“More attitude!” Coastal kids travel long distances to play in Bangor’s youth orchestra

Symphony orchestra conductors bring to mind flamboyant behavior and flowing hair. But Brad Mutzenard takes another approach. This down-to-earth, straightforward, humorous but utterly professional conductor of the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra [BSYO] is more likely to lighten a musician’s embarrassment at making a mistake by joking about it and to reward successful playing by tossing

Continue reading...


Mud Season

Regular readers of Vinalhaven’s weekly paper, The Wind, are avidly following the ad campaigns that broke out this winter between two competitor purveyors on the island. Island Spirits had enjoyed a niche all to itself, both in clever ad copy and in the sale of gourmet specialties. But Fishermen’s Friend has entered the fray, not

Continue reading...


CAT to Prowl Portland Harbor

Bay Ferries has announced plans to move the Cat high-speed ferry from Bar Harbor to Portland for summer weekends in 2006. The Cat will offer daily ferry service from Portland to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on the weekends while still maintaining its Bar Harbor-to-Yarmouth weekday schedule. Don Comier, vice president of Cat operations, says Portland offers

Continue reading...


Sudden Sea – The Great Hurricane of 1938

When New England Looked Like New Orleans The death toll alone made the hurricane that struck New England without warning in 1938 a shocker: 682 people died and another 1,754 were seriously injured. “Maine was the only New England state without a fatality,” R.A. Scotti writes. “Eighty-eight died in Massachusetts, ninety in Connecticut, twelve in

Continue reading...