The potential column fodder is rich this month—candidates and the election, Kaci Hickox and Ebola. But when those stories fade, what remains relevant is the wood stove, and even more importantly, the wood pile. I grew up in central Maine, a little no-man’s-land between Farmington and Augusta. My father, a Jewish guy from Southern California,
Thinking of deer meat on Thanksgiving eve
The only meat that we know for certain was served at the so-called First Thanksgiving in 1622 was deer meat. It was accompanied by “fowl,” which in the New England autumn can encompass quite a number of feathered creatures. Most of us assume that included turkey because like to have turkey on our Thanksgiving. Some
A sentinel of ocean health, humpback whale numbers grow
BAR HARBOR — On Oct. 10, Allied Whale entered the image of the 8,000th humpback whale into its photographic database. It’s a milestone for the marine mammal research organization, which created the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue in 1977 with only 120 photographs. It’s also a good sign the endangered species has been rebounding since
Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on the meaning of ‘home’
In the lull between Halloween and Thanksgiving, I find myself getting especially excited for Turkey Day this year. It will be the first time in three years I have been home for the holiday, and I can already smell the cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole. Everyone has their own holiday traditions. I had a
Building it by hand: Memoir of a house a wide-ranging exploration
The House With Sixteen Handmade Doors: A Tale of Architectural Choice and Craftsmanship By Henry Petroski With photographs by Catherine Petroski New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014 Hardcover, 297 pages This is a difficult book to describe. Its title suggests connections with architecture and hand-made things; these topics are present and since Henry Petroski
Nineteenth century island gold and the rush that wasn’t
SWAN’S ISLAND — Earlier this year, Ted Turner gets a call from his aunt on Deer Isle. Ted and his brother Galen Turner (who passed away in 2011) founded the Swan’s Island Lobster and Marine Museum, which holds all kinds of antique fishing and boatbuilding equipment. So he’s received a lot of calls about potential
Island life seeps into Judy Weber’s poems
MONHEGAN PLANTATION — It’s a cliché fantasy we’ve all heard, maybe even indulged in ourselves—move to an island year-round, soak up the rhythm of the seasons, the quiet, the isolation, and write the great American novel. Judy Weber—who writes under the name Judith Ponturo, her maiden name—moved to Monhegan year-round in 2006 after visiting the
Chebeague to study uses of Sunset Landing site
CHEBEAGUE ISLAND — A parcel of land that attracted housing developers in the early 20th century may, a hundred years later, serve the town as a new ferry landing site. The town will use a $20,000 grant from the Maine Coastal Program to study and assess possible uses for the parcel, known locally as Sunset
Problem to solve? Put the old(er) folks on it
Readers of The Working Waterfront who live in Knox and Waldo counties probably know the story of the WindowDressers organization. It’s a story that illustrates something of the state’s problems, but also something of a solution, and so bears repeating—with apologies to those who have heard it before. The story begins with a couple of
Shrimp the ‘canary in the coal mine’ of Gulf of Maine
On Nov. 5, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section met in Portland and, after a scientific presentation, voted unanimously to close the shrimp fishery for another year. The handful of fishermen and processors in the room pleaded for a short season—anything to keep boats on the water. However, the results of the