more lucrative work elsewhere. This “brain drain” saps the energy of the entire region and the state. In 2005, the founders of Fusion:Bangor decided to do something to try and reverse this trend.

“There was a group of young folks participating in various activities, but there wasn’t an organized forum that spoke to them,” says Cary Weston, a partner at Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications and Fusion:Bangor’s founding chair. “You’d go to a meeting of the Rotary club, for example, and find that you were 10 to 20 years younger than anyone else in the room.”

In his 2003 inaugural address, Governor John Baldacci, a Bangor native, promised to do something about the brain drain. The offshoot of that pledge was the Summit on Youth Migration, held in June 2004. More than 300 young Mainers came together to discuss ideas that could make Maine a viable place for young professionals to live, work, and raise families. From this summit sprang the Realize Maine Network, a coalition of organizations throughout the state that work to retain bright young people fusion:bangor 2013 / 3

Photo: (top) anne schmidt

From welcoming newcomers to the organization (top), to supporting the Arena Yes campaign (above left), to volunteering at the American Folk Festival (above right), to supporting downton Bangor businesses through their Downtown Proud events (left), Fusion rallies its members to get involved in the local community.

4 / FUSION:Bangor 2013

who are already here and to attract others to Maine.

Fusion:Bangor is one of those organizations. Others include PROPEL, in the greater Portland area; Midcoast Magnet, in Rockland; KV Connect, in Waterville; Cynergy, in Augusta; Spark, in Lincoln County; Momentum Aroostook; and YPLAA, pronounced “Yplay,” which stands for Young Professionals in the Lewiston-Auburn Area.

“We soon realized that you can’t dictate local activity from one place in the state,” Weston says. Each organization is locally run and organized, and addresses the particular needs of its area.

Fusion:Bangor took the name and modeled its structure and vision after groups in Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bangor and Saint John have enjoyed a longstanding sister-city relationship. Saint John is the larger of the two cities—separated by less than a three-hour car ride—but they share many of the same concerns, from cross-border trade to issues affecting centers of rural commerce.

One problem that has a significant effect on their respective economies is that young professionals from both cities are following the siren song that draws them toward larger metropolitan areas, such as Montreal, Boston, and New York.

The founders of Fusion:Bangor spent time with their counterparts, in both cities.

“There was a lot of interaction,” says Julie Williams, former Fusion:Bangor chair who is the manager of business development at ERA Dawson Bradford Co. “There still is. We help each other rejuvenate.”

proximately 1,000 members. The group’s focus is on persons between the ages of 20 and 40, but many beyond that criteria participate as well. Fusion:Bangor’s steering committee votes on issues the organization will address. Members of this board help oversee several subcommittees that direct various Fusion:Bangor-sponsored activities.

Fusion:Bangor is a Bangor Region Cham-

ber of Commerce program. Initial funding came from Bangor Savings Bank, which provided $10,000 a year for the first three years. They also volunteered an executive vice president, Yellow Light Breen, to serve on the baord. Like many young Mainers, he left the state for college and law school, but he wanted to return to Maine to live and work.

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But what is Fusion:Bangor, exactly, and how does one become a member?

“We define membership pretty loosely,” says current chair Annie Collins, who works for Eastern Maine Development Corporation. “We want to be all-inclusive. If you’re on our mailing list or our social media network, we consider you a member.”

By this reckoning, Fusion:Bangor has apfusion:bangor 2013 / 5

“It’s a lot of fun, but we also take it seriously and try to get things done. —Annie Collins Above: Fusion members gather in downtown Bangor to pose for a photo with the tulips they planted the previous fall as part of the Pink Tulip Project.

Top Right: Jamie Ballinger, Chris Winstead, Stephan Crandall, and Trish Hansen at a Fusion holiday party at EMDC. Right: Matt McLaughlin at the 2012 Fusion Extravaganza held on the Bangor Waterfront.

6 / FUSION:Bangor 2013

“When I came back in 1997, people talked about me as the exception that proves the rule,” Breen says. “Back then, it wasn’t easy to find a job or to bring a career that you had developed somewhere else. Those of us who found a way to do that wanted to make it easier for others to follow in our footsteps.”

Becoming Fusion:Bangor’s founding sponsor was “a no-brainer,” Breen says. “Banking in and of itself doesn’t generate a strong economy. We serve the businesses that create a strong economy. It was really a

case of enlightened self-interest. It might take a decade or two, but we knew that investment would come back to us.”

“We had to pitch it—it wasn’t a given,” Weston says of the recruiting the bank’s assistance. “We had to show them we were serious. But they were one of the first organizations to step up and offer their support.”

“We had to be willing to take the long view and have faith that this group of young leaders wasn’t going to let us down,” Breen

Photos: (top right) Anne Schmidt; (right) melanie brooks

says. “But it was never a group of young people asking what the city could do for them. It was more, ‘What can we do for ourselves?’ And many of them have gone on to become leaders in the community at large. I don’t think that would have happened without such a testing ground and inspiration.”

Collins has been a Fusion:Bangor member for five years. “It’s a lot fun, but we also take it seriously and try to get things done,” she says. Like many other Fusion:Bangor fusion:bangor 2013 / 7

The group’s visibility is such that employers recruiting new workers to the area, such as the hospitals, now contact Fusion:Bangor in order to help promote Bangor to their new hires. “It helps them to know that there is a network of people here that they can connect with,” Collins says.

Top: The team from WBRC Architects and Engineers squares off against the team from Means Investment. Above: The dodgeball team from Means Investment pose with their trophy for winning the 2013 dodgeball championship, sponsored by Geaghan’s Restaurant and Pub.

8 / FUSION:Bangor 2013

Fusion:Bangor’s focus has shifted slightly over the years, as its leaders identified needs and activities in Bangor that dovetailed with the concerns of Fusion:Bangor’s young professional demographic.

Photos: (top) melanie Brooks; (bottom) justin russell

members, she got involved by attending an event with friends. The steering committee board is made up of members who may have served on a subcommittee on events, marketing, downtown revitalization, or community outreach. Those interested in becoming steering committee board members can apply for a three-year term. The chair serves for one year. It’s a significant amount of time, Collins says, but adds, “You can get a lot done in three years.”

One such issue was the “Arena Yes” campaign that effected the construction of the Cross Insurance Center. “We really felt like a new arena was crucial for the ongoing revitalization of downtown,” Collins says.

“We got behind it, passed it as a board, and worked really hard to rally the membership.

We did a barbecue at the [Bangor] Civic Center the day of the vote. Our membership really attached themselves to it, and that led to the Downtown Proud initiative.”

Garrett Wilkin accepts the Innovator of the Year award at the 2013 Fusion Extravaganza.

Fueled by a grant from the Realize Maine Network and matching funds from the Downtown Bangor Partnership, “Downtown Proud” was an ongoing effort to draw people into the downtown through a series of events and community efforts.

Fusion:Bangor members have planted pink tulips in small traffic islands near Bangor City Hall and organized cleanups and graffiti removal crews. On certain weeknights, participating businesses stay open later than usual to encourage people who work during the day to visit. Fusion:Bangor sponsors art walks, guided walking tours, and musical events on these same evenings.

“I can remember a time not so long ago when Bangor’s downtown was not this vital,” says Chris Winstead, another former chair, who currently works for U.S. Representative Mike Michaud. “A healthy downtown, with a mix of business and residential activity, is crucial to creating an environment that’s conducive to people staying in Bangor.”

Photo: jeff kirlin

“I see such a difference just in the last five years,” Collins says. “One of our members described the downtown environment as a college campus. We all know each other and try to support each other’s businesses.”

“When Fusion:Bangor started, a lot of it was about networking,” Winstead says.

“It was, ‘Let’s meet and have a beer.’ The whole idea was to get that 20- to 30-yearold cohort together. One of the challenges was that we wanted to stay fluid, but we also wanted to address issues of substance, to make a difference in the lives of people who choose to stay here and work

“[Fusion:Bangor] was never a group of young people asking what the city could do for them. It was more, ‘What can we do for ourselves?’”

—Yellow Light Breen

here and live here. When you’re trying to stay vital five or 10 years down the road, fluid doesn’t always work.”

The beer-after-work gatherings morphed into more planned gatherings and events.

The annual Awards Extravaganza, which recognizes area leaders and merchants, was inaugurated, as well as a quarterly Newcomer’s Night and an event called “Meet the Reps,” which brings together young professionals and elected officials.

Newcomer’s Night is a quarterly event designed to connect people who may be new to the Bangor area or Fusion:Bangor, or both.

It’s one of the many ideas Fusion:Bangor adopted from its Canadian counterparts.

The event is held at a different business each time, and gives people an opportunity to make new connections in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.

Physical activity is another connection.

Fusion:Bangor’s Wednesday night sports fusion:bangor 2013 / 9

Members of the Fusion:Bangor steering committee at the 2013 Fusion Extravaganza pose with Hollywood Casino showgirl Kira Giroux. Pictured from left: Erin Timney, Megan Randlett, Annie Collins, Gibran Graham, Jessamine Logan, Jaclyn Fish, Nicole Gogan, Anne Schmidt, Melanie Brooks, and Jesse Moriarity.

The Annual Extravaganza is Fusion: Bangor’s awards ceremony, and it aims to be unlike any other fundraiser or awards dinner in the area. For several years, the event was incorporated into the annual Chamber of Commerce awards dinner, but they have since become separate events. In 2012 it was held in November inside a heated tent on the Waterfront. An ’80s band provided the entertainment, and the winners—much like the Oscars—were kept secret until the 10 / FUSION:Bangor 2013

night of the event and were announced live at the scene.

This year’s Extravaganza was held on Saturday, November 9, at the Union Street Brick Church. The theme was “The Great Gatsby” and attendees were encouraged to dress in 1920s attire. A jazz band and a disc jockey were on hand to provide music from that period.This year’s winners are as follows: • Leadership and Vision Award: Ben Sprague, Bangor City Council • Innovator of the Year Award: Garrett Wilkin, Maine Hacker Club • Downtown Proud Revitalization Award: 11 Central Fusion’s efforts have attracted attention from other communities in the state. Collins, Weston, and several members of the steering committee recently went to Calais to meet with young professionals there who want to start a similar network.

In its eight years of existence, Fusion: Bangor has helped bring a youthful energy to the third largest city in the nation’s oldest state. As Weston says, “Downtown Bangor looks the way it does today largely because of groups like Fusion:Bangor.” He notes that four of the nine members on the Bangor City Council this year are under the age of 40, as were several of this year’s candidates. But the passage of time also highlights a painful truth: Today’s young people are tomorrow’s old people. To stay vital, Fusion:Bangor must continue to attract even younger people who want to invest in and be an integral part of the community.

“I think it will continue to grow,” Collins says. “One thing we’re doing is reaching out to the University of Maine and Husson University, to people who are about to graduate and want to stay in the area. We want to let them know that there’s a core group of like-minded people who love this area and want to help make it a better place to live, raise a family, work, and play.”

Photo: Jeff Kirlin

leagues have proven to be hugely popular. Sponsored by Geaghan’s Restaurant and Pub, this fall’s kickball league had 16 teams, with 14 players on each team. The spring dodgeball league has proven equally popular. Each team is sponsored by a local business. “It’s something fun to do on a Wednesday night, and everyone gathers at Geaghan’s afterwards,” Collins says. “The sports leagues are the way many people first get involved in Fusion:Bangor. They come out to play, and then get involved in the other things we do.”

Photos: (christopher winstead and tanya emery) Jeff Kirlin; (annie collins) Anne Schmidt

Past Fusion:Bangor Steering Committee Chairs

Past steering committee chairs from left: Cary Weston (2005 & 2006) Tanya Emery (2007) Christopher Winstead (2008) John Canders (2009) Scott Blake (2010) Julie Williams (2011) Jessamine Logan (2012) Annie Collins (2013)

fusion:bangor 2013 / 11

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