March 1, Saturday – temp. at noon 39, wind SW at 10 knots. And March did come in like a lamb. It came in with a clear sky and Venus rising in the east. We hear that Ashley Bryan is in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, now. While there he will assist Jake Lief with school projects. Jake’s mother, Cynthia Lief, reports that he arrived safely and is with a group telling stories around a campfire in the “bush” with a group of the Ubuntu Education Fund Leader-wise Program. He starts his day early and often finishes late at night. He is busy on other projects as well. The schools are supported by Jake’s Ubuntu Education Fund. Jake’s parents are Dan and Cynthia Lief, who own and operate the Restaurant Dock here at Islesford.
Monday, March 10 – wind SW 8 knots and temp. is 28. It was only 12 at 6 a.m. Town meeting today and folks are going down the road to the dock. It will be held at Great Cranberry this year. Ted Jr. came in later and told us about it. He is on the school board now, for a three-year term. His mother, Cara, did a stretch on it some years ago, when he was a student with his sister, Serena Lee, at the little school house here. Teddy is replacing Cindy Thomas, who was on the board for several years. Leslie Horvath of Great Cranberry presented Cindy with a bouquet of roses for her years of faithful service. Edgar Blank is a new selectman, also for three years, and Bud Dwelley served as moderator. There was some talk on the proposed mosquito project but it was short-lived, at least for the time being, and was shelved for a while. Spraying, which seems to be the most effective way now, was not an idea relished by many. Harvey Bunker has flown to Florida to meet his sister, Hazel Eggleston, and drive her back home to Maine. Our sympathies to Hazel, whose husband died recently in Florida. Some of our lobstermen attended the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland a little while ago. Among them were Bruce Fernald, Dave Thomas, Jack Merrill and Eric Jones.
March 14 – Temp. 20, wind NW 15 knots at noon, water temp. 32 in outer harbor. Sunny all day but cold. On March 11, the land management committee met at Dave Thomas’s house here. A progress report was delivered to the Cranberry Isles selectmen later. Scott Grierson appeared at the Islesford school recently and brought along some chinchillas from South America for display. Sally Bloom, the music teacher, has attended a meeting of Union 98 music teachers of Mount Desert Island.
Sunday, March 16 – Wind east at noon, light, Sunny and temp. up to 40. Quiet outside. Church today and Rev. Doug Hare had lunch with Ann and Warren Fernald after. The fire truck was taken out today, activated and exercised. The fire alarm whistle was also given a good test. People were forewarned that this was a trial run so they wouldn’t think it was a real fire.
March 20, Thursday – A fine bright morning. Temp. 40, wind SW 10 knots. The war is on against Iraq. The U.S. bombed one spot where our CIA agents thought Saddam Hussein was holed up. Did we get him? We don’t know yet. A hazy day here in P.M. (a smoky Swer). Joy, our postmaster, went kayaking today to celebrate the first day of spring. It arrived tonight at 8 p.m.
March 22 – wind east today and temp. 48 at noon. Sunny, hazy and raw tonight. This morning the Islesford school went to Bucksport to put on their school’s Destination Imagination team project. to enter this year’s competition. They finished in second place. The team members from here are Emily Thomas, Heather Spurling, Danny Wriggins, Zoe Swaffar and the twins, Frances and Gretchen Blank. Gretchen and Heather played “twinkle, twinkle, little star, how we wonder what you are” on their large fiddles as part of the presentation. The two teachers, Rebecca Beal and Jenny Johnson, were the coaches.
Cary Samuel and Ashley Alley have been on a trip to Barbados, in the West Indies. Stefanie Alley also visited her sister in Florida.
Tuesday, March 25 – Temp. 38, wind SW at 10 knots. A cloudy morn. Some sun in P.M. A special town meeting tomorrow at Great Cranberry at 9 a.m. to discuss automobile parking at the town’s newly acquired land at Manset, in the town of SW Harbor. Our school children have a project now in which they are interviewing several of us older island folk on both Islesford and Great Cranberry. The questions are about times past as compared to what it is like here today, and memories we have of our early childhood here. It brought back to me some interesting things that I hadn’t thought about for a while. The steamboats, the coal vessels, cutting ice at the old ice pond, Irving’s horse and sleigh and our days at school. Our lady schoolmarm and her trusty yard stick. No school ground with lots of play equipment back then, Just a beat-up old basketball that someone had given and that would never stay pumped up for any length of time. But they were on the whole good old days and we survived and had fun. There were more students in those days. The old Coast Guard station was active and this usually provided extra kids. Also, more people lived here year round. No store-boughten bread here either, when was very small, and the island women would bake a tin of biscuits every day. Saturday night was always the night for baked beans, most always with brown bread or Johnnycake.
March 27 – Wind SW 10 knots, temp. 51 at noon. Ricky Alley is in Augusta today. He is one of the judges for the duck stamp printing competition. He has won the prize himself several times. Marion Baker recently returned from a 10-day trip to Japan with her friend and fellow potter Nancy Shaul. They visited Kyoto, Japan, sometimes referred to as Japan’s western capital. They also took a few side trips to other places while there. Marion has a fine little pottery shop at the Islesford Restaurant Dock, all during the summer months.
Friday, April 4 – Temp. 24, wind NE 15 knots at noontime, overcast and smurry sun. Courtney Chaplin dropped in for a chat. He had been to a special town meeting, “yes, another one,” at Great Cranberry Island this morning. There were two articles to discuss and to vote on. The first was whether or not to buy the house owned by Mr. Singh, with its bit of land, which abuts the Manset property, which our town now owns, that we recently purchased from him. This house and property was not for sale then, but it is now. The chief reason for our town buying it is to remove the easements that were on it, should the town sell it to someone else. Thirty-four voted, and 32 were for and two against. The second article concerned authorizing the selectmen to borrow up to $190,000 for wharf repairs at the Town Dock at Great Cranberry. And this also was an affirmative vote.
Courtney has the foundation ready for his new home on Northwood Road. He has also been working on Sam Shaw’s new house in the deep woods, not far from our south shore. There will be work a-plenty soon. Dan and Cynthia Lief will be starting to have work done on their shore land and getting their dock and restaurant ready for the summer season. A lot of boats stored on their land also will be uncovered, serviced and launched. Our granddaughter, Heather, brought us a copy of the school’s latest issue of its “Cranberry Press” newspaper today.
April 6 – another gray sky morning, wind W at 25 knots. Temp. 37 at noon. We are on Daylight Saving Time now. Sky cleared later and many cumulus clouds, fluffy and fleecy. At 2 p.m. today at Reel Pizza in Bar Harbor there will be a matinee sponsored by the island association of museums and historical societies. Both Great Cranberry and Islesford Historical Societies belong to this association. People who attend will be treated to some silent comedy shorts, one being Harold Lloyd’s classic, “Safety Last.” Admission is only 25 cents, a price from the year 1923.
April 14, Monday – wind north 12 knots and temp. 45. A heavy frost this morning. Ted Jr. took Cara and me off island about 10 a.m. in his lobster boat, PANDORA. He was both our boat skipper and mainland chauffer for the day. We hadn’t been off island for a considerable spell, and so many errands and need to replenish groceries, household supplies and a visit to the doctor made it necessary for Cara and me to stay off a few nights, which we did at the Colonial TraveLodge in Ellsworth, always a comfortable haven for island folks. Our first stop was at the Bar Harbor Banking and Trust at NE Harbor. Lisa Parsons is the manager and she and the girls are always pleasant and very helpful. We like to get some cash before going shopping. Most stores have credit cards and check service but there are still restaurants and small places that do cash and carry only. Both Cara and I grew up in the days when it was necessary to have cash on hand for ready use and we still like the habit. We checked into the motel later that afternoon and Ted. Jr. went off to do errands of his own before heading back to the island. A short time later there was a knock at our door and when I answered it our young granddaughter, Lian (Hanni) stood there with a beaming smile and holding up a large chocolate Easter bunny for me. She and our daughter, Serena, and our son-in-law Neal and driven up from Connecticut to visit us and had just arrived. Cara and Serena had arranged the surprise for me. This could certainly be called a well-guarded secret! When Ted Jr. came back to say goodby and saw his sister and family there he joined us in a merry little supper before leaving. It was a very happy evening. Serena and family left the next day for their trip back home. We made the high tide the following day, on the way home, and when reaching Islesford were happy again to see that our town float was hooked up and in place and ready for service. Roy Hadlock had done the job a few days earlier. I had a nice and colorful little object hung on our front porch recently. Stefanie Alley had hung a little wooden lobster buoy just under the schooner steering wheel that is there. Ricky, her husband, had hewed it out of a fine piece of cedar and also carved my lobster license #79A on it – my grandfather Spurling’s license once, except for the A. Stefanie has my buoy colors now, red, white and orange, and it is good to see them on the water once more. I hauled my last lobster trap 112 years ago. Stefanie’s picture is on the interesting, colorful calendar, “Lobstering Women of Maine.” She is shown as “Miss April,” 2003.
Friday, April 18 – Temp. 38, wind south at 12 knots. Extra high and low tides. Full “pink” moon was on the 16th and “la luna” is also at perigee today. The 18th of April always makes me think of Longfellow’s poem of the Ride of Paul Revere: “The 18th of April in ’75, Hardly a man is now alive” is the start of this old and famous poem.
April 20 – Easter Sunday. An east wind (for Easter) velocity light, temp. 38. A nice service too in our Congr. Church. Rev. Doug and Ruth Hare brought several folks with them. A big attendance and the choir consisted of Anna Fernald, Betty Sprague, Sallye Parish, Jan and Bob Wheeler, Phil Hastings and Chris Hathaway. Ruth Hare played the piano and Amy Palmer joined in with her flute.
Ted Jr., wife Jeri and their daughters, Marya, Christy and Heather left today for a week’s stay in the Dominican Republic in the West Indies. They went with other volunteers from the area and are there to help build a much needed school in the town of San Pedro de Macoris.
Monday, April 21 – Temp. today 46 at noon, wind SE. Fire truck taken out today and standing by while dead grass was burned in several places, including around the western side of our church. Evelyn Boxley has her little gas buggy out and in operation.
Ilmi Fernald died today at the age of 91. She had lived here for many years and was married to Lewis Fernald, an island man. He passed away in 1988. Ilmi was liked
by all and was a member of our Congr. Church and served for a long time as a trustee. She was also a member of the Islesford Neighborhood House Assoc. She is survived by her son, Arthur Lewis Fernald, and several nieces and nephews.
The “dip of the month club” is planning on a swim at the Sand Beach on the western shore tomorrow. They hope the sea temp. will be a mite warmer this time and possibly get up to 40 F. They will be celebrating Earth Day.
April 25 – Wind NW at 8 knots, temp. is 46. I saw my first spring robin this morning, but others have been spotted earlier. The Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-op at Islesford will have a new “freight and bait” boat soon. She is nearly ready for delivery, and is a stout 35-foot fiberglass type from R.P. Boat Shop of Steuben, Maine. She has a beam of 13-and-a-half feet and will be powered with a 225-H.P. Deere diesel from John Spofford’s Down East Diesel and Marine of SW Harbor. The boat will be fitted out with all the necessary things, including electronic equipment, and especially a winter backing for the steering shelter. Her name is o be DIVIDEND – a very appropriate name indeed. The co-op manager, Mark Nighman, has made several trips to Steuben to watch the boat’s progress and to talk with its builders. He told me that the present bait boat STORM GALE is up for sale. The price for lobsters right now is $5.25 per lb. for reg. Size with $5.75 for jumbos. Bait has been scarce, especially herring. Some gotten from Rhode Island.
Wed., April 30 – Wind today SW at 8 knots, temp. at noon 54. Sunny but hazy and here we are into the last day of April. “April showers bring May flowers,” we used to sing in school. Well, showers we have had, but don’t look for the “mayflower” on Islesford. I never found any of that name.
In our grade school in my youth, the teacher, in the spring, would start a little flower contest by writing on the blackboard the name of the child who found the first wild flower and also the child who found the first of any flower. It was interesting and fun. Francis Stanley would usually fetch in the very first, a bluet from his front yard. Dandelions were early bloomers and I always remembered that down in back of our brick museum was the “onliest” place to find a dog-toothed violet. Old and fond memories they be…
I saw a deer leaping across our church lawn this morning, the first I have seen for some time. Malcolm Fernald and Hannah Shaw returned recently from a few weeks in Australia. A very interesting place and a long way from home. They visited Sydney and traveled a ways up the east coast of this island continent. They also met some friends from our area.
Ted Jr. and family came home about noon yesterday. They had a good but hot and busy time in the Dominican Republic. Now, along comes the month of May with a promise of better weather, and let us not forget, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day.