May and June are two of the busiest months in the Cranberry Isles. They hardly resemble the social whirl of July and August, but they are the time when the physical stage is set for whatever drama the summer will bring. Islesford postmaster, Joy Sprague, refers to Memorial Day weekend as the “dress rehearsal for summer.” It’s true. Plenty of people come back on this weekend to get ready for what comes next. After so many quiet months, the sudden influx can seem a bit overwhelming. There will be bake sales, dinner parties, picnics, beach clean ups and visits to island cemeteries to remember those who have served our country in war. The Friday boats arrive packed with familiar faces of people who feel an excitement we understand. They are so glad to get back to the island they call “their real home.” We ask how their winter was and they ask about ours. We catch up and make plans to see each other again in just a few weeks. Our enthusiasm for this ritual is only dampened by the fact that most Cranberry Isles residents have just spent the month of May cramming in more activity than we have seen since Christmas. The time leading up to summer’s dress rehearsal is packed with preproduction details that would make a stage manager’s head spin.
By the end of April the main floats are in at the town docks on Sutton, Islesford, and Great Cranberry. Before summer, additional floats will be added to accommodate row boats, skiffs, small outboards, larger vessels and passenger ferries that come and go at regular intervals. (Please remember the 2 hour limit!) Floats will go in at Manset as well. Someone will be hired to scrape the barnacles and paint the floats before they are placed, while others will be painting skiffs, getting moorings ready, waxing sailboat hulls and stepping masts. The Beal and Bunker mail boat adds an afternoon trip to bridge the gap before they resume their summer schedule on the third Monday in June. The Sea Queen is out of the water for pre-summer maintenance, giving us a chance to practice “standing room only” on the smaller Double B as crowds arrive for the long weekend. At the town office, parking applications have been tallied for the lots at Manset, Northeast Harbor and Joy Road, and the 2010 stickers have been sent out. Have them in place by May 28, or risk being towed.
Food markets and snack bars are anticipating summer needs and ordering accordingly. It is not as simple as a trip to Costco or Sam’s Club. For every item that arrives on the island there is a freight charge and a boat schedule to consider, and finding someone to meet the boat to bring items to their final place of business.
Gift shop owners have been attending gift shows and contacting suppliers, getting stocked up in hopes for a great season. Craftspeople have been knitting, quilting, woodworking, making pottery, creating art and making jewelry in preparation for summer sales. For those of us who work best with deadlines, the month of May means late nights in the studio. Lawnmowers and gardeners, busy since mid-April with the mild spring, face increased workloads in the gardens and lawns of those who are on their way.
Island caretakers have the craziest schedules at this time of year, with painting and plumbing priorities going to houses where clients show up first. There are also floors to be finished, new kitchens and bathrooms to install, and the arrival of Norland’s Water Treatment service and the Haslam Septic truck to facilitate. Are the screens up yet? Has that pile of brush been burned? Did unexpected leaks occur when the water was turned back on? There are suddenly more than enough cleaning jobs to go around, and barely enough people to do them. There are houses to open up with windows to wash, curtains to hang, flies to vacuum, cobwebs to be swept and rugs to clean. If mice got in over the winter, there will be extra dishes and silverware to rewash. One year a mink wreaked havoc in several summer houses on Islesford by gaining access through the dryer hose; a repeat performance no one wants to see.
How handy a box office would be to deal with so many different calendars at this time of year. While someone is busy keeping track of the calendar for visiting ministers at island churches, someone else is penning in plans for social events at the Cranberry House, the Community Center and the Islesford Neighborhood House. Wedding receptions, fund raising dinners and community suppers are just a few of the activities that will vie for a place on the calendar with already scheduled annual events like the Church Fair, the Islesford Fair, movie nights, and the Masquerade Ball. At the Little Cranberry Yacht Club, families will be signing their kids up for rowing and sailing lessons according to the timing of their island stay. Others are keeping track of calendars for rentals, change over cleaning, and family members who take turns sharing a summer home.
The Islesford Dock Restaurant is also the backdrop for numerous social events. The majority of the staff are returning employees, so this cast has already auditioned. Some of the new employees are kids who have been dining at the Dock for years, waiting for the time when they would be old enough to become understudies for the wait staff and kitchen crew. Behind the scenes last winter, there were storms with high tides that flooded part of the dining room. Among other things, this year’s set design features newly installed carpeting and a freshly painted floor in the bar.
A monologue from William Shakespeare’s, “As You Like It,” begins with the lines, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…” In May and June, the players of the Cranberry Isles are busy working backstage, while holding season tickets to the sold-out show called, “Summer!”
-May 16, 2010, Islesford