FEB 2018 There’s A Whole Lot Of Portland History Buried At The Eastern Cemetery How often, if you are like most people, do you drive past the corner of Congress Street and Washington Avenue and barely even notice the Eastern Cemetery? It is, in fact, the earliest public space existing in Portland and has been there since 1668. And lately, it’s become a bit more visible because author and historian Ron Romano, who is with the Spirits Alive group, which helps preserve and conserve the Eastern Cemetery, has authored a book, his second, entitled Portland’s Historic Eastern Cemetery: A Field of Ancient Graves. Romano took time out to talk to Up Portland recently and told a few of the stories which involve this unique graveyard and public space, which is actually owned by the City of Portland and maintained with help from the Spirits Alive folks. Please Continue On Page Two
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New Book Explores Eastern Cemetery Continued From The Front Page
Romano noted that the Eastern Cemetery, “started as a small patch of land where the white pine stands. That tree was put in in 1969, as the third tree on the site. It was planted to replace one put in after an original Norway Pine, which was so tall it was a beacon which existed until 1815, when a hurricane took it down needed replacing. The earliest graves from 1600s and early 1700s are in that general area, but the cemetery was not the size we see and know today, but from the original grew east and west until it hit about three acres. Then, it was expanded to seven acres in 1795, though the cemetery lost a little ground post great fire (1866) when they carved away the hillside for an extension of Federal Street. “The debate has always been were there graves removed when they did that, and there were always questions. My view as an historian is there would have been remains removed as that was among the earliest parts of the cemetery. They might not have realised it, but there clearly had to be human remains there,” Romano said. Asked if research had taken place, Romano noted, “In 2009, Chicoa Foundation produced a master plan and they worded it ‘there certainly was not any wholesale human remains removal...’ but I think they understand, looking at the landscape, that it would have happened.” Curious as to how and why graves were dug up from a cemetery, we asked Romano to go into that history a bit, and he told Up Portland, “The times were different back in earlier days...hundreds of people were moved out of Eastern Cemetery because while they did expand and grew and grew, there were issues on how to fit more bodies in. This led to underground tombs, which are unique to Eastern Cemetery, but it showed a need in 1829 for the Western Cemetery, which is partially why it’s 13 acres, or double the size of Eastern.” The author added that, “Eastern closed to new burials about 1840 though families of those buried there could still be buried there until the mid 20th century.” He said that as far as anyone knows, one lone relative of someone buried at Eastern Cemetery was able to prove that he had the needed ties and was interred there in 1964, making him the last recorded burial at the site. A lot of the overcrowding at grave yards around Portland eased after 1860 or thereabouts, when Evergreen Cemetery opened off Stevens Avenue. “It is a garden cemetery, meaning people could (and still can) come enjoy the space while mourning their loved ones.” So what got Romano interested in dead folks? Part of it was a man named Bartlett Adams. Adams was an early day gravestone carver who had a shop about where
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the Corner Room sits now, at the intersection of Federal & Exchange streets. An interest in him and his works caused Romano to write his first book, called Early Gravestones in Southern Maine (subtitled the genius of Bartlett Adams) which was published in 2016 by History Press. But still, what brought the author to sleuthing out a cemetery which dates back to before there even was a United States? “Like many people, I have enjoyed in my early retirement doing my family tree. In doing it, I was able to get back to my 6th great grandparents, who lived in Nova Scotia. I decided to find the other gravesites in this line of my family, so I went to Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. My 6th great grandfather’s grave marker was sandstone at the Old Burial Ground in Halifax and I thought this is so cool I think I recall some like this in Portland so I walked thru Eastern. My first time ever I found a host of wonderful early designs and got all excited so I contacted the friends group, which is called Spirits Alive and eventually became a tour guide. I ended up joining the board and became an officer, but it all started with Adams. “Adams was first stonecutter in Portland and I went stone-by-stone linking it all. At the end I was able to attribute over 700 stones to Adams, so obviously this guy was important to Portland....” As the flu has been a big story this year, we asked Romano had there been a flu epidemic or similar when Eastern Cemetery was in use, and sure enough, he said research has shown there was. “The first major epidemic we know was 1735-37. It was called the throat distemper and 75 people died from what’s been documented. There’s a line of stones which likely indicate a mass burial around that time, but records were not kept. The same is true of several 1600s Indian attacks, but again we have no exact records, only several notations about graves at what was called the Hancock Gate. There was a gate to the cemetery at the head of Hancock Street and some records indicate this or that person was buried by the Hancock Gate, but we can find no complete records.” Asked about photos of the cemetery which might exist from back in the day, Romano said as far as he knows, none were really taken. Along with the lack of many old photos, the author told Up Portland that records on who is buried at Eastern Cemetery are painfully far from complete. “Many times during tours, people will come by asking. We have 7,000 burial records and 2,800 markers still existing, so sometimes we can help direct people to an actual stone or show them a plot, yet to others all we can say is this is where they were likely buried, but no traces remain.” Also not remaining are much in the way of the intended organisation of the cemetery’s underground tombs. These were very unique for their style, as well as their intended purpose, which was to get as many bodies as possible in limited space. From Romano’s explanation (and he said he’s just seen into one when the city was trying to shore it up a few years ago) a cavern was dug out and coffins placed inside. When another death took place, that coffin was stacked on top of the ones there already. As the wood decayed and bodies as well, the weight above caused the stacks to settle and the bones and remains to be scattered on the ground inside. He told of tombs with a considerable number of remains, Please Continue On Page 23
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Processed Media By Randy Dankievitch — TV Editor of Goomba Stomp The Impending Battle Between 4K And… Cardboard? Four years into the current console generation, 2018 looks to be a definitive year for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo’s battle for ultimate home gaming supremacy. A generation that began in fear of the projected, seemingly inevitable domination by the mobile gaming industry has turned into a wildly successful cycle for all parties involved.
with the Playstation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X (such a terrible name), fighting for dominance with pixel counts, frame rate options, and HDR support – which, admittedly, leads to some incredibly beautiful, memorable games – Nintendo is looking in an entirely different direction with the Nintendo Switch. Due to the ambitions of creating a hybrid home/portable console, the Switch is never going to have the best graphics, or the most mind-blowing graphical effects; but what they do have, is what is increasingly becoming the most versatile, imaginative console ever created. This spring, along with announcing 19 new first- and third-party titles to release on the platform in the coming months, Nintendo debuted their latest project for the Switch: Nintendo Labo, cardboard kits that can transform the system into objects like a fully-functional piano, motorcycle handles, a fish-
Sony’s dominated sales since the beginning, Nintendo has both failed miserably (with the Wii U) and soared magnificently (with the Switch), and Microsoft has chugged along in second place, despite a lack of titles exclusive to the platform, and an addiction to constantly revising their hardware. As we head into 2018, the record-selling Nintendo Switch has become a surprise player in the game, riding a wave of amazing software and ingenious hardware design to revitalise their brand. Sony’s continuing to ride a wave of strong first-party support, with titles like God of War, Spider-Man and The Last of Us Part II (OK, maybe that’s 2019 – but who isn’t excited for it?) lined up. Microsoft is looking for different ways to make up the ground it’s quickly losing against both consoles, with Netflix-like services for Xbox Live subscribers, and a whole lot of pressure on themselves to deliver with the next installments of signature franchises (since they have not been able to establish any new, meaningful properties in recent years). In short, it’s a good – albeit weird – time for gaming, with more conversations around representation leading to more diverse, sensitive titles, even as never-ending debates about game prices, micro-transactions, and “games as a service” conversations continue. This year, however, the most interesting battle on the market may not be between games themselves, or which console can pump out the most pixels on a consistent basis; it’s between the philosophies of Sony and Microsoft, the industry powerhouses, and the suddenly upstart Nintendo Switch, trying to bring some wild innovation to the game. As Sony and Microsoft push farther in the battle of who can have the best 4K
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ing rod, an interactive house – and a fully decked-out, wearable robot suit. On paper, it seems like an April Fool’s Joke: DIY cardboard kits that turn the Nintendo Switch into flimsy, if pleasant, objects. And yet, Nintendo’s left-field answer to AR and VR (augmented / virtual reality), could be the platform Nintendo uses to guide another generation of young gamers into the world of gaming. These various idea kits, some of which include tutorials on basic coding, encouraging people to create miniature robots and unique, interactive objects, are an avenue to introduce kids (and adults, by proxy) to the meat and potatoes behind games, inspiring young minds to learn and explore an industry built on creativity, artistic expression and the virtual communication of ideas through numbers and coding systems. This isn’t just a platform for Nintendo to deliver tiny mini-games and goofy, wildly destructible creations (the kits come with tape, at least!); it is Nintendo stepping out on a limb to open the wonderful world of endless possibilities that game creation, and enjoyment, can offer. Now, those are a lot of big words for $60 cardboard kits and games; but the thinking behind Nintendo Labo couldn’t be clearer, especially in contrast with Sony and Microsoft’s chase for the most realistic graphics and diverse software library. Instead, Nintendo’s embraced the excitement around their growing platform, channeling the joy and creativity embedded in the heart of their latest titles (Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) into ambitious new products, that might just turn the tide of the console wars in favour of the industry stalwart once again in 2018.
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Hackin’ The Net By Ted Fleischaker / Publisher I wanna talk about cookies. No, not the kind you surely will be buying at Two Fat Cats Bakery for your Valentine... the kind which so many sites tell you (or don’t) that they are placing on your computer. What, you ask, is a cookie? Well it’s sadly not chocolate chips or oatmeal or raisin. Instead, it’s a few bits of information that can be as good for your computer as granola or as bad for it (and you) as a gooey brownie. In other words, they have a lot of functions --- some useful and others nefarious. Wikipedia defines them as, “An HTTP cookie (also called web cookie, Internet cookie, browser cookie, or simply cookie) is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user’s computer by the user’s web browser while the user is browsing. Cookies were designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember stateful information (such as items added in the shopping cart in an online store) or to record the user’s browsing activity (including clicking particular buttons, logging in, or recording which pages were visited in the past). They can also be used to remember arbitrary pieces of information that the user previously entered into form fields such as names, addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers...”
need or want to get jeans or go to Chattanooga, but nothing too evil... yet. That can be the next step. Some cookies are hidden in legit sites and on legit downloads but are far from legit. Those are the ones to watch for. They not only can grab your personal info (credit cards and more) but seize control of your browser, or worse, your system. So what to do about them? First, put the computer on a diet and delete cookies. You can choose to delete them all, some, the most recent or none. But before you think “delete all” remember that cookies can and do play a really important role in making your browsing easier. They are what can save you from typing in your favourite radio station’s website password or user name every time you log on. Same with your bank, stockbroker and other sites. They also can remind you that you really, really want to buy those jeans. But, and this is where things can get dicey, save a credit card to one site and if someone, somewhere gets ahold of it, you will find yourself getting a $236 bill from a New York wine mail-order firm you never heard of, as we did recently. Fortunately in our case the credit card firm flagged it and called us, but we were not as lucky with another charge (mercifully for under $10) from a sheet music company. We did get the cash refunded, but had to hassle with it, and also, since the number was “compromised” the firm the card was with had to send us a new card. That meant changing the legit places which charge the card for our newspaper subscription, Netflix and other things. A half-day at least was wasted getting everyone notified and waiting for the replacement card. Beats paying for wine we didn’t order and what would certainly have been more charges had that try to buy wine gone thru on our card, but still a hassle. So what to do? Our recommendation is click that “No Thanks” button when you are asked “do
If that helps, think of it as that frequent shopper card at the drugstore or that EZ Pass you use on the Maine Turnpike. But sadly, as with so much online these days, cookies are in some cases being used to “harass” we browsers and in others to attempt to steal your (and my) data. Let’s chew on them a bit more... Cookies are what let websites know (in some, but not all cases) that you have “abandoned” your shopping cart. The notice you might get e-mailed (like that below) is sent by the system to “remind” you that you did not check out or buy what you were looking at. Some merchants make a positive use of this by offering say 10% off your order if you will finish it. Others just use it to remind, but without the discount. But cookies go way, way beyond a simple shopping reminder. Some stick
you want us to save this credit card for future use” as that will keep the number off a cookie. The same when you get asked to save other info. You can do some shopping or something semi-secure and then delete ONLY cookies or history for the past hour, 24 hours or week (check your browser for the options). That way things you use which require a follow-up can stay, as well as those which, let’s face it, are not big deals, like the radio station’s log-on, but the important stuff like the credit card numbers are safe in your wallet. around and over and over and over remind (or harass) you that in November you looked at a pair of jeans on a store’s site... or that your friend was going to Chattanooga and wanted a hotel “deal” so she had you check it on Priceline or Hotwire. For what seems months (and often IS months) after, you get messages popping up “Still looking for a room in Chattanooga?” or “We have 25% off boot-cut Jeans this week only!” and on and on. Bothersome if you do not really
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Do keep in mind that you can also sort thru your cookies list (above) by going to it in your browser and individually delete some cookies. That may mean a more difficult log-in next time (better know that password and user name) for say Priceline, but it will stop the browser asking if you want to get a deal in Chattanooga when you have no reason to go there!
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Great movies unite us. Discussion. Gatherings. Over 30 breathtaking films. This year’s MJFF is a can’t miss opportunity for Maine communities to celebrate great cinema—together.
March 10–18, 2018 PORTLAND, BRUNSWICK, WATERVILLE, LEWISTON, BANGOR, ROCKLAND
Schedule and tickets at MJFF.ORG
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Highways And Byways Welcome to Up Portland’s monthly crossword. And this time, it’s all about the roads more (and less) travelled! From major streets on the Peninsula to some pretty isolated areas, we’re trying to have anything we can here to do with streets, roads, highways and what we do and drive on them. You’ll find a lot of familiar (and maybe a few not-so) words here, all having to do with roads, streets and transportation, so rev up that motorcycle, gas up that car and be sure you put on that thinking cap, since while some are as easy as buying a cheap bicycle, others are a bit more difficult --- like trying to figure out which of those Portland Street names made our editor’s list. Sharpen your pen or pencil and as always, comments are welcome at ted@ upportland.com and the solution (no peeking) is on Page 10. Oh, and above all, drive safely!
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Food For Thought... Lena’s Italian Comfort, over at the Portland Pottery Cafe, 122 Washington Avenue, is a spot which would do Houdini (not to mention a ton of chefs) proud. Why Houdini? Because just as he could perform magic, this nighttime incarnation of what by day is the Portland Pottery Cafe is magical --- not only for what’s on the plates, but for the fact they transform what is one of this writer’s fave daytime lunch or breakfast spots into an Italian bistro when the sun goes down four nights a week. Red checkered cloths cover what in the daytime are cases with food to select. Lights are dimmed and the atmosphere totally that of an Italian restaurant after the magic happens at 5 p.m. Thursdays thru Saturdays and 4 p.m. on Sundays. But the place has a lotta history going for it, too, as Pasquelena Bruni and her husband, for many years, ran an Italian Market at that very same address: 122 Washington Avenue. Well-known for wonderful selections, stories are told that after the grocery would close for the day, Pasquelena would go upstairs and cook for friends and family. It’s that tradition that chef Brian Grossman is trying to replicate these days with Lena’s.
us split this (and still had some to take home) we were more than pleased with the $10 pricetag. After the salad (and after we decided --- smartly, I might add, as there’s no way we could have eaten another bite --- to skip the antipasti and bruschetta) it was on to mains. For me there was not really much choice: Parmesan. But that left the choice of whether I wanted the eggplant, veal or chicken, as Lena’s serves all three. My dilemma vanished (another magic trick) after our server came by for questions and said “you can get chicken anywhere... go for the veal because ours is special.” As with all of her other advice (and as you can clearly see below), she was spot on: it was not only wonderful, with just the perfect amount of red sauce (ie: neither drowning, swimming nor lacking), and topped with parmesan and mozzarella, along with a sprinkle of fresh basil, but it arrived tableside hot and obviously was, as she stated, made in house. Alongside it came the largest portion of pasta I have seen in awhile (To-go box, please!) and that was also cooked just right. So many spots these days are so “al dente” with their pasta as to make me feel it is not cooked at all, while a few older eateries leave their pasta in the water so long it turns to mush. Once again, Lena’s got it 100% right. Seeing the salads (Did we mention the great bread that came with? Damn, we forgot!) and reading the menus, my two dining companions opted to take no chances on their main dish. Anticipating a huge portion, they correctly decided to split an order of Lasagna. They reported the blend of sausage, ricotta, basil
And from this writer’s recent visit, we’d say he is more than succeeding. A number places in Portland have great food. And a few have what I, as a real eater, would term large portions. But the two, sadly, do not seem to intersect as often as I’d like. Either the food is good to excellent, but the portions too meager for me, or the other way ‘round. This is but one other reason why I am so happy to discover Lena’s: great food, huge portions and a lot of smiles from the staff. Aside from the fact I wish (as an old person) the building’s owner would put a railing or handle on the two steps at the front door to help me in and out easier, there is nothing here not to like. So what did we have? We started with an excellent House Salad (greens, carrots, pickled red onions, cherry tomatoes) served in huge portion, accompanied by a delightful, just right house vinaigrette. As the three of
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and mozzarella was right on. Are you getting a pattern here? The only thing which saved them from yet another dreaded to-go box was the split decision they so wisely made. And like what I ate, they came away raving about what was on their plates, and thanks to the staff for splitting the entree in the kitchen and bringing it out as two plates. Add to the above the fact two of the three of us at the table had Prosecco from the short, but well-positioned, wine and beer list, and the total bill for three --including two to-go boxes --- was $98. We found that to be more than super fair, leaving us wondering why the restaurant was not jam-packed, though the thermometer hovering around zero and plenty of snow outside likely were factors. A few more words about Lena’s... We want to go back on a Sunday night as they do “family Italian Style” each week from 4 till 8 p.m. on Sundays. When I asked the difference from what we had on a Thursday, I was told the entrees were on separate plates, but they served the vegetables, pasta and eat-alongs in large bowls the tables can pass. I also want to (fat chance) try one of the desserts at Lena’s, especially to compare their cannoli with the town’s best I already get at Micucci’s. Chocolate cake and Tiramisu are also on the dessert menu, though I will, for full disclosure, say I have never cared for the latter all that much. So that’s our review... go try Portland Pottery Cafe by day and go back and enjoy their magical change to Lena’s at night. Just do not plan to go too late as they call it quits for some much-needed rest at 9 p.m. Thursdays thru Saturdays and at 8 p.m. on Sundays. And take some friends, whichever night you go. I will promise no one will go away hungry!
Be Sure To Tell Them You Saw Their Ad In Up Portland!
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Beyond The Forecast
By Jack Sillin / Weatherman & Meterology Student Hello everyone!
We’ve had quite the assortment of weather this past month in Portland, from a massive blizzard to bitter cold Arctic air to our third ice storm of the season to mild rains that belong more in April than January. I covered that big blizzard in my last column, and I’ve written previously about ice storms like those we’ve gotten this year. This month, I’ll discuss an unusual phenomenon that occurred twice within just a few days this January: when the summit of Mt Washington was warmer than Portland. We all know of Mt. Washington as the home of “The World’s Worst Weather” where winds regularly gust over hurricane force, and wind chills can fall to 100 below zero on the coldest Winter nights. We see its snow-capped summit on clear days from October to April, as its high elevation of 6,288 feet lets Winter come early, and stay late. However, there are times when an ascent to the summit of Mt. Washington will lead one to warmer, not colder, conditions. This happened twice in January with each instance the result of a different atmospheric processes. The first event occurred on the evening of January 18th. A weak coastal storm had passed offshore the day before, and a narrow ridge of high pressure was building into the area from the west. This meant that there were light winds near the ground, and as the sun set, winds became calm near the ground. This allowed for heat energy in the lower atmosphere to radiate outward into space, resulting in a net energy loss for the air near the ground, and thus falling temps. If there had been winds, the turbulence associated with the moving air would have disrupted this relatively fragile process. As a result of the radiational cooling and lack of breezes, temps in the lower elevations of Maine and New Hampshire dropped into the low 10’s after sunset.
Meanwhile on the summit of Mt. Washington, steady westerly winds over 20 miles an hour kept temperatures up as radiational cooling was not possible. The result was a temperature of 19 degrees at the summit and 9 degrees near the base of the mountain in Fryeburg. Due to its proximity to the water, Portland was a bit warmer than Fryeburg, but still colder than Mt. Washington, with the thermometer standing at 17 degrees. These are called “nocturnal inversions”, named for “inverted” temperature profiles that warm with height (the opposite of what you’d expect) due to the radiational cooling that occurs during the nighttime. You’ve probably seen this phenomenon yourself driving to work on a very cold Winter’s morning. The temperature dropping below zero in the Portland area is a pretty good sign that radiational cooling has taken place, and a drive through the surrounding area can produce some wild temperature swings over a very short distance. Ever driven up a hill and had the temperature go from -15 at the bottom to +5 at the top and back to -15 on the other side? There’s a good chance you were driving through a strong nocturnal inversion created by the process we just discussed! The second case occurred just a few days later, and was due to a much more familiar process. I’ve written before on the topic of Cold Air Damming, but here’s a quick refresher in case you missed that article. Cold air damming occurs when warm air attempts to push a cold airmass out of the way, and the cold airmass refuses to leave due to higher terrain standing in its way. The cold air is much denser than the warm air, and is reluctant to be pushed up a mountain range as a result, especially when the warm air can just rise over the cold air and continue on its way. How does that relate to the temperatures on Mt. Washington and in Portland? When we had a cold air damming setup on January 23rd, low level temperatures upwind (SE) of the mountains were quite cold, due to the cold airmass dammed against the higher terrain. The temperature in Portland at 10 that morning was a chilly 25 degrees. However, at 6,288 feet there is but a single point of land to interrupt the wind flow, and it is far insufficient to cause any changes in the wind pattern at that altitude. Mount Washington’s summit was fully exposed to the warm winds coming
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in off the ocean, and their temperature at the same time was 32 degrees there. CAD setups like the one on January 23rd are known for producing mixed precipitation such as sleet and freezing rain due to that inverted temperature setup (warming with height), so the next time you have to chisel your car out from the ice (below), think about how if only you were at the summit of Mt Washington, you could be basking in springlike warmth (or at least some temperature above the one you’re currently experiencing). I’ll be back next month with more weather! -Jack
Jack’s Weather Terms EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE (THETA-E) - Equivalent Potential Temperature, also known as theta-e, is a measure of heat and moisture for air parcels at a given level in the atmosphere. The higher the theta-e, the warmer an airmass is and the more moisture it contains. Theta-e can be especially useful for severe weather forecasting, as high theta-e airmasses are both warm, and rich in moisture, two very important ingredients for instability, one of the three things you need for thunderstorm formation. It is also useful for cold season applications such as diagnosing the baroclinic zones (areas of tight heat/moisture gradients) that serve as incubators for developing storms. Atmospheric River -- An atmospheric river is a term given to persistent streams of moisture that linger over an area for a reasonably prolonged period of time. They function just like actual rivers, and transport tremendous amounts of water (in the form of water vapour) from one place (usually the tropics) to another (usually the mid latitudes). Atmospheric rivers are responsible for the extreme precipitation totals you can find sometimes along the West Coast, and are also responsible for some of our more extreme Fall / Spring heavy rain events here in Maine.
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Eric’s Optimal Corner Lynette Spring Baker / Optimal Self Community Health and Wellness Center
that chaga helps to balance blood sugar, enhance the immune system, fight colds and infections and even help the body battle cancer. There are studies that suggest chaga reduces inflammation and increases physical endurance --- two things that active folks (say folks in gym) might benefit from. So there I was holding the bag... the bag full of rock-hard tree fungus that someone literally hiked through the chilly December Maine woods with a chopping implement to carve out. I saw it, too, as a massive haul of potential, so I wasted no time. The very next day, I set out to make a batch of chaga tea for our amazing Optimal Selfers. Armed with only a hatchet and stories of how to brew the beast, using zero internet research, I proceeded along my path. First, I broke the chaga chunks into pieces that would fit into a crockpot. I then filled the crockpot with filtered alkaline water (as we are known fans of the stuff). I set the crockpot to low and outside of batting away the curious hand or two, I let it do it’s work for 48 hours. When brewed properly, chaga tastes like an earthy tea. Some will detect a faint, natural sweetness because chaga contains vanillin, like what’s in the vanilla bean. That being said, I brewed the first batch far too strong, accidentally making a chaga concentrate. The experience was face-puckeringly painful. For days I constantly called out, “Mix it with half water!” when I sensed a ladle heading for the crockpot. But since then, we have gotten into a chaga groove here. Each day we refill the crockpot, further breaking down the chaga chunks once or twice throughout the week to get the most out of our harvest. When the tea starts to brew more faintly, it’s time to start over. I’ve only restarted the batches four times in the last seven weeks. Our members fill their mugs, chat, workout and the days pass.
Chaga: An Experience
Did I mention that our community members love it? I do not believe it is simply Up Portland Is A Proud Member of the
I recall a time when Optimal Self Health and Wellness Community Center had not known life with chaga tea; a time when there was no warming crockpot simmering a lake of black gold; a time when the beverages of choice in our fitness community were but filtered alkaline water and single origin coffee. It is a time that now feels a little a bit incomplete when reminiscing what I now refer to as the “time before chaga.” I’ll never forget that fateful day, almost seven weeks ago, when a tightly bundled and booted community member, practically waddling from the bulk of her outerwear, proudly gifted us a bag full of what looked like large pieces of petrified wood and burnt coal. My eyes grew big and wide when she announced what this bounty was: wild-harvested, local chaga. I was familiar with chaga as I had some at my home in the form of coarse grounds that I purchased from the North Spore guys at The Portland Farmer’s Market. I had enjoyed homemade chaga tea from and with friends, family and coworkers, but this was my first experience holding a hearty piece of it --- half as big as my head --- in my hands. Gazing into that bag, I just knew there was magic brewing at Optimal Self. So, what exactly is chaga? Chaga is a mushroom. Technically, the chaga mushroom is a parasitic tree fungus that primarily infects birch trees. Chaga mushrooms present themselves along the trunk of birch trees in ruddy, bulbous protrusions that can be as large as a footballs --- perhaps larger --- and look a bit like a tree burl. Chaga has been used for centuries in the colder climates, where it grows (think Russia and Northern Europe) for use as a folk medicine. There are many claims
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the chaga tea that they love. I do have members approach me to tell me that they have replaced their coffee with chaga and feel increased energy “without the jitters.” One gym member proclaimed, “You have turned me into a chaga addict!” Other members are just getting up the nerve to try this magical brew right about now. But outside of any possible health and performance benefits, having this warm, communal beverage on hand has had an unexpected impact. We don’t gather around the water cooler, we gather around the crockpot. Observing this new community dynamic, a trainer offered this advice, “We should keep something like this going. It’s been a nice addition, folks gathering around and sharing something together.” And that’s the point. Sure, we gather around our fitness equipment, we spot each other, we help each other when asked and we ask for help when we need it. In doing so, we share the experience of continual improvement. And now, we share chaga, too. While we have enjoyed our time with chaga, my heart sinks a little to know that the end is near. As I write this, we are on the final days of our last batch, having exhausted our supply. I spend part of my day dreaming of packing my hatchet and hiking out to likely birch groves in search of the forest pest. We live in the land of birch trees, do we not? I study when the best time to harvest chaga is (after 20 straight nights of less than 41 degree temperatures) and the most sustainable way to do so (harvest only large pieces, larger than a grapefruit, and leave 20 percent still attached to the tree. If there is only one chaga patch on a tree, leave it alone).
It just so happens that I am headed to Washington County to visit my grandparents who live on nearly 80 acres of forested land in the next few days. Will I keep our chaga saga alive? Will I return a victorious chaga huntress? Wish me luck, and stay tuned or stop in and see if that crockpot is still steaming!
Karaoke at Anthony’s Italian Kitchen Thursday Nights 6-9pm For more info contact
DJ Dennis The Lil’Musicman at: dennis@lilmusicman.com
207-749-7098 or
Anthony’s Italian Kitchen 151 Middle St • Portland
207-774-8668
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The Standard Reviewer
By Andrea Rouda / Up Portland’s Film & Theatre Reviewer
And the Race is On! Finally, the 2018 Academy Award contenders have been disclosed, and aren’t we now all on pins and needles waiting to find out this year’s winners? I thought not. Despite that, I devote this month’s column inches to five of the contenders for Best Picture. As for the other four, it’s a good thing this isn’t the only paper you read (or maybe it is, my editor says). Lady Bird With the distinction of being directed by the only woman nominated in this year’s Best Director category (Greta Gerwig), and starring one of the actresses up for Best Actress (Saiorse Ronan) and another one up for Best Supporting
w o N ! n e p O
Actress (Laurie Metcalf), you might want to check out Lady Bird if you haven’t yet seen it. But don’t get too excited -- it’s only mildly absorbing if you are past the age of 25, and not at all absorbing if you are male, or at least my husband. One of those “coming-of-age” stories about troubled adolescence groping its way to both-feet-on-the-ground adulthood, the title character calls herself “Lady Bird” just because; there are no birds in the film, and she is not of British royalty nor related to (if you are old enough to remember) the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She’s simply a quirky and smart but unhappy teenager desperate to leave her dull hometown of Sacramento, California, for the big, exciting world she is sure awaits her. Until she leaves the nest, we watch Lady Bird fight with her mother (who loves her but has a hard time showing it), bond with her best friend (a lonely, overweight mess) and muddle through a series of somewhat uncomfortable sex scenes with a couple of confused and confusing boyfriends. Her loving father and adopted Latino brother show up in a few scenes that amount to not much. Finally she goes off to college in glamorous Manhattan and decides to use her real name again, which, by the way is Christine. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about, and you probably won’t either.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri This superb film is often hard to watch but just as often a heck of a good time. It’s hard because the subject matter is life in all its glass-is-half-empty horror, with enough sadness, anger, is excited to announce pain and violence to fill half a dozen the addition of evening hours Thursday – Sunday. movies, earning a nomination in the best Original Screenplay category. The Chef Brian Grossman has joined our team to offer a good time comes from great perfornew evening endeavor known as . mances by every single cast member, This new venue will offer homemade, traditional the luscious non-stop cinematography of the beautiful countryside (North Italian Comfort food with specialties to include Carolina plays Missouri), and a very lasagna, veal and eggplant parmigiana, risotto, hand enjoyable, eclectic musical score, also made pasta, meatballs, cannoli and more! Wine and nominated for an Academy Award.
Portland Pottery Café
Lena’s
beer are now available and the food is fantastic. Hours Thursday through Saturday 5-9 pm Sunday 4-8 pm.
Portland Pottery Café continues with
its usual hours Monday – Sunday. Chef Chris Thurston has just introduced the Fall/Winter menu and there are new salads, sandwiches and small plates to be discovered. Some specials include roasted short ribs with mashed potato, butternut squash and sage risotto, beet salad and of course our continually changing variety of soups, frittatas, and desserts. All of our baked goods are made here in the café.
We hope to see you soon! Page 18
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The eponymous three billboards are the true stars of this small-town tale of a mother’s unrelenting grief over the recent death of her teenage daughter. Frances McDormand, one of this year’s Best Actress nominees, plays Mildred Hayes with her usual intensity and uncanny ability to telegraph every nuance of every emotion she is feeling. Like most people, I’m certain I could watch her stare at the camera in silence for two hours and be thoroughly enchanted. Best Supporting Actor nominee Woody Harrelson plays Willoughby, the town’s police chief, the target of Mildred’s ire (and her billboards) for failing to find and capture her daughter’s murderer. He is mesmerizing in the role, having grown far more complicated as an actor than the goofy, grinning guy he has often portrayed in the past. He faces fierce competition from fellow actor Sam Rockwell, nominated in the same category for
his gut-wrenching performance here as a violent racist cop. The only problem is that the whole thing is so damn depressing from beginning to end! Nobody is happy in this film. Not anybody. That actually might be part of its charm since it leaves you feeling so much better about your own life and keeps you from feeling suicidal. (Oh yeah, there’s also a grim suicide.) Despite that, serious film buffs will want to see this film since it will certainly win at least one Oscar --and besides --- it’s great. Get Out If you’re a fan of subtle horror that starts out all sweetness and light until suddenly you’re tumbling down the rabbit hole like Alice after eating that crazy cupcake, Get Out is for you. Marketed as a comedy/thriller, it’s more disturbing than funny but there are some solid laughs, although most of them are the nervous variety since it deals with the simmering racial tensions that are prevalent today. It’s the first directorial effort of black comedian Jordan Peele, winning him a nomination for Best Director. And as an up-to-the-minute potpourri of several memorable old movies, it’s lots of fun for film buffs. It starts out like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the groundbreaking 1967 film about a white girl who brings her black boyfriend home to meet the family. In that one the parents were unhappy about the situation, but in this instance the parents are highly educated and affluent, Obama-loving Democrats who warmly welcome the boyfriend, played by Best Actor-nominee Daniel Kaluuya. It’s all cool with them; in fact, they like black people so much, they want to be black themselves. Now toss in some scenes from Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives and you’re almost there. Add a dash of Frankenstein and a smidge of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and you’ve got the whole picture.
Gary Oldman stars as Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s then brand new Prime Minister; it’s basically all Gary, all the time. I suppose he does a great job since he was nominated for Best Actor. He sure garbles his words, so if Churchill also did that, Oldman is spot on. He also, like Churchill, drinks and smokes incessantly and is sort of a fat, piggish boor, but apparently he was brilliant and saved England from falling under Hitler’s rule, which compensated for his other faults. Just in case we have nodded off, which we might have seeing as how everything is so dark and nothing happens except a lot of talking between stuffy men in suits, all of whom also garble their words, the not nominated director (Joe Wright) has saved us the trouble of wondering how much we’ve missed by flashing the date on the screen in huge block letters every so often. It’s advisable to stay awake since the film is beautiful to look at, earning its best Cinematography nomination with gauzy views of rainy days in London and an especially lovely shot of seagoing vessels under a darkened sky heading towards the beaches of Dunkirk, all with those famous white cliffs of Dover in the background. Every so often there is a bit of slow motion footage of ordinary Londoners going about their day, not knowing that their world is about to be torn apart. Those are some lovely scenes, so keep an eye out for them. Also stay alert for British actress Kristin Scott Thomas who has almost no role as Churchill’s devoted wife, Clementine. She is even more beautiful now than when she was younger, and her brief moments light up the screen.
The soundtrack is absolutely outstanding, adding measurably to the creepiness factor. Be prepared to jump out of your seat a few times. But don’t worry-- it’s scary, but never keep-you-up-all-night gruesome. I only had to cover my eyes once. Dunkirk If you’d like to be in a real war, or even just fantasize about war or enjoy playing war games, Dunkirk is for you. Featuring tons of human misery, massive amounts of gunfire, countless sinking ships, thousands of exploding bombs, and several truly harrowing underwater drowning scenes, this story of 400,000 British soldiers trapped like mice on a beach in France with the Germans at their backs during World War II will either turn you on or make you nauseous. I was in the latter group, but fortunately had not eaten beforehand. The minimal dialog is mostly unintelligible due to all the garbled British accents. The music is loud and foreboding, which is only appropriate since it accompanies what you see onscreen. (See preceding paragraph.) None of the soldiers have names and they all look exactly alike, so you never really get to know anyone. This is actually good since when one of them gets killed you don’t care at all. I hated this film from the moment it started and couldn’t wait for it to be over. But what do I know -- besides Best Picture it’s been nominated for Best Director (Christopher Nolan) and Best Cinematography. Go figure. Darkest Hour This film’s title is clearly a misnomer. Much more accurate would be Darkest Two Hours. Not only is the subject --- Hitler’s advance across Europe at the start of World War Two --- very dark, but what you see on the screen is emotionally as well as visually dark. And of course the theatre you are watching it in is very dark, so all-in-all it’s a damn dingy two hours. (Prepare by having a cup of strong black coffee or a can of Red Bull just before going in.)
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Fast forward to the present at Mark’s Hotdogs and you can order an "Old Porter,” named by my youngest son, Jon, as a take off on the Old Port name. This creation is an almost-gourmet hotdog with sour cream, bacon and sautéed onions. How about a "Bomb Dog"? That’s a hotdog with all basic condiments plus chili, bacon, hot sauce, cheese, sauerkraut and celery salt. I have a few great regular customers who love that I offer mayonnaise upon their request, too. With the advent of Italian sausages (offered at my stand since 1995) green peppers and sautéed onions were necessary added condiments.
Mark: My Words By Mark Gatti / Mark’s Hotdogs My menu is basic in scope: hotdogs and Italian sausages being the only "entree", but customer input, my own research and keeping up with ever-increasing competition has resulted in quite a few more condiments and offerings available. The first couple of years the only condiments on hand were mustard, ketchup, chopped onions, relish and oh, yes, something exotic called sauerkraut. Hotdog carts and other small street food stands were still somewhat of a novelty sighting in the early-to-mid-1980’s. You could have a thriving business in the world of hotdog selling with just a few condiments available, as long as you had a good tasting, quality hotdog.
For years I have, on occasion, tried to offer a food item for vegetarian friends in the area, but they all met with limited success. The different brands of tofu or other meatless hotdogs just can't sell enough to keep on hand. The famous radio personality, Mark Persky, did give inspiration to the "Weenieless Persky Dog" which is a hotdog roll with any condiments you want on its less the hotdog. The occasional vegetarian who orders one gets a kick out of the origin of this offering. Several years ago there were some big fad diets going around that forbade the consumption of bread and other carbohydrates – or at least recommended severely reducing said food groups. Many of my regular customers became devotees of this diet for a period of time, but still wanted to dine with me at lunch. An easy solution was putting the "roll less" hotdogs on a paper plate with the condiments requested. This seemed to satisfy those customers who exhibited
Maine Jewish Museum
Art Talk with Susan Webster & Stuart Kestenbaum Sunday, February 11, 2018, 2pm
Work Together
Susan Webster & Stuart Kestenbaum Fineberg Community Room
Strata
Shoshannah White Spiegel Gallery
Auschwitz
Images of Resilience & Light
Exhibitions run through March 2, 2018 Maine Jewish Museum
267 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101 (207) 773-2339 Monday - Friday 10am-4pm + Sundays 1pm - 5pm or by appointment mainejewishmuseum.org Nancy Davidson, Curator
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Arthur Fink
3rd Floor Sanctuary
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great hand / eye coordination by keeping their tube steaks from sliding off the plates as they strode off! As these fad diets ran out of steam, many of these customers went back to eating their hotdogs with rolls. Locally, it may have helped that an excellent well-known baker named Steve, took to walking around the Old Port with a t-shirt that said "Body made by Bread." Steve had a slim, athletic build, making him the perfect advertisement to help beat back the anti-carbohydrate trends so prevalent at that time. Two other menu items offered in the past came to mind recently as well. For a few weeks in the Spring of 1984 I took a stab at selling lobster rolls. This was during a time when you could store prepared food in a cooler packed with ice – no regular refrigeration needed – to be within legal parameters of the food health codes. I managed to secure a handful of regular customers for the lobster rolls, but not enough to make the side venture economically viable. Lobster rolls are not a snack that can be sold after the first day offered. Because of this, I always had several left over each day, meaning my three roommates loved this brief period of time as they happily gathered round the table, gobbling their lobster rolls, much like sharks in a feeding frenzy in chum-filled water. The other item I tried offering for a few years was Thai Spring Rolls. They’re a great healthy snack for anyone, and a perfect offering for vegetarians. They attracted a handful of devoted regular customers. Sadly, they are also not a resale item for the next day, and I couldn't quite develop enough customers to make them financially work out. On days when the Thai rolls didn't sell well, I would bring home a fair amount of them. My wife still recalls the many variations of dining on these treats. I seem to remember Thai roll omelettes, sautéed Thai rolls, Thai roll soup, and even vegetarian Thai rolls with hot dogs encased inside. The recurring theme established seems to be that the stand is heavily identified with hotdogs. I even have occasional long-term regulars who seem to be surprised that I sell Italian sausages... and I added those a good 25 years ago! In the fast-paced world of the quick street food lunch, the keep it simple approach has worked well in the niche where I take residence. In other words, offer just a few items which are tasty and can be served quickly. I still strive to offer something new to keep up with our ever-changing times and tastes, so watch for some additions. I have a few ideas for this coming Spring season and if anything new is added I will be sure to keep everyone posted. Speaking of keeping customers posted, a lot has changed in marketing / advertising since I first started. There was no social media to speak of, and being somewhat of a miserly Mainer, I never ponied up much in the way of advertising space in the print media. My best advertising / marketing strategies were working a high volume of days each calendar year, combined with the occasional print article written about my business. I was fortunate that all the local television news programmes had me on as a special interest segment a few times each decade, which I am humbly thankful for. As time marches on, the simple approach of just showing up each day is a thing of the past. Never much for all our new social technologies, I am being dragged into the 21st century and will be doing more advertising and marketing using modern methods...at least that’s what my mindful wife tells me. Anyway, January is over, the days are getting longer and Spring doesn't seem so far away. Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I’ll be back at my usual stand before you know it.
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Cemetery... Continued From Page Three including bones in such disarray after hundreds of years that little can be found. As the graves and cemetery are city property, no one can look inside any of the underground burial sites, though Romano said the whole thing is explained and illustrated tours Spirits Alive gives and in the books. “Eastern Cemetery is city property, but we work in partnership with the city at Spirits Alive. It’s a great partnership and the city appreciate the work we do cleaning, repairing etc. that they do not have the budget or staff to accomplish. If we need a water line to water trees, for example, then the city has stepped in to get it constructed. We have a great working relationship.” The friends of the cemetery is a nonprofit group founded in 2006, which does not own the space, but Romano noted, “since 2013 we have conserved 368 stones. We sponsor Summer tours and our Walk Among the Shadows in
the Fall is done with scripted tours and actors in costume. Our 2017 Fall event was largest ever, and we are proud to be one of the Five Best Cemetery Walking Tours In New England as named by Yankee Magazine last year.” As the review says: “On dark nights as Halloween approaches, ghostly storytellers stationed among the buried will tingle your spine...” To find out more, getting one (or both) of Romano’s books, which are on sale at the Maine Historical Society bookshop at the Longfellow House on Congress Street or at Sherman’s or Longfellow Books, among others, would be a good start. In addition, to learn more about the Eastern Cemetery and other New England cemeteries as well, Spirits Alive offers a regular Winter lecture series at The University of Southern Maine one weekend of each month. For dates and more info, surf over to www.spiritsalive.org on the internet, and join Spirits Alive’s guides for a tour when the snow melts.
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