the Way
Life Be
should
a history of
Vacationland
thriving $5.95
August 2019
e n i a M
QUIET WATER TRIPS
IN THE BANGOR AREA
CONTENTS
AUGUST 2019
FEATURES 46
THRIVING DOWNTOWNS
How Maine’s downtowns have turned themselves around
54
THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE
A history of Vacationland
60
SUMMER IS A RAFT
An essay on following the current of creativity and imagination
64
GET OUT: LUBEC
Head east for a Maine weekend to remember
46
THRIVING DOWNTOWNS
54
THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE
IN EVERY ISSUE 08
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Local news & sightings
OBSESSIONS
What we can’t get enough of this month
72
THE VIEW FROM HERE
Running with a partner is better than going it alone
ON THE COVER Celebrating summer the way it should be Design by Amy Allen
2 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
PHOTOS: (TOP) GABOR DEGRE; (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAW
18
ARTS & CULTURE
FOOD & DRINK
HEALTH & FITNESS
14
22
26
FROM TRASH TO ART
PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) MARIAH READING; SARAH WALKER CARON; AISLINN SARNACKI; AP PHOTO/ROBERT F. BUKATY, FILE; ©CHARLOTTE_D/ADOBE STOCK; AMY ALLEN
Bangor native transforms forgotten items in Acadia art residency
IN SEASON NOW
HIKE ME
Blueberry season is now and we’ve got recipes aplenty
Discover three spots to launch a quiet, peaceful paddle in the Bangor area
24 GRILLED HERBEDCRUST PIZZA
31
HEY BABY
Take pizza night to the grill
What to know about giving birth in Maine
HOW TO
HOME & FAMILY
OUTSIDE
36
40 MAKING THE MOST OF SUMMER
70
CRAFTING WITH KIDS
Stay cool with sponge water bombs
End of summer traditions in Maine
38
WOODS & WATERS
A history and celebration of Maine’s wild blueberries
CREATE IT AT HOME
The right way to care for your cast iron cookware
44
EXPLORING SUMMER
Give gunkholing a try and explore more www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 3
EDITOR’S NOTE
Mai n e PROUD
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO let things grow a little before you can tell if you should pull them or let them continue to grow. That’s true in the garden, where early shoots can be hard to decipher — seedling or weed? And that’s true in cooking, where trying a new recipe may result in success or failure. And that’s true with people, though in a more metaphorical sense. When meeting new people, it takes time to get to know one another — and time to see if you are compatible. Friendship, after all, requires a certain spark. Sometimes, you can tell almost immediately that you aren’t compatible. Other times though, it takes years to recognize that one person’s quirks really are deal-breakers. The same can be said for living in a new place. When you first arrive, everything is new and different and shiny. But as time passes, you come to see the place for what it is — flaws and all.
IT’S ONLY THEN THAT YOU CAN DECIDE FOR SURE IF A PLACE IS FOR YOU. After five years living in Maine, I think we’re compatible. It’s a wonderful state with a rich history of receiving vacationers (see Dick Shaw’s story on page 54), and artists (see story on page 14) and welcoming those who want to live in concert with the land. It’s also a place where farming and local food is valued. When we planned this issue, we wanted to celebrate the things that make Maine wonderful — from revitalized downtowns (see the story on page 46) to natural places worth the paddle (see the story on page 26). I hope you can feel our love for the state in every page of the magazine this month. HAVE A WONDERFUL AUGUST,
SARAH WALKER CARON, EDITOR
Connect With Us Online bangormetro.com facebook.com/BangorMetro @BangorMetro bangormetro talkback@bangormetro.com 4 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
www.bangormetro.com P.O. Box 1329 Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Phone: 207.990.8000
PUBLISHER
Richard J. Warren
EDITOR
Sarah Walker Caron scaron@bangordailynews.com
ART DIRECTOR
Amy Allen
aallen@bangordailynews.com
SUBSCRIPTION & PROMOTIONS MANAGER
Fred Stewart
fstewart@bangordailynews.com
STAFF WRITER
Julia Bayly jbayly@bangordailynews.com
STAFF WRITER
Abigail Curtis acurtis@bangordailynews.com
STAFF WRITER
Rosemary Lausier rlausier@bangordailynews.com
STAFF WRITER
Aislinn Sarnacki asarnacki@bangordailynews.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Sarah Cottrell, Bob Duchesne, Natalie Feulner, Emily Morrison, Crystal Sands, Sam Schipani, Richard Shaw, Katie Smith www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 5
6 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS
WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL
Bangor Metro Magazine. August 2019, Vol. 15, No. 6. Copyright © Bangor Publishing Company. Bangor Metro is published 10 times annually by Bangor Publishing Company. All rights reserved. This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or part in any form without the written permission of the Publisher.
AUGUST DAY IN MAINE?
Bangor Metro is mailed at standard rates from Portland, Maine. Opinions expressed in either the editorial or advertisements do not represent the opinions of the staff or publisher of Bangor Metro magazine. Advertisers and event sponsors or their agents are responsible for copyrights and accuracy of all material they submit. Bangor Metro magazine to the best of its ability ensures the acuracy of information printed in the publication. Inquiries and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. Letters to the editor, story suggestions, and other reader input will be subject to Bangor Metro’s unrestricted right to edit and publish in the magazine both in print and online. Editorial: Queries should be sent to Sarah Walker Caron at scaron@bangordailynews.com. Advertising: For advertising questions, please call the Sales Director Todd Johnston at 207-990-8129. Subscriptions/Address Change: The one year subscription cost is $15.95. Address changes: to ensure delivery, subscribers must notify the magazine of address changes one month in advance of the cover date. Please contact Fred Stewart at 207-990-8075. Accounts Payable/Receivable: For information about your account please contact Todd Johnston at 207-990-8129.
COVER DESIGN: Amy Allen
“
To me, August is when summer really begins in Maine. In recent years June has been cloudy and rainy while July gets (for me) intolerably hot with the added bonus of flying pests like mosquitoes and blackflies. But August? The bugs are down to a manageable level, if not totally gone for the year, early mornings and evenings are cool while the day time temperatures are perfect for outdoor activities. My perfect day begins with a cup of strong, black coffee on my deck, a good breakfast while I read the paper and then loading up my road bike for several hours of riding on the miles of low traffic, paved roads we have in Aroostook County. If, at some point on my ride, I find a place to stop in for a red hot dog or some ice cream, I have achieved perfection.” — JULIA BAYLY, STAFF WRITER “One of my favorite summer activities is taking road trips to all the small coastal towns. I love driving to Bucksport, Belfast or Castine and going window shopping and walking along the water. A stop at Fort Knox or the suspension bridge every couple years is a must, as well as a stop to Wahl’s Dairy Port in Bucksport on the way home. But a road trip to Belfast is not complete without a stop at Just Barb’s in Stockton Springs. It’s a tiny place on Main Street that has some of the best seafood and its logo is a clam in yellow galoshes. What’s not to love about that? They are the perfect places to visit when you’re feeling like getting away, but don’t want to deal with the traffic or the bustle of Bar Harbor.” — ROSEMARY LAUSIER, STAFF WRITER “A brisk morning walk to my community garden plot to pick fresh produce, a day spent paddling on Pushaw Lake with beer and homemade burritos and then a delicious dinner with my fresh harvest from the morning (and dining al fresco, of course — my ideal August day is also just breezy enough to be mosquito-free).” — SAM SCHIPANI, CONTRIBUTOR “The perfect August day, for me, is snorkeling in the lake near my house. With lunch packed in our kayaks, my husband and I will paddle out to a cluster of conserved islands at the center of the lake. There we’ll beach our boats and trade our paddles for fins, goggles and snorkels. Floating face down, we’ll lazily swim around the islands, exploring giant submerged boulders, sunken pine trees and beds of wispy aquatic plants. When we pause, fish will approach and gently nibble on our fingers and toes. It’s like entering another world, one filled with dancing sunbeams and peaceful quiet. It’s one reason I love summer.” — AISLINN SARNACKI, STAFF WRITER “My ideal August day is sunny, blue-skied and not oppressively hot. We head to Acadia National Park to hike one of the less popular mountain trails and then also take the short hike along Wonderland Trail with books, sit on the rocks and read for awhile. And then, as we head back to Bangor, we stop for post-hiking pizza at Finelli’s in Ellsworth. A day like this hits all the right notes.” — SARAH WALKER CARON, EDITOR www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 7
WHAT’S HAPPENING
JULY 25 TO AUGUST 3 BANGOR STATE FAIR
The Bangor State Fair returns to Bass Park in Bangor for its annual celebration of agriculture and fun. Hours vary. Admission starts at $7 (no rides or games included). Rides additional, but check for specials. Visit www.bangorstatefair.com for more information.
AUGUST BANGOR BAND
One of the oldest continuous community bands in the United States, the Bangor Band has performed in greater Bangor every summer since 1859. Join them for their final two summer concerts of 2019. Tuesday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 13, both held at 6:45 p.m. on the Bangor Waterfront. All ages. Free.
8 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2 DOWNTOWN BANGOR FIRST FRIDAY ARTWALK
Join local and regional artists and artisans for an evening celebrating creativity throughout downtown Bangor at the Downtown Bangor First Friday Artwalk. The artwalk, presented by the Downtown Bangor Arts Collaborative, aims to bring the community together through art. 5-8 p.m. Free.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 CHILDREN’S DAY
The 40th annual Hampden Children’s Day will be held beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. The 2019 theme is “Celebrate Hampden,” as this year is also the 225th Incorporation of the Town of Hampden. The Hampden Children’s Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and will travel from the Reeds Brook Middle School Drive, up Main Road to the corner of Western
Bangor State Fair
Avenue, and out Western Avenue, ending at the Hampden Academy entrance and corner of Route 202. Visit hampdenchildrensday.org for more information.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17 10TH ANNUAL NORTHERN LIGHT CHAMPION THE CURE CHALLENGE
In August, walk, run, or bike to raise money for local cancer research as part of the Northern Light Champion the Cure Challenge. Everything raised supports the services provided at the Lafayette Family Cancer Institute in Brewer. There are course lengths for everyone including: Walk or Run 1K, 5K, or 10K; Bicycle Ride 12, 25, 50, 75, or 100 miles and Paddle: 1.4 or 7.5 miles. See www.ctcchallenge.org for more information.
PHOTO: BDN FILE
AUGUST
JULY 25-AUG 3
10 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
WHAT’S HAPPENING SUNDAY, AUGUST 18 HIKING YOGA
PHOTO: EMILY BURNHAM/BDN FILE
Join Jenny Milliken to take yoga out into nature and the community. Hiking Yoga is a free program by the Bangor Y (it’s also being held on August 4). The fun begins at the compass rose at the corner of Railroad St. and Front St. The group will alternate our moderately-paced hiking with a variety of poses that emphasize breathing and stretching as well as strength, flow, and balance. This event is for all levels. No mat needed. Water and sunscreen recommended. Rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. For more details or to sign up, contact the Bangor Y.
AUGUST 23-25 AMERICAN FOLK FESTIVAL
Bangor’s annual celebration of music, dance and other performing arts representing cultural traditions from across America and the world returns to the Bangor Waterfront for the annual three-day festival. Check out the food and handmade items available from the vendors and hear some great music. For more information visit americanfolkfestival.com. Free, but everyone is invited to “chip in” with donations.
AUG 23-25 American Folk Festival
STILL STUMPED?
Here are the answers to last month’s Pop Quiz.
Visit our Bangor Metro Facebook page to play online! www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 11
WHAT’S HAPPENING
HERE’S A LOOK AT JUST A FEW SPECIAL EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH... 2 1 1&2: The Bangor Symphony Orchestra and the University of Maine Museum of Art hosted a Summer Solstice Celebration in June, complete with floral crowns in the Museum’s sculpture garden and a live performance at the Bangor Arts Exchange by BSO members Nate Lesser, Noreen Silver and Phillip Silver. 3: More than 2,500 people attended the 2019 Bangor Pride parade. The parade and festival were the largest in the city’s history, according to the events’ organizers.
SHARE YOUR EVENT PHOTOS! 12 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
Email your photos and captions to
talkback@bangormetro.com
PHOTOS: (1-2,4-6) JEFF KIRLIN / THE THING OF THE MOMENT; (3) NIK SPARLIN / BDN FILE
3
MAINE PROUD!
4
Love Maine as much as we do? Play online at bangormetro. com for your chance to win a FREE one-year subscription to Bangor Metro!
4: Sponsored by the Baldacci Family, a recent spaghetti supper raised $2,500 for Camp Capella. The organization serves more 180 children and adults with disabilities. 5: The Maine Literary Awards, an annual competition sponsored and coordinated by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, were recently presented at the Bangor Public Library. 6: Bangor Greendrinks announce the release of the second edition of its Bangor Area Trails Map & Guide on the rooftop of Bangor Savings Bank’s new corporate headquarters in June.
5
6
FIND ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S POP QUIZ ON PAGE 11!
Visit our Bangor Metro Facebook page to play online! www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 13
ARTS & CULTURE
From
TRASH to
BANGOR NATIVE TO TRANSFORM FORGOTTEN ITEMS IN ACADIA ART RESIDENCY BY ROSEMARY LAUSIER
14 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
Sand Beach Buoy, Acadia National Park. (Left) Lone Can, Denali National Park, Alaska.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MARIAH READING
ART AS A YOUNG CAMPER at Windover Art Center in Newburgh, Bangor-native Mariah Reading valued the connection between “the great outdoors” and art. She immersed herself in nature and went on nature walks, played outdoor games and participated in glass blowing and bead making classes, among others. The experience not only gave Reading a chance to have the Maine camp experience, but also showed her where her talents could take her. Her passion for art and the outdoors has taken her cross-country via art residencies at National Parks in Utah and Alaska. In October, Reading will return to her Maine roots as she begins the Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park, continuing her latest project, “Recycled Landscapes.” “Recycled Landscapes” is an art series in which Reading collects pieces of trash that haven’t been disposed of properly from scenic areas and paints landscapes on them, reflecting where the items were found. The idea came to her as she prepared to embark on a cross-country trip through national parks while heading to her post-graduate job teaching in Santa Barbara, California. She began her work on the project in 2016 in Acadia National Park during the centennial, so this is a bit of a homecoming for Reading and her art. The program at Acadia is Reading’s fourth art residency. She also participated in programs at Denali National Park and McKinley Chalet Resort in Alaska and Zion National Park in Utah in 2018. According to the National Park Service, the Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park, “encourages accomplished, professional artists to create fresh and innovative new ways for visitors to experience Acadia through the arts.” “The history of art in preserving our federal lands has been paramount,” said Reading. “Artists go out and express the landscape through the art and show why it’s essential to keep it preserved.”
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 15
Mariah Reading in Zion National Park during her Artist Residency. (Below) El (Hub) Capitan at Guadalupe Mountain National Park, Texas.
Each residency at Acadia — which includes visual arts, writing and “At-Large” arts such as music, dance, indigenous arts and emerging technologies — spans for two weeks. Participants are asked to host a public outreach activity such as a lecture and donate a finished work that will be displayed in a permanent online catalog and displayed seasonally in public spaces. To be considered for a residency, Reading had to submit a proposal, artist statement, information about her current project and why she wanted to work in that specific park. “[Acadia] has always been the crown jewel of residency because it’s so connected to my childhood and who I am as a person,” said Reading. As a student at Bangor High School, Reading was most passionate about painting 16 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
in her art classes. At Bowdoin College, where Reading majored in visual arts and minored in education, she expanded her focus into landscape painting with the Maine coast serving as inspiration. In Reading’s junior year at Bowdoin, she dabbled into bio-art, which connects biology and art and required the use of organic materials to make artistic formats. Reading calls the class “eye-opening.” This class would serve as a foundation of the type of work she does today. But during a mold sculpture class at Bowdoin, Reading noticed the heavy amounts of materials such as chip brushes that she and her classmates would throw away, about two giant trash bags each class. Focusing on landscape art at the time, Reading couldn’t justify harming the environment that gave her so much inspiration. “I looked at myself as an artist and thought how can I validate this process if this landscape that I’m so inspired by is being harmed by the waste that’s being put in the landfill,” said Reading. She started reusing paint brushes to lessen her impact. After Reading graduated from Bowdoin in 2016, she looked for ways to continue these efforts to help the environment. During that cross-country road trip in 2016, she would find disposed materials such as sunglasses, flip flops, hub caps and fins. She picked up trash from Rocky Mountain, Arches, Zion and Grand Canyon. Once she settled into Santa Barbara, she took the trash out and sculpted and/or painted them into scenes from each park. “I found my way that summer to make the world more beautiful,” said Reading. Reading was inspired to visit as many parks as she could in the area and continued to Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Channel Islands and Yosemite. As she started finding more pieces Reading would either paint on the object on the spot or take a picture and go back to her studio and paint, later returning to the spot for a photo. Depending on the amount of time and the object, she’ll paint for 30 minutes or the whole day, in detail or in impressionist style. She says the type of pieces she finds tell a story that is indicative of the landscape, like how a hubcap tells a story about a park that has a highway running straight through it. Reading says her favorite piece in “Recycled Landscapes” is a crushed can she found along a bank in Denali National
Park, the only piece of substantial trash she found in park boundaries during her residency there. She painted a blue stream across the can’s pull-tab top, in between intricately painted multicolor stones and grass. The painted can almost completely blends in with the background. The size of New Hampshire, Denali has a zero landfill initiative. The fact that she only found one piece of trash, which Reading says is “astounding” revealed the type of landscape that the park provided. Reading says that more now than ever, especially in the midst of climate change, it is important as an artist to show that these native lands need preserving. Part of the residencies in the parks is showing the changes first hand and teaching communities to be more sustainable. “FDR had a quote: ‘There’s nothing so American as our National Parks’ — it speaks so much to the culture and the native history of our lands,” said Reading. Currently, Reading is a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Denali, working as a frontline representative at the park. As art jobs are seasonal, Reading spends her winters focused on dispersing art, shows, lectures and residencies before she explores other ventures. Her art has been publicly displayed around the country including The Grand Canyon in Arizona, Santa Barbara, California, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. After she is finished with her pieces, Reading keeps a stockpile of her work and ships them to shows nationwide. “It’s kind of in motion,” said Reading. “These objects were forgotten and now they have their own footprint traveling from one place to the next.” When she goes to Acadia, she will continue her “Recycled Landscapes” concept, and will be working at Isle au Haut, Schoodic and Brown Mountain Gatehouse. But with a different park comes different debris and opportunities. Through her art, Reading wants to show that we can make the world a more beautiful place. She said her goal is to show small steps make big impacts and that her art can highlight ways people can mitigate their own waste. Although Reading appreciates her time traveling across the country, she is excited to go back to the place where her passion first started, the “mother” of her project. “Maine will always have my heart.”
PHOTOS: (TOP) BRIAN READING; (BOTTOM) COURTESY OF MARIAH READING
ARTS & CULTURE
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARIAH READING
Acrylic on a Maine State license plate in the Bangor City Forest in 2018. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 17
ARTS & CULTURE
OBSESSIONS
OBSESSIONS WHAT WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH.
LISTEN SIRIUSXM YACHT ROCK RADIO WHY DO WE LOVE IT? I wrote in the May issue that my soundtrack for May is 80s rock music. But now that it’s summer, it’s all about “Yacht Rock.” Yacht Rock Radio (Channel 70 on SiriusXM) is extremely bizarre, yet delightful. It’s basically the soundtrack to the classic Hampton Island-based movie, “Weekend at Bernies” — another favorite. There’s an excellent blend of soft rock tunes from the 70s and 80s from artists such as the Doobie Brothers, Toto, Hall and Oates, Steely Dan and, my favorite, Kenny Loggins. It transports you to the beaches of Nantucket, Cape Cod and the Hamptons. Although the station is only available during the summer months, it’s perfect for a dance party in your car, or, if you don’t have a yacht, your back porch with a glass of wine. — ROSEMARY LAUSIER
WATCH “THE GOOD WITCH” ON NETFLIX WHY DO WE LOVE IT? For those nights when you just want to zone or those ridiculously hot days when you don’t want to do anything, having a show to fall into helps entertain and pass the time. Earlier this year, my kids and I fell in love with “The Good Witch,” a Hallmark show with reruns on Netflix. It’s not quite the typical formulaic show you’d expect from the channel created by a greeting card company, but it is pretty wholesome. Quaint Middleton has been home to the Cassie Nightingale’s family for generations. A family with certain gifts, they have a way of sensing when things will happen. Over the seasons of this show, there’s been intrigue, drama, family feuds and more. But somehow, everything always works out as it should. It’s a cute show — perfect for watching as a family.
PHOTO: TKTK
— SARAH WALKER CARON
READ Every month, many new books cross my desk. I purchase even more. These are a few that I particularly enjoyed and recommend this month. “GOD LAND” BY LYZ LENZ — In surveys and polls, Maine has ranked as the least religious state in the nation. It’s an interesting contrast to middle America and — particularly — the Bible Belt, where religion is deeply interwoven into communities. In “God Land” by Lyz Lenz, we are taken on a personal and professional journey as this Christian mother of two from Iowa explores why her country and marriage were irreconcilably torn apart after the 2016 election. It’s a tale of faith, politics, loss, pain and an uneasy understanding. A shorter read at 163 pages, I found this to be an eye-opening look into how people think outside the Northeast. (NONFICTION)
PHOTOS: ©JAKKAPAN; ©ANDREW PARFENOV; ©MALLMO PHOTOGRAPHY/ADOBE STOCK
“THE REST OF THE STORY,” BY SARAH DESSEN — When Emma unexpectedly spends three weeks with her mother’s family, she finds herself delving deep into a place she doesn’t remember, a family she doesn’t know and who her late mother really was. They live at North Lake and run a motel there. Just across the lake is Lake North, a tawny neighboring community. As Emma learns about these two places that inhabit the same lake, she also learns about her parents, herself and who she wants to be. It’s a tale of personal discovery, family and growing up. (YOUNG ADULT) “PARK AVENUE SUMMER,” BY RENEE ROSEN — For women who grew up in the 80s and 90s, it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t long ago that women were expected to marry, have kids and keep house — and those that didn’t were unusual. This historical novel, set in 1960s New York, follows a Midwestern girl who leaves home to pursue her dream of being a photographer and lands a job working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Brown, famous for her book “Sex and the Single Girl,” took a failing magazine and reinvented it for the single working girl, while also giving young women the permission to own their sexuality. This is a fascinating look at a time when the world was changing for women — and a powerful woman who helped lead the charge. The undertones of chasing dreams, falling in love and creating your own path outside what’s expected only add to the allure of this great summer read. (HISTORICAL FICTION) — SARAH WALKER CARON www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 19
FOOD & DRINK
OBSESSIONS
OBSESSIONS WHAT WE CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THIS MONTH.
EAT WHY DO WE LOVE IT? Avocado toast has become the butt of jokes as the breakfast of Millennials who’ll never afford their own homes. But as a non-Millennial (depending on your source, I am somewhere between Generation X and a Xennial) who has owned a home before, I feel qualified to say that 1) avocado toast is a tasty, nutritious breakfast food and 2) good avocado toast is downright delightful. The Avocado Toast at Fork and Spoon in Downtown Bangor is definitely delightful. I stumbled onto it one busy morning when my daughter and I were killing 30 minutes with a quick breakfast before her theatre camp started. What I wasn’t expecting was how the grainy bread, smear of smashed avocado and drizzle of olive oil would come together with the sprinkling of sea salt and crushed red pepper to form a near-perfect toast. It’s a satisfying on-the-go breakfast option. — SARAH WALKER CARON
SIP MAINE MEAD WORKS LAVENDER LEMONADE MEAD WHY DO WE LOVE IT? Lavender and lemon have to be one of my favorite flavor combinations. It’s zesty and sweet and I just can’t get enough of it. Luckily I don’t have to look too far — Nocturnem Draft Haus in Bangor sells Lavender Lemonade Mead from Portland-based Maine Mead Works. It is made by blending mead and fresh lemon and infusing it with lavender and mint. It’s bubbly and light and is a great alternative to beers that may fill you up. It is an excellent refresher for these warm summer months. — ROSEMARY LAUSIER
PHOTOS: (BARTENDER) JULIA BAYLY; ©CRAZY NOOK; ©KARLEVANA; ©KARANDAEV; ©ALEXANDER RATHS/ADOBE
AVOCADO TOAST AT FORK AND SPOON IN DOWNTOWN BANGOR
LOCAL EATS & DRINKS
ORDER SMOKED OLD FASHIONED WHY DO WE LOVE IT? In an age of ultra specialized, over the top craft cocktails, sometimes all a girl wants is something comfortably old fashioned. Literally. As a fan of bourbon-based cocktails, to me there are few things more relaxing than sipping a well-made Old Fashioned cocktail at the end of the day. Earlier this summer I sampled a pretty great twist on the traditional bourbon, sugar and Angostura bitters combination on the rocks while staying at Cohill’s Inn [www.cohillsinn.com, 7 Water St., 733-4300] in Lubec. There co-owner and chief mixologist Glenn Charles prepares a “Smoked Old Fashioned” which is equal parts cocktail and mixologist-performance art. Charles uses the traditional Old Fashioned ingredients but before combining them in the glass, he pulled out a fancy, minismoker to fill an overturned glass with smoked apple, maple, cherry or whatever woodchips he decides to use. Once the glass is fully smoked, Charles quickly turns it right-side-up and mixes what is already a great and perfectly balanced Old Fashioned. All that smoke quickly dissipates, leaving just a hint of smoky essence on the back of the pallet. It’s a drink meant to be sipped, savored and combined with great conversation. Call me old fashioned, but to me that’s pretty close to perfection.
Your ad could be on this page. Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Food & Drink section. Call 990-8000.
— JULIA BAYLY www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 21
in season now
FOOD & DRINK
BLUEBERRIES
STORY & PHOTOS BY SARAH WALKER CARON
DIMINUTIVE, DEEP BLUE, fresh berries overflow in paper containers at the farmers market. They can be found clustered on bushes along hiking trails. They’re there, in barrens Down East. Perhaps you even have some bushes in your yard. In Maine, blueberries aren’t just a fruit, they’re an industry, a tradition, a religion that calls both teens and migrant workers to the fields. Maine is the largest wild blueberry producer in the United States, and — despite having a smaller than normal harvest in 2018 — they remain a major crop for this Northeastern state. The intermingling of blueberries in Maine culture is evident in the products you can find for sale from Maine companies and restaurants. Blueberry pancakes are a mainstay, but so is blueberry syrup, soda, salsa and even wine. Blueberries are in ciders and even a beloved Maine hot sauce. And in literature, they are the source of so many stories and settings for tales. “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey comes to mind immediately. So does “Grit” by Gillian French and “A Handful of Stars” by Cynthia Lord. Rich in antioxidants, blueberries are good food. According to Wild Blueberry Association of North America, a trade association representing farmers and processors in Maine and Canada, wild blueberries are low in calories, high in fiber and contain vitamin C. They are also an excellent source of manganese, which is important for bone development. They are also just plain good. From scones to muffins to cupcakes, blueberries are a favorite for good reason. SARAH WALKER CARON is the editor of Bangor Metro magazine and the author of several cookbooks including “One-Pot Pasta,” “The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook,” and “Grains as Mains.” Her latest cookbook, “The Easy Appetizer Cookbook,” is due out in October from Rockridge Press. She is also the creator of the popular food blog Sarah’s Cucina Bella (www.sarahscucinabella.com).
22 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
LEMON BLUEBERRY CUPCAKES Yields 12 cupcakes
CUPCAKES
INSTRUCTIONS
1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 large egg ½ cup milk ¼ cup olive oil zest of 1 lemon 1 cup blueberries
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
FROSTING ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 2 cups confectioner's sugar 2 tbsp lemon juice ½ tsp vanilla extract
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, milk, oil and lemon zest and stir until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners. Bake for 1820 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. Remove from the oven and let cool thoroughly. Once the cupcakes are cooled, combine all ingredients for the buttercream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until smooth. Decorate the cupcakes with buttercream, blueberries, sprinkles and more as desired.
MINI BLUEBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE SCONES Serves 8
INGREDIENTS 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 1/4 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, plus 1 tbsp reserved 2 large eggs 1/3 cup buttermilk Coarse sugar
INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt (a wire whisk is great for this). Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the 1/4 cup of cold butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the white chocolate chips and blueberries.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk until wellblended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just moistened. Stir gently from the inside out until the dry ingredients are all moistened. The dough will be crumbly. Turn out the dough out onto a floured board and with floured hands, pat into a 3/4-inch thick circle. Cut into 8 wedges, and then cut each wedge in half (creating 16 small wedges). Transfer the scones from the board to the baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and brush onto each of the scones. Sprinkle liberally with coarse sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until cooked through. The scones are done when the tops have bits of golden brown. Enjoy immediately. These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days — if they last that long.
BLUEBERRY CINNAMON SWIRL MUFFINS Yields 12 muffins
INGREDIENTS 1 large egg 1 cup milk ½ cup butter, melted and cooled 2 cups all purpose flour 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt 1 cup blueberries, rinsed
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and milk until well combined. Drizzle in the cooled butter a little at a time, whisking constantly, until combined. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl. Stir well until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the blueberries. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon layer ingredients.
½ cup granulated sugar 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
Add the batter to the muffin cups, filling them about 1/3 full. Divide half of the cinnamon mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Top with the remaining batter, dividing it evenly among the muffin cups, and then the remaining half of the cinnamon mixture.
INSTRUCTIONS
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out cleanly.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups in a muffin pan with liners.
Loosen the muffins from the pan with a knife. Enjoy, warm from the oven or cooled.
CINNAMON LAYER:
FOOD & DRINK
GRILLED HERBED-CRUST
PIZZA TAKE PIZZA NIGHT OUTSIDE & TO THE GRILL STORY & PHOTOS BY KATIE SMITH
MY FAMILY and I love pizza night. It’s a tradition I introduced my kids to after enjoying it with my family as a young girl. Every Saturday night, my mother made a nice smooth pizza dough, and my father would fry up the burger, chop the onion and peppers. The whole house would smell delicious. One evening a few years ago we were all craving some homemade, cheesy, doughy goodness but it was almost 100 degrees outside. I didn’t want to heat up our house any more than I had to — not to mention we don’t get delivery service in our area — and decided I’d try and grill the pizza instead. We couldn’t believe the results; our pizza looked and tasted like a brick oven pizza, and the oven didn’t have to compete with the air conditioner while a pizza cooked away. So, if you are looking to create a new tradition, or want to keep up with pizza night in the summer without heating up your house, or ordering out, you must try this grilled, herbed crust pizza. It just may be your new favorite meal.
GRILLED HERBED-CRUST PIZZA Yields 8 small rustic style pizzas
INGREDIENTS 1 package yeast 1 1/3 cups warm water 3 1/2 cups flour 1/3 cup olive oil plus extra for grilling Splash of red wine vinegar (this helps make your crust crispy) 1/2 cup chopped herbs of your choice — I always use basil, rosemary, and oregano. Pizza sauce of your choice 1 package shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups) 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese Cornmeal to sprinkle and salt for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS Start grill to preheat so it’s nice and hot when you are ready to cook your pizza — you are looking for medium-high heat. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand for a few minutes until fragrant. With a mixer or by hand, stir in all flour, oil, and vinegar until a smooth dough forms. Add more flour if necessary. Dough should be smooth, not sticky. Divide dough into 8 small portions and form into small pizza crusts. Brush both sides with oil, then sprinkle with cornmeal and salt. Place dough on grill for about 4 minutes or until bottom is slightly brown. Remove with tongs and place on a baking sheet, adding desired toppings. Place crusts back on the grill for an addition 4-5 minutes and you will have perfectly grilled pizza.
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HIKE ME
WATER TRIPS QUIET WATER TRIPS IN THE BANGOR AREA STORY & PHOTOS BY AISLINN SARNACKI
A GENTLE BREEZE stirred the surface of the lake, carving sparkling patterns into its surface. As the sun rose higher, the day rapidly warmed, shrugging off the chill of the night. Along the lakeshore, tall grasses swayed and whispered. A kingfisher lighted from a branch, and with rattling cry, dove into the water with a splash. The bird then rose back into the sky, a fish grasped in its sharp bill. At the public landing, two paddlers situated themselves in their canoe, buckling life vests and arranging fishing poles. At the center of their boat, a cooler held drinks and lunch. They planned to make a day of it. Just off shore, a loon surfaced. Water streamed down its sleek, dark head. One red eye caught the sun. And in the next moment, it was gone, swimming underwater in search for fish. Once ready, the paddlers pushed off from the dock. With each dip of their paddles, they were propelled farther out into the open water, aimed toward a distant island. The day was young, and they had a lot of exploring to do.
FIELDS POND
IN ORRINGTON
(Above) A great blue heron perches atop a tree on the edge of Fields Pond.
EASY Located just south of Bangor, Fields Pond is a popular place to fish, paddle and swim. It features a small island that’s engulfed on one side by a wetland area that attracts a wide variety of wildlife, including some famously large snapping turtles. Though sources vary greatly on the pond’s size, the Maine Audubon and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife agree that it covers just under 200 acres. The majority of the pond’s shore is undeveloped, with the exception of a few houses and camps on the north end. On the pond’s northeast end is the 212-acre Fields Pond Audubon Center, which features a trail network that explores fields, wetland areas and hilly forestland east of the pond. This trail network connects to the boat launch, which makes it easy to combine a quick hike with your paddle. DIRECTIONS: The public boat launch is located on Fields Pond Road in Orrington, just 0.2 mile west of the entrance to Fields Pond Audubon Center, located at 216 Fields Pond Road. If coming from the east, the boat launch is 2.4 miles from where Fields Pond Road intersects with Wiswell Road in Holden, and will be on your left. If coming from the west, the boat launch is 2.9 miles from where Fields Pond Road intersects with Brewer Lake Road in Orrington. The driveway to the boat launch and parking area is about 400 feet long.
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HEALTH & FITNESS
HIKE ME
SILVER LAKE IN BUCKSPORT EASY TO MODERATE The largest body of water in Bucksport, Silver Lake covers about 680 acres and features several small islands. With a public dock on its west shore, it’s a popular place to paddle and fish for bass. Most of the lake’s shoreline is undeveloped due to resource protection zoning, making it a great place to enjoy nature and spot wildlife. Bald eagles, osprey, muskrats and loons all call Silver Lake their home. Though the lake may appear natural, it’s actually man-made. It was dammed and flooded in 1930 to supply water to industrial processes at the nearby paper mill. The lake also serves as the town’s water source, so swimming is not permitted. Also, about halfway up the eastern side of the lake is a town-owned park that features over 2 miles of hiking trails and a hand-carry boat launch. This is a great place for paddlers to stop and stretch their legs. For more information, call the Bucksport Town Office at 207-469-7368. DIRECTIONS: The public boat launch for Silver Lake is located on Silver Lake Road in Bucksport, approximately 1.6 miles south of where Silver Lake Road intersects with Town Farm Road. If coming from the south, from Main Street in downtown Bucksport, turn onto McDonald Street (across from Sawyer Auto Sales) and drive 2.1 miles to the boat launch. Along the way, McDonald Street becomes Silver Lake Road. The boat launch includes a concrete ramp and a long wooden dock. Parking is not permitted at the launch. Unloading and loading of boats is limited to 10 minutes. A parking lot is located 200 feet down the road, to the south.
SILVER LAKE IN BUCKSPORT EASY TO MODERATE
The largest body of water in Bucksport, Silver Lake covers about 680 acres and features several small islands. With a public dock on its west shore, it’s a popular place to paddle and fish for bass. Most of the lake’s shoreline is undeveloped due to resource protection zoning, making it a great place to enjoy nature and spot wildlife. Bald eagles, osprey, muskrats and loons all call Silver Lake their home. Though the lake may appear natural, it’s actually man-made. It was dammed and flooded in 1930 to supply water to industrial processes at the nearby paper mill. The lake also serves as the town’s water source, so swimming is not permitted. Also, about halfway up the eastern side of the lake is a town-owned park that features over 2 miles of hiking trails and a hand-carry boat launch.This is a great place for paddlers to stop and stretch their legs. For more information, call the Bucksport Town Office at 207-469-7368. DIRECTIONS: The public boat launch for Silver Lake is located on Silver Lake Road in Bucksport, approximately 1.6 miles south of where Silver Lake Road intersects with Town Farm Road. If coming from the south, from Main Street in downtown Bucksport, turn onto McDonald Street (across from Sawyer Auto Sales) and drive 2.1 miles to the boat launch. Along the way, McDonald Street becomes Silver Lake Road. The boat launch includes a concrete ramp and a long wooden dock. Parking is not permitted at the launch. Unloading and loading of boats is limited to 10 minutes. A parking lot is located 200 feet down the road, to the south.
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HEALTH & FITNESS
HIKE ME
PUSHAW LAKE IN ORONO EASY TO CHALLENGING Sprawling over 5,000 acres just north of Bangor, Pushaw Lake has long been a place for Bangor area residents to enjoy a variety of water sports, including kayaking and canoeing. It can be a bit crowded during the dog days of summer, but if you arrive early in the morning or during a week day, you may avoid the hubbub. Several islands dot the lake’s south end, where Gould Landing is located. From smallest to largest, they are Mouse, Ram, Hardwood, Dollar and Moose islands. These can serve as paddling goals, destinations to visit or paddle around during your trip. While there are many houses and camps located along the shore of this lake, there’s also plenty of wilderness, including the Caribou Bog Wilderness Area located on the lake’s southeast side. Common wildlife sightings by paddlers at the lake include beavers, herons, loons, eagles, kingfishers, ducks and geese. For more information, contact the Orono Land Trust, which stewards Gould Landing for the Maine Department of Transportation. The land trust can be reached by email at oronolandtrust@gmail.com. DIRECTIONS: Gould Landing is located at the north end of Essex Street in Orono, about 6 miles north of where Essex Street intersects with Stillwater Avenue in Bangor.
AISLINN SARNACKI is a staff writer for Bangor Metro and the Outdoors and Homestead sections of the Bangor Daily News. An expert on the Maine outdoors, she is author of the guidebooks “Maine Hikes Off the Beaten Path,” “Family Friendly Hikes in Maine” and the newly released “Dog-Friendly Hikes in Maine.” Follow her adventures on her blog, actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com.
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HEALTH & FITNESS
Hey
BABY GIVING BIRTH IN MAINE BY NATALIE FEULNER
32 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
PHOTO: ©KIEFERPIX/ADOBE STOCK
BRING TO MIND AUGUST in Maine, and you may conjure up some combination of swimming in a nearby lake, eating a Gifford’s ice cream cone before it melts or spending time up at camp. But according to the Centers for Disease Control, August is also the most common month of the year to give birth. Since 2011, Maine has gained an average of 1,200 newly-born residents each year, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite the annual increase, some hospitals throughout the state — particularly in rural areas — have closed their obstetrics departments. Still, families in Maine have options when it comes to where and how they want to give birth. But what exactly should you be expecting (or considering) when expecting? Well that depends. WHERE TO DELIVER Emilynne Buchanan, an osteopathic physician and obstetrician/gynecologist at Bangor OBGYN, said expecting families should consider early on in a pregnancy about what they want for both their birthing experience and the safety of the mother and newborn. “There are different settings that range from home births to delivery in the hospital,” Buchanan said. “Each pregnancy comes with different risks, [and] decisions regarding the location of delivery should be discussed early in pregnancy.” Some locations, for example, she said, may not have immediate access to emergency obstetric or neonatal services. And families should familiarize themselves with not only the location where they plan to deliver but the route they will take when it comes time, taking into considering factors such as winter road conditions or tourism traffic in the summer and fall. For some Maine families, finding the right setting may mean looking beyond their local hospital. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 33
Katie Brydon, a mother of three, said after a challenging first birth while living in Washington D.C., she knew she wanted to find a birthing center that offered the option to use a midwifery practice but also access to services traditionally provided in a hospital. Though initially surprised by the limited options of those offerings in eastern Maine, Brydon ultimately chose to travel to Ellsworth to deliver with the Maine Coast Women’s Care midwives at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. “MCWC was the experience I was looking for,” she said. “The midwives were engaging, personable, professional and prepared me for all options.” Mother of 4-year-old twins Lauren Holleb Surrette said she’d also encourage other parents — particularly those expecting 34 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
multiples — to ask plenty of questions about the unique challenges they might face such as specific policies related to twin/triplet births, or concerns about breastfeeding. “I sought out an OB that had significant experience delivering multiples and who came recommended by other women and women who had twins,” Holleb Surrette said adding that even still, she was surprised by a policy that required her twins to go straight to the NICU. “It was also important to me that the OB I selected was supportive of vaginal birth for twins if this was safe for [both] babies.” FINDING A TRIBE It isn’t just where to give birth that’s important, Buchanan said. Postpartum care and ongoing support can be just as crucial for families to consider as where
they want to deliver. Fortunately, for many Mainers, nonprofits and support groups abound for everything from breastfeeding to babywearing, to infant loss. “Starting before birth our office … offers childbirth classes [and] every time we celebrate a birth we offer in-hospital and home lactation consultations to assist with breastfeeding success as well as weekly breastfeeding support groups,” Buchanan said. “Other area resources include prenatal yoga and massage … many local gyms offer modifications for the pregnancy-related continuation of training.” And, she said, don’t forget to ask if either a local osteopathic physician can help treat the aches and pains brought on by pregnancy using manipulation. Both Brydon and Holleb Surrette said
PHOTO: ©EMILIAU/ADOBE STOCK
HEALTH & FITNESS
Expecting a baby in August OR LATER THIS YEAR? HERE ARE A FEW RESOURCES TO EXPLORE: HOSPITALS: Hospitals throughout Maine offer families highly specialized care and access resources such as neonatal intensive care units. Contact your local hospital for information about the birth services provided and schedule a tour of the labor and delivery floor. While there, ask about pain management options, birth planning and consider requesting information about what type of support groups and postpartum care is available. BIRTH CENTERS: Birth centers such as Bangor’s Holly No.7 Birth Center, Family Health located in a former fire station, offer an alternative to parents not comfortable with a homebirth, but looking for an option outside of a hospital. They offer family-centered birth experiences, may have birthing tubs available and are staffed by trained midwives. ONLINE RESOURCES: Social media has opened a way for families around the state to connect virtually, and many offer in-person groups that meet regularly. In addition, the Maine Health Data Organization recently launched a website called comparemaine.org, which aims to make expected patient costs more accessible for many standard medical procedures, including birth. The website also provides rating and information such as patient experience compared to state and national averages. Facebook groups can offer support for everything from cloth diapering to twin parenting and are chock full of other parents asking questions and offering one another support.
PHOTOS: CORALIE CROSS
DOULA SERVICES: The word “doula” comes from the Greek word meaning “woman's servant.” In the more modern sense, a doula provides emotional and physical labor and postpartum support to mothers. A doula can also act as an advocate, helping ensure a family’s desires for birth are achieved. According to Americanpregnancy.org, the key to choosing a doula is finding a person with whom you feel comfortable, so take the time to do initial interviews and find the right fit for you and your family.
finding a group of women with similar values and babies around the same ages, was also essential to their transition into motherhood. Holleb Surrette joined a Facebook page for Maine families with multiples and still meets up with several women she met through the group. “I decided to attend while I was still pregnant as twins were a surprise [and] the other moms were a great resource and many have become friends,” she said. “It’s great to have a community of others who have gone or are going through the same thing as you.” Buchanan said she encourages her patients to consider seeking support from Maine Families, a program that sends nurses into the community to offer home visits to newborn infants and provide additional support to new families. And
for those who have suffered pregnancy and infant loss, there are additional support groups in the area such as Empty Arms, a Bangor-based nonprofit that holds support group meetings monthly. Brydon said she also tells mothers or families who are expecting to consider reaching out to a group because the information gained — both professional and personal — can be priceless. “When pregnant, we all spend plenty of time in bathroom stalls that are plastered with fliers for classes, meetings, networks, all of which easily fade into the chaos leading up to birth. But read the fliers. Go to the classes. Make the connections,” she said. “For me, these support groups weren’t just about advice or help with the new baby. It was a life-saver during my
postpartum adjustment. It got me out of the house and helped me feel not so alone in the confusion of newborns. It introduced me to new friends and took my mind off the clock-watching-monotony of timing between diapers, feedings, naps, and doing it all over again.” Plus, Brydon said, as they grew older, her children had a built-in group of peers. “It was an opportunity to not only address all things breastfeeding, but to discuss the hardships, the frustrations and the triumphs as we all navigated our way through motherhood,” Brydon said. “And now, five years later, many of those strong, incredible women are still my closest friends, and our children play together and are navigating their way through the confusion and glory that is childhood.” www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 35
HOW-TO
CRAFTING WITH KIDS
SPONGE
WATER BOMBS BACKYARD SUMMER FUN JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT COOLER STORY & PHOTOS BY AMY ALLEN
A HOT, HUMID SUMMER DAY in Maine can be brutal if you don’t have access to water to cool off for a bit. When my family can’t make it to a lake or pool, we get out the sprinkler, the hose, the kiddie pool, fill up some water balloons — whatever we can do to get wet and cool down. This summer we discovered this fun and simple craft project that took minutes to make and provided hours of splashing fun. These reusable water bombs require just a few supplies, and they are a great alternative to water balloons. Sure, water balloons are fun, but picking up a million tiny, wet, plastic pieces from your yard afterward is no fun at all. Not to mention that these water bombs are a little more environmentally friendly and can be used again and again. Even in the tub at bathtime. Beyond just having a good old-fashioned water fight and throwing these water bombs at each other, there are lots of games to play to keep the fun going. Here are a few ideas: WATER BOMB LONG TOSS: Start with a toss close together then take a step back (and re-dip the water bomb) after each completed pass. FILL THE BUCKET: Run back and forth to move water from one full bucket to an empty one. SPONGE DODGEBALL: Just like regular dodgeball, but with water bombs. Get hit and you’re out; catch a water bomb and the thrower is out. 36 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: • Sponges • Scissors
• String • Bucket
DIRECTIONS & TIPS 1. Cut the sponges into long strips — depending on the size of your sponges, cut about four strips per sponge. We used two average-sized sponges (eight strips) to make each bomb. 2. Stack the strips. Tie a piece of string (a rubber band would work too) around the middle very tightly and knot it well. If your sponges are hard and dry, get them damp before tying the string to ensure a tight knot in the middle. Trim the string. 3. Take your water bombs outside, dunk in water and have fun!
with KIDS
CREATE IT AT HOME
TO C A R E F W O O
R
H
HOW-TO
CAST IRON COOKWARE TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST YEARS OUT OF YOUR POTS & PANS
IT DOESN’T TAKE much to get Fritz Appleby, a retired Maine State Park manager, to wax rhapsodic about his love of classic cast iron cookware. Appleby owns a couple of hundred pieces of the heavy duty, long-lived pots and pans — and that’s after a recent downsizing. He’s got skillets, Dutch ovens, griddles, muffin pans, waffle irons and more, and what’s more, he uses them — even the ones that date back to before the Civil War. “It’s going to last generations,” he said of cast iron cookware. “If your grandmother handed you some pans she cooked on, and you’re still using them, wow! That’s a lot of history right there. Holding a piece in your hands that’s pre38 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
Civil War, you can’t help but think of some of the campfires it’s seen. It’s pretty neat.” But getting all those years of use out of cast iron cookware requires that cooks take good care of their pieces. What’s the best way to do that? For some of us, our knowledge of cast iron care begins and ends with the understanding that using soap to clean cast iron has the same effect on your pans that Kryptonite had on Superman: in short, don’t do it. But that’s not the whole story. Here are tips on how to best maintain cast iron from Appleby and the helpful folks at Rooster Brother in Ellsworth, a cooking supply store that sells a lot of cast iron and knows how to treat it.
PHOTO: ©MANUTA/ADOBE STOCK
BY ABIGAIL CURTIS
When bringing a new pan home, SCOUR IT THOROUGHLY with hot, soapy water and a steel pad. This removes the machine oil from the pan and opens it up for seasoning, according to the Rooster Brother cast iron tip sheet. Dry the pan well and PUT IT ON YOUR STOVETOP OVER LOW HEAT. When the pan is hot enough to evaporate a drop of water, put in some oil (peanut oil is recommended by the staff at Rooster Brother) and rub it into the metal with a paper towel. Keep rubbing it intermittently for half an hour, keeping the pan on low heat the whole time. At first, the paper towel will turn black, but keep on changing towels until it becomes clean. After 30 minutes, wipe off excess oil. According to cast iron maker, Lodge Cast Iron, any food-safe cooking oil or shortening will work for maintaining cookware, but the company recommends using vegetable or canola oil. Olive oil is not recommended for seasoning because it has a very low smoke point. Some people prefer to SEASON NEWER PANS IN THE OVEN, covering every inch of the pan with a thin, even layer of melted Crisco or vegetable oil such as peanut. Then put the pan upside down on a shallow, tinfoil-lined baking pan and put it in a 350-degree oven. After an hour, turn the heat off and allow the pan to cool all the way down before taking it out of the oven. Your pan is now seasoned. To keep it that way, you will need to ALWAYS CLEAN IT IMMEDIATELY after use, while the pan is still warm, with hot water and a brush. Don’t use soap, Rooster Brother staff say. Dry the pan well and wipe it with a little oil. TO AVOID FOOD STICKING ON YOUR PAN, always heat it until it will evaporate a drop of water, then add your oil. Wait until the oil is hot before cooking. Cast iron is hardy, but there are SOME THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR, according to Appleby. “They can take a lot of abuse, unless you drop them, or they get warped, or cracked. They’re not much good after that,” he said, adding that in addition to not dropping the cookware, users should be careful not to change the temperature too fast. Don’t take them out of a hot oven and put them into icy cold water, for example. When cooking, Appleby heats up the pans to medium — not high — and USES PLENTY OF OIL OR BACON FAT before he puts food in them. When he’s done cooking and serving, he puts hot water in the pan and lets it soak. After the meal, he uses a plastic scraper to scrape out food residue from the pan, then he rinses the pan under hot water and wipes it out. “I put it on a burner on low heat and then I wipe it down with oil,” he said. “If you treat it right, it really is the original non-stick cookware. Your food really doesn’t stick.” Appleby is not as strict on the “NO SOAP” RULE as some. Sometimes, cookedon food is not easy to remove from a pan. Fish, especially, can require tougher cleaning protocols, and he uses a little dish soap. “Soap and water is not really going to hurt it,” he said. “But I wouldn’t soak it in that for a long time. If you do, it can break down the finish you’ve built up. The seasoning. The pans do get black and glossy over time, and that’s what you want.” This originally appeared in the Bangor Daily News.
at
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HOME & FAMILY
MAKING THE MOST OF
SUMMER END OF SUMMER FAMILY TRADITIONS IN MAINE BY CRYSTAL SANDS
IN THE SUMMER, Maine is surely one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The warm days often lead to cooler nights. The green of the trees and the bloom of the flowers can be breathtaking. As summer begins to fade, the shadows grow long and the evenings grow cooler. Mainers know that fall is coming and the long winter will follow, leaving many Mainers with the feeling that it is important to make the most of the last days of summer. End-of-summer traditions, from berry picking to time at camp, help garner a little more of summer’s joy. WHY WE LOVE SUMMER’S END With her oldest beginning his junior year of high school and her youngest entering first grade, mom Andrea Mahoney of Hampden realizes how important it is to make the most of summers while “everyone is still under one roof.” “My favorite part about Maine summers is that we are able to get out and truly enjoy each day. I love that it is light out so late and that we can enjoy the warmth with the windows open. The birds singing, kids playing outside from morning until night — growing up in Las Vegas, these things were not as common,” Mahoney, a teacher, said. Bangor mom Katie Hardy agrees. “As a mother, I think we need to cherish every summer we have with our children. I want to make as many summer memories with my children as I can,” Hardy said.
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Sara Yasner’s kids make s’mores to celebrate summer in Clifton. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 41
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HOME & FAMILY REALTORS
Crystal Sands’ son digs at Sand Beach in Acadia National Park.
END OF SUMMER TRIPS With so much to experience in Maine — from the mountains to the ocean — day trips are a great way to squeeze a few more summer activities in before the season ends. There are trips to Winter Harbor for delicious fish and chips at Chase’s Restaurant followed by an afternoon climbing on coastal rocks and an early-morning visits to the coast to watch the sunrise over the ocean. Maine is also home to some unique sites — like the Desert of Maine in Freeport and Thunderhole at Acadia National Park. Both make for good summer experiences. Spending time with families and friends in special locations can also make for wonderful end-of-summer memories. “A few years ago, my friend, who has a family house on the ocean, invited us for a few nights at the end of August. Now, it has become a tradition — a lovely time to savor the last days of warmth and bright sun while we walk along the beach, play in the water and enjoy the sounds and smells of summer in Maine,” said Sara Yasner of Clifton. As summer ends, the Mahoney family has a tradition of visiting Fort Knox with friends and the Maritime Museum in Searsport. “It is quite a hidden little gem that we discovered and plan to share with others,” said Mahoney. “I feel like, in August, we are squeezing in ‘one-last-time trips” to all of our favorite places like China Lake or Papermill Park.” GET OUTSIDE Trips to camp, Maine beaches and Storyland in New Hampshire are among the things that the Hardy family tries to fit in at the end of summer. But when the weather turns, they aim to get outdoors more.
“When the weather gets cooler, we try to do some hiking, such as Chick Hill,” Hardy said. Beyond hiking, families can take advantage of seasonal pick-your-own farms for a unique experience. Blueberry season in August and apple season in September provide Maine families with opportunities for berry and apple picking, as well as farm visits. END-OF-SUMMER FAIRS AND FESTIVALS Late summer and early fall fairs also provide opportunity for family traditions to mark the end of summer and the return of fall. The American Folk Festival takes place near the end of August each year (it’s August 23-25 this year), bringing a variety of musical acts, food vendors and more to the Bangor Waterfront. In Blue Hill, a traditional country fair draws families from all over. The Blue Hill Fair is held on Labor Day Weekend and features rides, entertainment and visits with animals. The Common Ground Fair in Unity will be held September 20-22 this year, marking the end of summer for many Maine families. From animals to songs to farming education, the Common Ground has a little of everything. With winter on the horizon at the end of summer, end-of-summer traditions can be good for the soul, as Maine families work to hang out to the last bits of such a wonderful summer season. Perhaps Mahoney says it best when it comes to treasuring the summers in Maine: “I love that there are so many outdoor events all around Maine to enjoy, to really go out and take advantage of the nice weather before we are all hunkered down for winter again.”
Your listing could be on this page. Sell it faster. Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Home section. Call 990-8000.
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HOME & FAMILY
Exploring
SUMMER EVER TRIED ‘GUNKHOLING’? MAINE IS THE PERFECT PLACE FOR IT BY SARAH COTTRELL
PHOTO: ©CHARLOTTE_D/ADOBE STOCK
DID YOU KNOW that Maine has the fourth longest coastline in the United States? With 3,478 miles of craggy coastline (that includes all of those tiny islands), Maine has more places to explore along the shore than California. That is why ‘gunkholing’ is the perfect way to spend a summer day in Maine. ‘Gunkholing’ is an old sailing term that refers to using a rowboat to explore shallow waters in a slow and meandering way. The term originally referred to the gunky or muddy bottoms of creeks and rivers but modern sailors use the term to describe exploring little known or undiscovered places in a coastal area. Gunkholing is especially fun if one is looking for privacy in an overcrowded marina. Simply hop in a dinghy and paddle about those small alcoves where larger boats cannot fit. You might be astonished at what you might find from marine life like starfish and hermit crabs to secluded privacy to enjoy a little solitude. To plan an ideal day trip of gunkholing, pack a picnic of cold sandwiches and plenty of drinking water, binoculars, a map, sunscreen, and a camera phone to capture the magic of your lazy summer day adventure. Be sure to dress in layers as the weather along the Maine coast can be fickle. Then, with a few lovely hours stretching out in front of you, explore to your heart’s content. Be sure to use best boating safety practices. To learn more about boating safety, please check out the United States Coast Guard’s tips at www.uscgboating.org.
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FEATURE
Thriving
DOWNTOWNS HOW THESE MAINE DOWNTOWNS TURNED THEMSELVES AROUND BY SAM SCHIPANI
A THRIVING DOWNTOWN will thrum with life from dawn to dusk. A mix of long-time residents, newcomers and tourists will line the streets, whether they are shopping, dining or just enjoying a day in the park. The buildings will be wellkept, and the storefront windows will be filled with unique displays from a variety of businesses, from grocers to gift shops. Lately, downtown Bucksport looks a lot like this idealized picture of a downtown, but it wasn’t always that way. In 2014, after over eight decades of
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operation, the Verso paper mill shut down in Bucksport. The town was devastated. Over 500 employees lost their jobs, the town tax base shrunk by 40 percent and the economic heart of the town stopped beating. Though life as the community knew it in Bucksport seemed over, the town council, business owners and citizens decided to turn their grief into opportunity. The community banded together to turn the downtown area into a place that people — and, perhaps, new industries — would want to be.
“[The redevelopment of downtown Bucksport] really took off in 2014 when the mill closed, which seems sort of counterintuitive doesn’t it?” said Leslie Wombacher, executive director of the Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s all about timing. Folks in the area got together and decided to really take on the main street ideals.” Main Street Bucksport, an organization dedicated to the revitalization of the town’s downtown, formed weeks after the mill closure announcement.
PHOTO: BDN FILE
Brook Minner, co-founder and executive director of Main Street Bucksport, said that the group’s approach to downtown redevelopment has been three-pronged: to cultivate the existing business community, to personally work with potential new business owners to highlight all the area has to offer and to host events like the Bucksport Arts Festival and the International Maritime Film Festival to get feet on the downtown streets. “That’s what we’ve been doing for the past four and a half years,” Minner said.
“Part of why Bucksport has seen a lot of success is that people are working together. We work very closely with the town itself. We’re all moving in the same direction with the same goals.” Minner said that nearly a dozen businesses have opened in downtown Bucksport since the mill closed in 2014. “Right now, as far as I am aware, there’s only one empty building on Main Street,” Wombacher said. “That’s kind of amazing. There were more empty spaces when the mill was operating than now.”
Andy Lacher, owner of BookStacks in downtown Bucksport, has witnessed this transition first-hand. His bookstore has been in Bucksport since 1997, and he said that BookStacks has seen better sales in the last few years than in the last 20 years of business. “Things are gradually getting better,” Lacher said. “There [are] more stores opening, and more people who have moved here that don’t think about Bangor and Ellsworth of being ‘town.’ They think that [Bucksport] is ‘town.’ There’s just too many good things here.”
Downtown Belfast on a late summer evening. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 47
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THE HEART AND SOUL OF THE CITY Though Bucksport’s story is remarkable in its own right, it is not unique — there are several downtown areas in Maine that have made major strides over the past few decades, transforming into economic, social and cultural hubs. According to Anne Ball, program director at the Maine Development Foundation (MDF), there are 10 downtown areas in Maine that are nationally designated Main Street Communities. These areas meet the national standard for the Main Street Approach, a tried-and-true framework for downtown redevelopment heralded for over four decades by the organization Main Street America. Main Street Maine, the branch of Main Street America dedicated to Main Street Communities in the state, was founded in 1999. “These downtowns are often the heart and soul of a community,” Ball said. “They are where people want to gather.” There are four “points” of the Main Street Approach: economic vitality, which focuses on building a diverse downtown business community and encouraging new investment; design, which balances historic preservation with new public infrastructure; organization, or fostering supportive local leadership and connections between sectors; and promotion through telling the town’s story in a way that highlights its assets and supporting the buy local movement. 48 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
PHOTOS: (TOP) GABOR DEGRE; (BOTTOM) SAM SCHIPANI
The Verso Paper mill in Bucksport in its final days of operation. (Below) Downtown Bucksport’s vibrant downtown today, including BookStacks bookstore.
PHOTOS: (TOP) COURTESY OF THE BELFAST HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM; (BOTTOM) GABOR DEGRE
Even though there are only 10 nationally designated Main Street Communities in Maine, there is a constellation of 17 other affiliated communities that are working with organizations like the MDF to revitalize their downtown areas. Bucksport, for example, is a state-designated Maine Downtown Affiliate Community. Even downtown areas that are not affiliated with the program have used the techniques in their own downtown redevelopment. Bangor, for instance, began its downtown revitalization process in the early 1990s, according to Tanya Emery, director of community development for the city of Bangor. “We are not a Main Street Community,” said Emery. “We were at this before those groups got started. We had our model that was working well for us.” The city developed its own framework for redevelopment. However, incidentally or organically, many of the principles that Bangor followed in its own downtown redevelopment ultimately adhered to the time-tested Main Street Approach, Emery said.
(Above) Demolition of the Penobscot Poultry building in 1997. The site is now the location of Belfast Common Park. (This photo) People walk around in downtown Belfast..
HOW REDEVELOPMENT BEGINS Downtown redevelopment usually has a catalyst. A major change in the business landscape, like the loss of the Verso paper mill in Bucksport and the Penobscot Poultry processing plant in Belfast in 1988 (the plant, which also famously filled the downtown streets with chicken feathers and odor, has since been converted into a community park called Belfast Commons), or the gain of MBNA — which would eventually become Bank of America — in Rockland, could kickstart downtown reinvestment. The relationship between downtown redevelopment and industry is somewhat chicken and egg. In Bucksport, the redeveloped downtown area attracted new employers to the city, while the arrival and investment of MBNA guaranteed a steady stream of customers to potential business owners in Rockland. Other downtown leaders cite a gradual shift in the retail market as the progenitor of change, but the story is often more complicated than that. “I think what’s important is to understand that for [Bangor] it’s never been either or: we’re focused on downtown, or we’re focused on the mall,” Emery said. Emery explained that the revitalization of downtown Bangor was more a sign of www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 49
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the times than of the city’s attention. In the 70s, as strip malls gained popularity, downtowns became less attractive to investors. The tables turned in the mid-90s, she explained, as consumers looking for a fresh retail experience meant that investors were more interested in helping downtown areas rebound from the challenges they had developed. A similar story played out in other areas of Maine. Janna Richards has only worked as the economic development director for the City of Ellsworth since November 2018, but she said her predecessors marked the change in traditional retail in the early 2000s as the beginning of Ellsworth investing in its downtown. Increasingly, the diversity of experiences — including arts, dining and outdoor recreation in Ellsworth’s Harbor Park and Marina — has made downtown 50 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
shopping appealing in an era where shopping alone can be done with a click of a button online. Richards illustrated this change with the Maine Grind building, a converted multi-use mason building in downtown Ellsworth that contains a mix of businesses ranging from the Seven Arts Local Artisan Gallery and The Natural Alternative massage studio to the Hancock Soil and Water Conservation District and law offices. “It’s the first of its kind in this area,” Richards said. “It has pretty much all of the different types of services — amenities, food, art [and] retail, all built into one building. That was kind of cutting edge, particularly Ellsworth that was stuck in a model of just retail. If you cluster similar types of uses together they kind of all feed off each other.”
THE CHALLENGES OF REVIVING MAINE’S DOWNTOWN AREAS Though Maine’s downtowns have their advantages — Ball said the quality of historic buildings and the ease of access to outdoor recreation are among the aspects that stand out to her — there are challenges to redeveloping downtown areas in Maine. Finding the funds to redevelop a downtown area from an ever-shrinking tax base is one such challenge. Though tourism dollars can bolster a reviving downtown — Bucksport, for example, hopes to become a cruise ship destination — experts agree that a successful downtown area must be vibrant all day and year round, even in the middle of a Maine winter. “One of the big things is figuring out how to have life be 24 hours,” Ball said. “You have to make [the downtowns] active
PHOTO: LINDA COAN O’KRESIK
Airline Brewing Co., a British-style pub, and The Grand add interest and variety to Main Street, Ellsworth.
beyond the summer tourism season. They need to be vibrant places year round.” Downtown Ellsworth serves as one of the gateway communities for Acadia National Park, but unlike downtown areas like Bar Harbor that live and die on tourism dollars, Ellsworth is more focused on meeting the needs of its residents. “We’ve done a really great job of highlighting Ellsworth as an authentic downtown [with] a mix of service-based and retail-based businesses,” said Cara Romano, executive director of Heart of Ellsworth. “Being able to have the option to get 75 to 80 percent of what you need on a daily basis [is essential].” Downtown Belfast, which is one of the 10 nationally-designated Main Street Communities in Maine, has also made efforts to promote year round activity. The city hosts winter events like the Belfast Winter Whoopla and has made local trails accessible to cross country skiing and snowshoeing. “It’s a year round community,” said Steve Ryan, executive director of the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce. “We don’t close down in the winter. You feel like you’re in My Town USA as opposed to some place you’re visiting and you’ll spend some money and bring back souvenirs.” BRINGING BUSINESS BACK TO MAIN STREET A tight-knit, supportive business community that cares just as much about cultivating a downtown experience as they do their bottom line has proven essential to downtown redevelopment in Maine. In fact, many business owners recognized that the two are inextricably linked. “I see a level of collaboration between people who, from the outside, are seen as competitors,” Emery said of downtown Bangor. “It’s not a cut-throat environment. It’s an environment of collaboration and support, of rising tide lifts all boats.” Emery said that organizations like the Downtown Bangor Partnership help foster these connections between the community and business owners. “We have a common meeting space and a common objective,” she said. “When I see the level of excitement and enthusiasm, [it’s like], ‘We’re all in this together, let’s come up with some cool events that will bring people into downtown, let’s leverage the arts and culture institutions that we have.’” The inclusion of arts and culture in the business mix is also key to successful www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 51
Valentine Footwear on Main Street in Bangor with Penobscot Theatre in the background.
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redevelopment — not just aesthetically, but economically. According to a study conducted by the Americans for the Arts, the non-profit arts and culture sector generates $10 million annually for the city of Bangor. “Our arts organizations, and the amount of people who come to my store and go to other local businesses because of the theater, is just amazing,” said Summer Allen, owner of Valentine Footwear, who has been in downtown Bangor next to the Penobscot Theater since 2011. “Parents dropping off kids [for the Penobscot Theatre Dramatic Academy] go to the business next door. We get people browsing before shows. It’s just these fun, organic ways of growing downtown.” When Nick Turner moved from Colorado to Maine in 2017 to take the reins as executive director of The Grand, a performing arts center for cinema, live theater and events in downtown Ellsworth, he positioned the 81-year-old institution as an essential part of the future of downtown development. “Part of my strategy has always been working closely with businesses and organizations,” Turner said. “When I went to the city council, I communicated how important The Grand is to the economic future of Ellsworth. A lot of businesses here have the same philosophy.” Tom Luttrell, city manager of Rockland, said that part of the area’s transition from a “rough, tough” place to the “arts capital of Maine” had to do, in part, with MBNA’s investment in the city’s art scene in the early 2000s when they moved in. “They set up shop on the waterfront, they did a boardwalk and started investing in the city. They put money into the Farnsworth [Art Museum],” Luttrell said. “I think that helped to grow Rockland and put us on the map as an arts capital. It put us on the art scene, which brings people in.” As its reputation has grown, Rockland has looked for creative ways to continue growing without pricing out potential talent. The city recently passed a proposal by the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation to convert an old high school building into affordable housing for artists in downtown Rockland. Luttrell — and other leaders across towns that have successfully redeveloped — cited another important component of downtown redevelopment: buy-in from the community. When downtown Rockland was designated as a Tax Incentive Fund
PHOTOS: LINDA COAN O’KRESIK; (OPPOSITE) GABOR DEGRE
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district — a common mechanism to incentivize growth in struggling towns by earmarking property tax funds for economic development — Luttrell said that he held a number of public workshops to both ensure that residents understood the upcoming changes and had an opportunity to provide feedback. “[It’s] mainly [about] listening to the concerns of the citizens throughout the entire city and make sure everyone is being heard and taken care of,” Luttrell said. “If you don’t have the buy-in from the people who live here, work here, shop here and make the decisions like our city council, I think your downtown can suffer.” If the community is committed to redevelopment, the signs are obvious. The storefronts will be full, people will be enjoying the parks, the streets will be bustling with pedestrians and business owners will make an extra effort to keep the buildings beautiful. Ultimately, the key to redeveloping Maine’s downtown areas is to build them for Mainers.
Main Street in downtown Rockland.
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FEATURE
THE WAY LIFE A HISTORY OF VACATIONLAND BY RICHARD SHAW
IN THE SUMMER OF 1933, accompanied by her close friend Lorena Hickok, Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on a history-making road trip. Her husband, Franklin, had been president only four months when the women set out for Quebec in the first lady's Buick roadster convertible.
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The 49-year-old Eleanor, initially awkward in the White House, had cut a deal with the Secret Service before escaping the Washington fishbowl. She wouldn’t have to travel with an armed auto escort if she packed a revolver in her handbag for protection. The unique
SHOULD BE
Sunbathing at Rangeley’s Public Landing, circa 1955. COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAW
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Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok in the Buick Roadster during the summer of 1933.
(Below) Golfers (shown here in 1925) still visit the Poland Spring Resort, but the large hotel is now gone. POSTCARD COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAW
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arrangement, unthinkable today, involved Mrs. Roosevelt taking shooting lessons and keeping a low profile while behind the wheel. After visiting the family cottage in Campobello, New Brunswick, and other Canadian locales, the pair encountered dense fog on U.S. Route 2 in tiny Dyer Brook, south of Houlton. They were en route to Lakewood Theater in Madison, where they were to attend a play the following evening. Unable to travel another mile, the women pulled into the modest Ellis Farm tourist court (no motels back then), where they spent the night like ordinary people. Maine’s past is brimming with similar oddball vacation stories featuring visitors “from away” on the loose in Vacationland, a nickname that first appeared on license plates in 1936. In 1960, John Steinbeck penned his classic 10,000-mile chronicle, “Travels with Charley: In Search of America.” With a standard poodle by his side, Steinbeck guided his camper around the nation, eventually arriving in Deer Isle with a police escort when he became lost while searching for a friend’s home. Steinbeck was told never to ask a Maine native for directions. “Why ever not?” he asked. The reply came: “Somehow we think it is funny to misdirect people, and we don’t smile when we do it, but we laugh inwardly. It is our nature.” You could argue that our region’s first vacationers were explorers with foreign names such as Estevan Gomez and Samuel de Champlain, who, in the 16th and 17th centuries, respectively, explored our coastline and sailed up the Penobscot River to the future city of Bangor. But they may have been too busy keeping journals and charts to fully enjoy the experience. Fast forward to the 19th century, when Maine, a state since 1820, became a place worth visiting. Entrepreneurs touted the beautiful and mysterious land that bordered two Canadian provinces and only one other state, that had islands nobody had ever visited, and that was almost as large as the other five New England states combined. “Tourism in Maine really boomed after the Civil War,” said author Sanford Phippen. “Particularly in the 1880s, steamboats were faster and
PHOTOS: TKTK
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rail lines were improved. That drew visitors from throughout the nation.” State historian Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. has written about this era of expansion, especially along the Maine coast. And in 1982, Phippen helped produce a video titled, “A Century of Summers,” which chronicles the mix of seasonal and full-time residents in his home town of Hancock Point. Some married each other, creating a mashup of cultures and classes. “People with names like Sheehan, O’Meara and McKernan, the ancestors of future Maine governor, John R. McKernan Jr., of Bangor, owned cottages here,” Phippen said. “It was a bustling place, where millionaires and common folk passed through Mount Desert Ferry, a nearby steamboat hub that provided access to Bar Harbor, which lacked railway access to the mainland.” Henry Ford scored points with the steamboat crew, Phippen said, as he hung out in the engine room, while fellow millionaire and seasonal Mount Desert Island resident, John D. Rockefeller Sr., sat
stone-faced in first class, a sure way to rub rock-ribbed Yankees the wrong way. STEINBECK WAS Painters, poets and musicians known as “summer TOLD NEVER TO ASK A rusticators” built seaside cottages at “The Point,” as MAINE NATIVE FOR well as in Blue Hill, Bar Harbor and Northport. DIRECTIONS. “WHY EVER Many still stand as reminders of the Gilded NOT?” HE ASKED. Age, when the best THE REPLY CAME: way to make friends in Maine was not to “SOMEHOW WE THINK IT IS flaunt one’s affluence. Mammoth hotels FUNNY TO MISDIRECT in Poland Spring, Rockland and Kineo, on PEOPLE, AND WE Moosehead Lake, began luring visitors from Boston DON’T SMILE WHEN and New York. Many spent the entire summer playing golf WE DO IT...” and “taking the air.” Jim Harnedy, a Machiasport author, recalled a long, but rewarding, drive in 1940 from his family’s home in
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(Clockwise from top left) The piazza at the Kineo House on Moosehead Lake, circa 1915. The Gem Pavilion on Peaks Island, since here in 1915, was a popular destination for summer visitors. Vacationing president William Howard Taft hits the links at Kebo Valley Golf Club in Bar Harbor during the summer of 1910. Houlton’s downtown, with crowds at two movie theaters, circa 1943. IMAGES COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAW
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Think you can’t afford your own home? Think again. Brookline, Mass., to Capen’s family farm and sporting camps on Moosehead’s Deer Island. “A trip to Maine’s great north woods region was a two-day trek,” Harnedy wrote in “Forgotten Tales of Down East Maine,” published in May by The History Press. “The first leg of the trip was a six- to sevenhour drive from Brookline to Augusta. … The next morning we were on the road again by 7:30 a.m. It was still a long drive of more than 150 miles from Augusta to Greenville, where the road ended. ...” In 1947, the first section of the Maine Turnpike linked Kittery with Portland. By the mid-1950s, the Turnpike Authority had extended the highway to Augusta, greatly improving highway travel. Eventually, I-95 would stretch north to Houlton. By then, Maine had the twin gems Baxter State Park and Acadia National Park to lure travelers and a growing network of mountain and seaside trails. Not to mention state-operated picnic areas, many of which have vanished from today’s changing landscape. Now, travelers had another option aside from the old U.S. Route 1 as they visited the midcoast meccas of Wiscasset, Boothbay Harbor and Rockland, the Casco Bay islands and Old Orchard Beach, which boasts a seasonal Quebecois population. It is also the place where Joseph Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald fell in love before marrying in 1914. Peter Dow Bachelder wrote about Old Orchard’s past in the 1998 book, “The Great Seal Pier: An Illustrated History of the Old Orchard Beach Pier,” where vacationing couples danced to the music of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. Today, families probably wouldn’t spend the entire summer in one big hotel, as their ancestors had done in a simpler time. There are cruise ships to board, time-share units to visit, and Twitter and Facebook to monitor back at home. But the Pine Tree State is still Vacationland. A new sign at the Kittery border, inspired by Gov. Janet Mills, proclaims “Welcome Home.” The Maine Tourism Association works hard to get visitors white water rafting at The Forks, downhill skiing at Sugarloaf, and antiquing in Hallowell. And there is always the legacy of George and Barbara Bush to inspire a visit to Kennebunkport. This is still “The Way Life Should Be,” and promises to stay that way for generations to come.
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ESSAY
Summer is a
RAFT BY TODD NELSON
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DIP YOUR TOES IN THE CURRENT OF LANGUOR AND DRIFTING—THE CURRENT OF CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION.
PHOTO: PEARGB2015/ADOBE STOCK
Every so often, it’s good to let yourself drift, to just follow the current and see where it takes you; to leave an hour, a morning, a day unplanned; to enter open space and time and invite its effects. The artist Paul Klee spoke of drawing as “taking a line out for a walk.” We can see his art as exploration, inquiry, following a random thought, or drifting — and look what comes of it: something fresh and new. This is what summer is for. It’s not always easy to do. I used to call time and space “boredom” when I was a kid, as in “Mom, I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” Now I long for the chance to say, “There’s nothing to do (i.e. nothing I have to do) … thank goodness.” Boredom has gotten such a bad rap. Kids are so conditioned to think that they must always be doing something, going somewhere, entertained, active. But a little boredom can be a terrific vessel for a good drift, following a line of thoughts and just seeing what pictures appear. It helps to have a raft in your summer — literally or figuratively. There were countless days when my boyhood gang, bored with the possibilities at home, gathered around Hurley’s pond to throw planks together for epic raft voyages along its great grey-green greasy banks. Kids of a certain age have an instinctual urge to mess around on things that float, with mud, and with sticks. Combine the three and you have an empire of imaginary possibilities. We could be Ulysses, Captain Hook, or Viking swashbucklers. Who needs Playstation when you have a raft and a stick? Later on, when I read about Huck Finn, I learned that a raft is a moment on the Big River when the bravest adventure occurs: a true connection with another human being. For instance, Jim comes alive to Huck as a person, not just a slave, when they share the raft. A raft can be a collection of planks on the Mississippi, a moment of inspiration, or a yielding to a current that brings you ’round the bend to a new view of a person, place or thing. One shouldn’t gloss over the perils and cruelties encountered on Huck’s trip down river. But we can safely say that it’s good to have had a raft, to have drifted, been a swashbuckler, made brave connections. From our vantage point here on the prime meridian of summer, I like to listen to Huck’s own words. Dip your toes with me in the current and eddies of his syntax, as Huck throws us an idyllic line: You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft. . . Two or three days and nights went by; I reckon I might say they swum by, they slid along so quiet and smooth and lovely. Here is the way we put in the time. It was a monstrous big river down there—sometimes a mile and a half wide; we run nights, and laid up and hid day-times; soon as night was most gone, we stopped navigating and tied up—nearly always in the dead water under a towhead; and then cut young cotton-woods and willows and hid the raft with them. Then we set out the lines. Next we slid into the river and had a swim, so as to freshen up and cool off; then we set down on the sandy bottom where the water was about knee deep, and watched the daylight come. Not a sound, anywheres—perfectly still—just like the whole world was asleep, only sometimes the bull-frogs a-cluttering, maybe. May the bullfrogs a-clutter to you, as you tend your lines, swim, cool off, and listen to the sound of “not a sound, anywheres.” May you find this free and easy feeling, and a respite from navigating here in summer. Happy rafting. See you around the bend, downstream a ways. Todd R. Nelson is a retired school principal. He lives in Penobscot.
GET OUT
LUBEC
GET OUT:
LUBEC HEAD EAST FOR A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER STORY & PHOTOS BY JULIA BAYLY
IT WAS RAINING, foggy and quite windy outside on my first morning in Lubec, the easternmost town in the United States, where the tides dictate the flow of life every bit as much as the clock. Despite that, I could see a great deal of activity at the dock across the street where a giant fish was being unloaded. I wasn’t sure what kind of fish it was, but it attracted its share of admirers. For 15 minutes I watched as a steady line of pickup trucks and cars drove into the wharf’s parking lot. Some drivers viewed the offloading of the giant silver-colored fish from inside their running vehicles. Others donned rain jackets and braved the elements to get a closer look as the fish was removed from the boat, placed into a massive plastic tub filled with ice and then loaded onto a wheeled cart and pushed up the dockside ramp to the main road. Crewmembers from the boat, all wearing bright orange or yellow slickers and wetweather gear, leaned against the tote holding their catch, chatting with passers by.
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Eventually, a truck with a restaurant logo on its doors that I could not quite make out drove up, took the fish from the fishermen and drove off. Perhaps it was destined to become one of the fish dishes for which the Maine coast is famous? The fishermen rolled the empty tote back to the boat, loaded up some other gear and motored out toward The Bay of Fundy over crashing waves. Most of the lookers-on had dispersed by then, but a few hung around to wave the boat off before getting into their vehicles and pulling out of the parking lot. The top floor corner room at Cohill’s Inn — my base of operations for three days in Lubec — had commanding views of Johnson Bay and the Quoddy Narrows. To the north of Johnson Bay was Cobscook Bay and Passamaquoddy Bay. The bays and the narrows all lead out to the Bay of Fundy, famous for having some of the highest tides in the world.
It’s located minutes from Canada, just a short drive across the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge to Campobello Island (featured in Get Out in Bangor Metro, August 2018). Lubec is also about two hours by car east of Bangor — close enough for an overnight but with enough to do for a longer stay. A TOWN BORN OUT OF FISHING To know Lubec’s history is to appreciate the region’s maritime heritage. The first people in what is now Lubec were members of the Passamaquoddy tribe thousands of years ago. They made seasonal camps during the spring to fish for smelt, herring and pollack, harvest shellfish and gather sweetgrass. European colonizers appeared in the early 1700s. Fishing and farming were the major employers until the early 1800s when shipbuilding joined the economy providing jobs for lumbermen, black-
smiths, carpenters and other craftsmen. But fishing continued to drive Lubec’s economy and over the decades numerous smokehouses, canneries and processing plants grew up in the town as a result. That all pretty much ended in the 1970s with a decline in both the overall fishery population and the outmigration of people looking for jobs outside of the fishing industry. Today there are still those who fish, but the smokehouses, canneries and factories are gone, save for those preserved and turned into museums and historical sites like McCurdy Smokehouse [50 Water Street], considered to be one of the last intact examples of an early 20th Century herring processing facility in Maine. Today, Lubec’s maritime history is very much alive at its working waterfront. But it’s also a place that now draws people looking for recreational opportunities in and around the waters. Lubec survives
today as both a fishing town and as a perfect spot to get away and enjoy a bit of the Down East lifestyle. TIME AND TIDES Twice a day billions of gallons of water flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy with the changing of the tides. At the uppermost point of the bay, about 250 miles north of Lubec, the tidal change from high to low averages 50-feet — the height of a 5-story building. In the more southern location of Lubec, the tidal change is around 25 feet. Those incoming and outgoing tides create massive currents in the smaller bays and narrows around Lubec. Anyone planning to spend any time out on the water should check the latest tide charts to avoid getting caught having to sail, motor or paddle against the tide which can flow more than 11mph. Tide charts posted around town and online at www.
tide-forecast.com will help you plan a day on the water. I didn’t spend any on-the-water time during my stay in Lubec. But if I had, Cohill’s Inn to The Inn on the Wharf [www. theinnonthewharf.com, 69 Johnson Street, 207-733-4400] would be the place to go. It’s about a half-mile walk from Cohill’s Inn and is sort of a one-stop-shopping for all of your lodging, eating and getting your sea legs. Docked at The Inn on the Wharf is The Tarquin, offering daily whale watching trips and tours of the bays. The Tarquin has indoor and outdoor seating for 26 passengers and in addition to the opportunity to spot whales, tourists get up close looks at seals, eagles and lighthouses. As a bonus, it comes with a hefty serving of sea tales and legends compliments of the ship’s captain. The Tarquin runs daily, weather permitting, throughout the summer. Check at the front desk for the schedule.
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LUBEC LAND-BASED TOURING The Inn on the Wharf also offers bicycle rentals for those looking for land-based touring. Bikes can also be rented at Cohill’s Inn. Lubec takes great pride in being a bike-friendly place. Whether you rent or bring your own, it may be difficult to find a town more committed to the safety and comfort of cyclists. The town’s webpage [www.visitlubecmaine.com] lists local resources for cyclists including rental locations, cycling routes, businesses with bike racks outside and indoor storage on site and where to refill your water bottle at no charge. It also indicates where to find bike tool repair kits for use and, perhaps most importantly, which establishments allow free use of their restrooms. Once you have your bike, take a pedal on the Down East Sunrise Trail [www.sunrisetrail.org], a multi-use corridor connecting eastern Maine to the East Coast Greenway. It runs all the way from Calais to Key West, but you can enjoy as little or as much as you want. After your day of cycling, enjoy an alfresco picnic at one of the parks or beaches in Lubec or dine outside on the terrace of one of the waterside restaurants.
(Top) Hadley Friedman welcomes locals and visitors alike with a smile every bit as warm as her hot coffee at Sally Ann’s Cafe and Market. (Above) The yarns at Wags and Wool provide the materials for your next knitting project. (Below) Raised boards allow hikers to pass over wet and sensitive areas in Boot Cove Preserve.
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EAT WELL While I did not rent a kayak or a bike, or go whale watching out of Inn on the Wharf, I did enjoy a wonderful breakfast at its Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant of traditional Maine blueberry pancakes served with maple syrup and all the strong, black coffee I could want. Housed in a century-old renovated sardine factory, Inn on the Wharf has 12 suites and three full apartments available to rent, all with direct water views. In addition to breakfast, the restaurant serves lunch and dinner — all featuring the freshest Maine seafood you are going to find — and a full bar. On warm, sunny days you can eat and drink out on one of the two decks overlooking Johnson Bay. After breakfast, I walked back to my room to collect Chiclet, my tiny canine traveling companion, and explore Lubec’s main drag Water Street — all two-tenths of a mile of it. What Water Street lacks in length, it more than makes up for in interesting storefronts and friendly folks. One of the first people I met in my wanderings was Hadley Friedman, owner and cook at Sally Ann’s Cafe and Market [52 North Water Street, 207-733-2879]. Friedman is not originally from Lubec, or even Maine, for that matter, but there is little doubt she loves her adopted town. Sally Ann’s is the kind of place you come for the coffee and stay for the conversation. While there I met up with a woman sitting at a table creating a crossword puzzle, a couple from nearby New Brunswick, Canada, in for lunch and the owner of the hardware store across the street stopping in for coffee. Friedman greets all the locals by names and greets every visitor like a local, and judging by the way she treated Chiclet and I, by our second visit for coffee, we were considered locals. The cafe does not have a huge menu. Friedman specializes more in what she calls “grab and go” items. Everything I tried was delicious. For breakfast, the egg sandwich on homemade bread with sheep’s milk feta cheese, spinach and tomato was amazing. Had I gone back for lunch, I would have tried some of the curried chickpea stew that was already bubbling away. It smelled heavenly. There are also sweet and savory baked goods that Friedman can combine with local cheese, produce and meats to create yummy and quick dining options.
A DOG’S TOWN And once she learned how much Chiclet liked carrots, we left with a small container of shredded carrots for her to enjoy later in the day. Lubec is definitely a dog’s kind of town. Just up the street from Sally Ann’s Cafe is Wags and Wool [83 Water Street, 207-7334714]. Owner Karen Baker has combined her love of all things dogs with all things knitting to create a fun and funky shop that carries Maine yarns, hand-knitted gifts and dog collars. “When we first opened we carried only the yarn and had a few examples of what people could knit using those yarns,” Baker told me. “But so many people wanted those hats or scarves or mittens, we began carrying those, as well.” I’m no knitter, but if I were, Baker’s store is the place I’d go to get the yarn — and perhaps hear one or two — for my next project. A SIP AND A YARN Speaking of yarns — the kind you tell — if you want to get a feel for the vibe of Lubec, stop in at Lubec Brewing Company [41 Water Street, 207-733-4555]. Sitting at the bar one evening I was able to sample the craft beer brewed on site, and enjoy a great conversation with bartender Tara Legris. A native of Lubec, Legris is a go-to person on things to do and see in the area. Not to mention being a delightful conversationalist. Break any ice by asking about her chihuahua Amadeaus. As for the brewpub? It features one of my favorite cuisines — pub fare. The limited menu does change daily and I sadly was a day late for the dinner special of fresh gnocchi with fiddleheads. But the lasagna made with local cheese, pork and beef from Tide Mill Farms in nearby Edmunds more than made up for that. Every ingredient used in Lubec Brewing Company’s food and beer is organic and Legris can give you the rundown on each beer and its specific flavor profile. While there I opted to try a flight of beers — The Water Street Ale, a German inspired beer; Prohibitions End, a golden ale; Clammer Slammer [how could I not with a name like that?], a sour summer ale; Bailey’s First Mistake, a black ale; and Quoddy Head Red, the brewery’s signature red ale. The beer also pairs well with music, and Lubec Brewing Company offers live performances every night all summer in addition to a special, members-only listening club.
For a $10 annual membership fee, you get access to The Vinylhaven Lounge and its library of tunes all recorded on vinyl. Other funky stops along Water Street included the thrift shop that helps fund the local cat rescue Save our Strays [67 Water Street, 207-733-2153] and featured a dizzying and eclectic selection of used, vintage and handcrafted items. Up at the other end of the street is Water Street Tavern and Inn [12 Water Street, www.watersttavernandinn.com, 207733-0122] another Lubec spot that pulls double duty as a restaurant and lodging establishment. Like pretty much every place else along Water Street, it has commanding views of the bay from inside its restaurant, from its outside patio or from any of the five rooms and two-bedroom guest cottage. THE BOLD COAST The Bold Coast Scenic Byway stretches 125 miles along the Maine coast from Acadia National Park in the south up to Calais at the northern end, with Lubec smack in the middle. Along the way it passes through fishing villages, blueberry barrens, lighthouses, coves, bays and forestland. I decided Chiclet and I needed to explore part of it on two feet and four paws. So off we went to Boot Head, a 400acre preserve managed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. The drive to the preserve’s trailhead was not well marked, so you need to pay attention on the seven mile drive from Lubec to the trailhead. Head out of town on South Lubec Road toward Quoddy Head State Park. But instead of turning left to the park, continue on Boot Cove Road for another four miles and look for the Boot Head parking area on both sides of the road. Chiclet and I found it on our third try. Once there, I snapped the leash on Chiclet’s harness — dogs are allowed on the trails as long as they are on leash — and off we went. This is a must-do hike. It’s not long, about two miles to do the entire loop, including spurs that take you down to two rocky beaches. Note: the north side of Boot Cove Beach is privately owned and clearly marked. Please respect the landowner so we can all continue to enjoy this area. The trail is well marked with raised
boards over the wet and marshy areas to protect the fragile fauna from tromping feet. The trail — which does get steep in parts — took us through wetlands, a raised peat bog — one of only 115 in the state — coastal forest and along the rock-lined coast overlooking Grand Manan Channel. There are several viewing platforms along the way and ample photo-ops. So bring your camera and binoculars. The birding opportunities are fantastic. Chiclet and I saw countless seabirds and while we never saw any owls, we clearly heard the call of a Great Horned Owl a couple of times. On our drive into the trailhead, we also passed by several tidal flat areas right next to the road. At low tide, these are teeming with birdlife of all shapes, sizes and species. The best part? Boot Cove was super relaxing. Chiclet and I spent about two hours exploring the preserve and did not see another person. What we did see were wildflowers, ferns, moss, lichens, wind-twisted trees, rock formations and stunning coastal vistas. END OF THE DAY Back in town, I dropped a very tired Chiclet off in our room and I walked down to Frank’s Dockside Restaurant [20 Water Street, 207733-4484] for dinner where head chef Frank Talotta puts his own spin on traditional Italian dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Frank’s specialty is veal, an item not often seen on menus in Maine. The special that particular night was his Veal Bernadette, featuring veal sautéed with spinach and crabmeat and then baked in a marinara sauce and sprinkled with provolone cheese. It was divine. Frank’s also serves an array of seafood options including haddock, scallops, shrimp and crab; as well as steak and chicken. My final stop that evening — well, every evening in Lubec — was in the bar at Cohill’s Inn [www.cohillsinn.com, 7 Water Street, 733-4300]. Innkeepers Ellen Cohill and Glenn Charles have combined their unique talents into something pretty special in Lubec. Cohill is the creative genius behind the inn’s menus and spends her off season — they shut down in the winter — planning the coming year’s selections. She calls her menu “whole food and plant based” and sources as many ingredients as possible from local farmers and fishermen. Charles works the front of the inn and is equal parts innkeeper, adventurer and mixologist. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 67
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LUBEC
Boot Head, a 400-acre preserve managed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
He spends his off season traveling the globe on self-supported adventures on bicycle, skis or his own two-feet. He also seeks out inspiration for his craft cocktails. When I was there, he was working on a bourbon and gin combination that had me skeptical, but when I tried it I was sold. Another night I tried his smoked old fashioned and was pretty darn impressed. Also impressive is how dog friendly Cohill’s Inn is. Lubec as a whole is dogfriendly with businesses setting out water bowls outside their doors for passing pooches and four legged visitors welcome inside several establishments where treats awaited. Cohill and Charles own three dogs — an elderly Berniese Mountain Dog and two border collies. All three are well behaved and can be found at times romping around the inn. As a guest, Chiclet was more than welcome to explore the bar. But be warned, accepting Roo’s — the older border collie — invitation to toss a ball can turn into a marathon toss and fetch game. To date, there’s never been a person who can toss a ball more times than Roo is willing to bring it back. The top two levels of the three-floor inn house nine rooms, all clean, comfortable and a welcome place to lay one’s head at the end of a day exploring. Speaking of chocolate ... Oh, we weren’t? Sorry, it’s just always on my mind. But now that we are, it’s worth taking the drive a few miles outside of downtown Lubec to Monica’s Chocolates [www. 68 / BANGOR METRO August 2019
monicaschocolates.com, 100 County Road/ Route 189, 866-952-4500] where owner and chocolatier Monica Elliott creates confections and candy using recipes learned in her family’s kitchen in her native Peru. Monica makes her truffles, bonbons and novelty shaped chocolates — lobsters, shells and fish — using high quality chocolate with zero artificial ingredients. Her signature chocolates include Pisco — made with Peruvian liquor — and her salty-sweet caramel filled chocolate sea urchins. OF LIGHTHOUSES AND LOBSTERS I would be remiss to not mention two of Maine’s iconic occupants. Lubec is home to West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, a red and white striped beacon that is the first place in town to greet the morning sun. It’s surrounded buy West Quoddy Head State Park [www.westquoddy.com, 973 South Lubec Road, 207-733-2180] more than 500 acres of coastal woodland and hiking trails. As for the lobster? Come summer they are ubiquitous on pretty much every Maine menu, Lubec included. My next trip to Lubec I plan on dining on a tasty lobster roll while sitting on a deck overlooking the water. How much more Down East can you get? Know before you go: Many businesses in Lubec are only open during the summer tourist season roughly from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. These include inns, hotels, restaurants and bars. If you are
planning to travel to the area close to the beginning or end of summer, it’s a good idea to call ahead to make sure things are open. You can take a whale watching cruise on the 25-foot lobster boat Lorna Doone with Downeast Charter Boat Tours [downeastcharterboattours.com, 207-7332009]. Their tour features an up close — and safe — look at “Old Sow, the largest tidal whirlpool in the western hemisphere. Kayaks, canoes and paddleboards can be rented by the day or week from Sunrise Canoe and Kayak [www. sunrisecanoeandkayak.com] in Machias. Sunrise will even deliver your watercraft to you and pick it up when you are done if you are within 30 miles [Lubec is 28 miles from Machias]. The rental fees cover the watercraft, paddles and personal flotation devices. Delivery is an extra fee and runs $20 to $45 depending on location. Lubec is just a short bridge crossing away from Campobello, New Brunswick, [www.visitcampobello.com] summering place of the rich and famous back in the early to middle part of the last century. You will need your passport to cross onto the island as it is in New Brunswick, Canada, but it’s well worth the trip over. Check out Roosevelt Campobello International Park and tour the home and grounds where Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt lived and picniced. Stop in for “Tea with Eleanor” and get a great historical perspective on this beloved first lady. Or go hiking in Herring Cove Provincial Park.
WOODS & WATERS
Maine’s wild blueberries CELEBRATING MAINE’S MOST TENACIOUS SUMMER FRUIT BY BOB DUCHESNE
MAINE’S WILD BLUEBERRIES are wilder than you might imagine. They proliferate in Maine, only because they are tenacious survivors. Think about it. Not long ago — about 10,000 years or so — the state was covered by a mile of ice. Glaciers carried much of Maine’s topsoil out to sea, and pulverized the remaining rock into sand and gravel. The remnant soil was low in nutrients, and strongly acidic. And the blueberries liked it. Eventually, the forests returned, but the berries remained. Barely clinging to existence, they bided their time in the shade, waiting for a fire or other cataclysmic event to open the canopy and set them free. Today, some of Maine’s blueberry barrens go on for miles. But before you take them for granted, here are a few things that might surprise you. Two-thirds of each plant lives underground. That’s why fields can be burned or mowed to suppress weeds, and the blueberries just bounce right back. Blueberries spread underground. The barrens may look like a vast array of multiple plants, but a single plant can be the size of a football field. Every shoot and berry within that plant is genetically identical, a clone of its neighbors. Another plant can be growing adjacent to it, with a slightly different flavor. Look closely, and you may begin to see that one set of plants is just a little taller, or the berries are slightly bigger or a different color. Taste the difference. This variability is one reason Maine wild blueberries are far more delicious then their cultivated competitors. Blueberries figured out how to beat the infertility of glacial soil, forming a symbiotic relationship with a particular fungus. The fungus is capable of extracting nutrients from sand, making them available to the
TWO-THIRDS OF EACH PLANT LIVES UNDERGROUND. THAT’S WHY FIELDS CAN BE BURNED OR MOWED TO SUPPRESS WEEDS, AND THE BLUEBERRIES JUST BOUNCE RIGHT BACK.
PHOTO: AP PHOTO/ROBERT F. BUKATY, FILE
ARE THE BEST
blueberry. In return, the blueberry produces a sugar from the nutrients that it shares with the fungus. Both live happily ever after. Blueberries like acidic soil, which is fortunate for us, because that’s what Maine has. They like it best when the soil is about as acidic as tomato juice. Wild blueberries grow where they want to grow. They are hard to transplant. It’s possible to plant a seed and grow a seedling, or bury a cutting and hope for the best. But it may be years before the plant produces a mouthful of berries. Even an established blueberry plant extends its roots about an inch per year, which is why growers don’t plant new patches. Rather, they merely clear adjacent woodlands, liberating already established berries hidden among the trees. Cultivated blueberries are relatively easy to transplant, which is one reason why they are now grown all over the world, despite their weaker taste and lower nutritional value. Cultivated blueberries are less flavorful than Maine wild blueberries, but that’s
partially because of how they are handled. Most of the cultivated berries are grown for the fresh fruit market. They are typically picked before they are fully ripe, and it may take days to work their way through the transportation system. A fresh berry in the produce section may have been picked over a week ago. By contrast, over 90% of Maine wild blueberries are flash frozen at the peak of flavor within hours of harvest. Americans tend to think bigger is better, which gives the cultivated berries a marketing advantage over Maine’s wild blueberries. Consumers don’t always realize that wild blueberries contain twice the antioxidants, that much of the flavor is in the skins, and that cultivated blueberries are larger in part because they contain more water. Maine wild blueberries are the most pollinated crop in America, other than California almonds. Migrant honeybees actually have to struggle to reach into the
blueberry’s downward-pointing, bell-shaped blossom. But our native bumblebees just hover up to the flower and buzz, knocking the pollen loose and onto themselves. When our fields yielded 1,000 pounds per acre, the bumblebees could handle the job alone. But growers and agricultural scientists have improved yields to over 5,000 pounds per acre, and the local pollinators need help. You might be surprised to learn that growers have learned how to reduce the use of chemicals, through a system called integrated pest management. Fields are constantly monitored for pests, and many outbreaks are prevented merely by adjusting harvest dates and mowing schedules. Where more drastic measures are needed, a light treatment around the borders of a field can sometimes create a bug barrier across the entire field. Maine blueberries. Yes, in fact, they ARE the best.
BOB DUCHESNE is a local radio personality, Maine guide, and columnist. He lives on Pushaw Lake with his wife, Sandi.
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THE VIEW FROM HERE
RUNNING TOGETHERz BY EMILY MORRISON
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Mary went into Lamaze coach mode. She kept telling me, “You’ve got it. You’re doing it! Keep breathing!” She slowed down, circled back, and never left me. Even when I told her, “I don’t have it — go ahead,” she wouldn’t let me crawl off into a hole and die, or hop into my husband’s Prius when he delivered water. Running has always been my thing. It’s the one area in life I can tell Mary what to do and how to do it, but that day, the sneaker was on the other foot. To tell you the truth, it really chapped my ass. How could I be so slow, and when did she get so fast? Disappointed with myself, a few weeks past that disaster, our race day dawned misty and overcast — far from optimal conditions. This time, when we started out, Mary’s breath was off. Her legs looked heavy. It was going to be a hard run for her. Time to “hee hee hoo.” “You’ve got this! You can do it! You’re almost there, Mare. Just keep breathing!” I told her. Around mile nine, in one of those “I’ve been running so long I can’t remember my name” moments of clarity, it came to me how neither of us realized the way we looked at life before was all wrong. It isn’t about me and her anymore. It isn’t how I’ve got it, and she doesn’t, or how she’s got it, and I don’t. It’s about us. It’s about how we’ve got it, or we don’t. “We’re doing it, Mary! We’ve got it. WE CAN DO IT!” I cheered us on. As she looked up the last long hill she said, “I feel like death.” “I know. I know you do, Mare, but you need to know something.” It was long past time I told her the truth. “There’s no way I can do this without you, sis.” She met my eye, sized up the hill, and picked up her pace. “Let’s do it then,” she said, and we ran far together.
PHOTO: ©IRYNA/ADOBE STOCK
THERE’S AN OLD ZAMBIAN proverb,“When you run alone, you run fast. When you run together, you run far.” My sister Mary and I understand the meaning of this saying more than most. We’ve run hundreds of miles together over the past five years, and there’ve been many times — had we not been sisters — we could easily have left each other for carrion. Let me explain. When you run like we do, train like we train, you’ve got a lot of skin in the game. Often, we have an 18-week training schedule for one race. Yes, we endure four-and-a-half months of near-constant running for one two-hour race — if we’re speedy (which we are not). While we work, mother and wife, we also have to find 40 minutes most weekdays and 2 hours on the weekend to pound pavement. It’s a slog. Individually, each of us must commit to diet and exercise, sleep and hydration, pain and suffering, for our united cause: glory. Whatever we do in our own time carries over into the time we spend together. On long training runs, we must match our stride, pace, and breathing, so we’re perfectly in sync. In life, we couldn’t be more opposite. I’m abstract random. Mary’s concrete sequential. I’m a feeler. She’s a doer. I’m the youngest. She’s the oldest. I’m style-confused. She’s an Athleta model. None of this matters on the road. Every mile sees our woes and triumphs — kids, husbands, parents, work, life — it’s all the same. We lay it down and offer it up. In my life’s most triumphant moments, Mary has been by my side, not sprinting ahead of me to the finish line. When each of my children came screaming into the world, my big sister told me to “Push! Just keep breathing!” After all, she’s been telling me what to do and how to do it my whole life. Why should birthing babies be any different? As we’ve rounded the corner of our fourth decade, we’re both still pushing, but some days there isn’t much left to push with. During a recent training run, my gas tank was near empty. The day before, I hadn’t slept much, eaten much or hydrated like I should’ve, and my lungs and legs weren’t having it.
EMILY MORRISON is a high school English teacher, freelance writer and editor from coastal Maine. She is living happily-ever-after with her handsome husband, three beautiful children and two beloved dogs. And a cat.