James Swan was a writer, Revolutionary War soldier, land speculator and wealthy businessman who created fortunes in America and France. After the Revolution, Swan purchased 25 islands in Penobscot Bay, including the island now named for him, and founded the first recorded settlement on Swan’s Island. He also spent the last 22 years of his
Tool Check
To the editor: I just read your article on the “Quoddy Project” of 1935 very interesting. I have a “tool check” (picture attached) that may be from that period as the acronym U.S.E.D. was the “U.S. (Army) Engineering Department” circa 1900 unless there was another project prior to 1935 and around 1900? What do you
“A General Amazement among All Sorts of Animals” Islesboro remembers its role in a 1780 solar eclipse
Tucked away on Islesboro is a modest historical marker. “First Eclipse of the Sun, 1780,” it states. The granite monument commemorates the first scientifically recorded solar eclipse on the North American continent. This testament to a little-known piece of history is located on the east side of Penobscot Bay at the Narrows, known in 1780
Keep to the Sea?
To the editor: Truly the real estate situation in coastal Maine is deplorable, pernicious. Whereas not too long ago millionaires were content to buy and sell each other’s waterfront mansions, today kitchen table yuppie entrepreneurs as well as huge investment corporations are buying every little cabin and saltbox, every little cove and point, and most
Making Dreams Come True
Dear Fellow Mainers, The time of year has returned when we start baking cookies and finding excuses to spend all day inside by the fire. It is a time for calling relatives and humming Christmas carols all day long. It is also a time to stop and think of those in the world whose dreams,
Not a Cranky Aversion
To the editor: The pronunciation of the compass point “north-east” as “nothe-east” – and not the abominable “nor’east” – by old time Yankees on the Maine coast and Cape Cod (many coastal Maine families emigrated from Cape Cod) is not a cranky aversion to the conventional placement of the letter “r,” as in “I left
Ho, Ho, Ho
Most American children know that Santa Claus arrives on Christmas Eve driving a reindeer-powered sleigh. What most of those children don’t know is that Santa also travels by helicopter doing 160 miles per hour. Flying Santa, as he has come to be known, visits lighthouses and Coast Guard stations along the East Coast from Jonesport,
“Maine Lobster”
Ask anyone from Tucson to Trenton what comes to mind when they hear “Maine” and the next word out of their mouth is bound to be “lobster.” Maine lobster as a brand evokes the quality, purity, and traditional livelihood people associate with Maine’s quality of life more than any other marketing tool. Yet research by
Special Vinalhaven meeting approves roads, policing
Roughly 85 Vinalhaven residents attended a special town meeting Sept. 9 to approve funding for a number of projects. Surprisingly, turnout for this meeting was higher than it had been for the annual town meeting held three months before. On the agenda were the repaving of the island’s major roads, the purchase of furnishings for
For Sale: A way of Life
Everybody wants a piece of the Maine coast. That demand, coupled with a frenzied national real estate market, has led to skyrocketing property values. Coping with this tremendous increase is a challenge for islanders and coastal residents working to sustain year-round communities. And the issue is more complicated than it may seem. Rising property values