One late fall evening, the tax collectors came to see Nathaniel Fernald about paying his taxes. Nathaniel explained he was short of money, but he could give them hay in trade, pointing across his fields to the huge haystack that was barely visible through the gloom. The tax collector agreed and the deal was sealed. And that’s how Balance Rock came to be called Haystack. And, though the giant rock is actually in Camden, it’s been on Lincolnville’s tax rolls ever since. Or so the story goes.

Andy Young, the contractor in charge of restoring the Beach Schoolhouse, is perfect for the job, at least from my perspective. He can’t set foot in the place without falling down the rabbit hole of his hometown’s history.

We may start out discussing the window situation or when the fire escape will be reinstalled, but some photo or artifact that’s lying around will set him off on a story, like how Balance Rock came to be called Haystack. Like so many of us, Andy grew up on the stories his elders told. But unlike most of us, he remembers them, retells them, perhaps embellishes them, which, by the way, I just did.

We live in a place where stories are told about the land we live on. I do it, and if you’ve lived here for awhile, I bet you do too. I entertain myself when driving around town on some errand by naming the people who live in each house I pass by. And who used to live there.

Certain spots evoke a memory – of the woman who died when the car her daughter was driving hit a tree, of Joe Nickerson working in his garden 40 years ago, of a friend striding along the road as tears streamed down her face, of the last time Bill Munroe mowed his field. Though to be honest, I didn’t see that, but rather remember the photo Will Brown took of it and posted.

Today is Indigenous People’s Day in Maine, along with Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Vermont. In the rest of the states this is still evidently Columbus Day. In my hometown I think they used to dye the Chicago River pink in honor of Columbus’ Italian heritage (it was dyed green on St. Patrick’s Day).

According to a quick google search “Columbus did not discover North America. He was the first European to sight the Bahamas archipelago and then the island later named Hispaniola, now split into Haiti and the Dominican Republic”. As we are wont to do, we had to have a hero to hang the story of European discovery on, a story children could grow up on, “brave Christopher Columbus” and his dealings with Queen Isabella of Spain, etc. etc.

I was a grown woman before I learned the real story of his awful treatment of the native people he encountered. And now Maine, to its credit, has chosen to honor the people who were already living here when the Europeans arrived, looking for free land to exploit.

Russia’s brutal attempt to take land from the people who belong to it – the Ukrainians – seems a fitting parallel.

Yesterday in church, Indigenous People’s Day, Chris Beach spoke of the Wabanaki as people who belonged to the land, unlike the white settlers who saw the land as belonging to them.

Such a simple phrase, yet such a deep concept. Are we 21st century human beings anything like the people who originally inhabited this coast? Or anything like a Nathaniel Fernald, tricking the tax collector about “his” property?

For that matter, what about the descendants of those indigenous people? They live among us and we share each other’s DNA. To be simplistic (and probably politically incorrect) about it, none of us are pure anything – black, brown, red, yellow, white

Unlike the Europeans, the Africans, the Latinos, and Asians – the Wabanaki (the People of the Dawn, by the way) truly stayed put. Though arguably they too originated somewhere else, probably across the Bering Strait into Asia, they are the first humans to inhabit this land.

And can make the claim, not that the land belongs to them, but that they belong to the land. On the other hand, latecomers that we are, and using quite dubious means, we’ve been here quite a while. Some of us, through our ancestors, can claim over two hundred years of staying put.

“Belonging to the land or the land belonging to” is a state of mind. A newcomer, fresh from a life of transient homes or anonymous suburban enclaves where no real ties to people or land are made, might immediately get it. That this is a place to belong to. Just as a long-time resident might vociferously cling to his ownership: “I can do what I want with my land!” 

A small group of volunteers has been working all this past year to make the Lincolnville Historical Society relevant. After all, we’ve been given some $325,000  in just over a year of fund-raising, money mostly earmarked for the restoration and upkeep of a 170-year-old building.

But along with it has come a growing sense of obligation to tell the complete story of our town. The dramatic scouring of its hilly surface by a mile-thick glacier to the gradual immigration of the Paleo-Indians – ancestors of the Wabanaki – and then the Penobscots that followed, to the explorers from Europe who sailed by our coast, only to return years later as farmers looking for new land.

The next part of the story – 1770 through about WW II – has always been the focus, with the late19th and early 20th centuries the heart of the LHS. Most of our collection consists of photos and documents and memorabilia from that era.

Now we’re ready to look both way back to the very beginnings as well as ahead to the future. We want to let the land tell its own story of the animals, plants, and minerals that are its foundation.

And who are all these folks moving to our town? Where do they come from? Why are they coming here?

It’s time we get to know each other and tell our stories.

School

Once again the Lynx, the school’s newsletter, is full of interesting information about the doings at our K-8 school. – sports news, science class, advice for parents, and lots more. This week’s issue includes a report from the recent school committee meeting.

Historical Society Open House

The community is invited to stop by the Lincolnville Historical Society, 33 Beach Road, this Saturday Oct. 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., to see the progress that’s been made restoring the old building. Since this is Lincolnville, there will be food!

We figure we’re about half way done with the intended improvements. Don’t judge us by our exterior, as all the magic has happened inside. Structurally the building is now sound, the electrical system has been upgraded and new features have been added. Still to come: a new ADA bathroom, upgraded kitchen, refurbished upstairs, new chairlift (though the old one still works, so don’t be daunted by the stairs; it’s easy to ride up), climate-controlled storage, exterior paint, new ramps, plantings, and improved parking.

Bring the family; kids always welcome.

FINAL FLEA MARKET OF THE SEASON

The Lincolnville Center Indoor Flea Market will be held on Saturday, October 15th from 8 a.m. to noon at the Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road, the final Flea Market of the season.This is a real sellers' and finders' emporium. New and returning vendors will be offering an interesting array of products including handcrafted wreaths, hand carved wooden utensils, up-cycled wool/cashmere mittens, artwork, antiques and vintage items, and holiday decorations.

The market will feature a collection of letterpress printing equipment to be sold to benefit the church, including an Adana Horizontal Quarto tabletop press, full cases of metal and wooden type, and a bookbinding sewing
frame.  UCC members will be selling sweet and savory baked goods, breakfast casserole, quiches, muffins, fruit breads and cookies, all packed for takeout.

The Lincolnville Center Indoor Flea Market is not an ordinary market. Come and see for yourself. Covid protocol will followed.  Masks are recommended. The event is sponsored by the United
Christian Church (UCC).

Sympathy

Condolences to the friends and families of Paul Nizio and Kenneth Boody who each passed away in the past few weeks.

Thank You of the Week
To Pat Putnam, who has been the administrator/manager/referee of the Lincolnville Bulletin Board since its beginning many (anyone know how many?) years ago. She’s always willing to help us out when we get tangled in the deep computer hole.

It’s at times a thankless job, riding herd on all of us, keeping us to our stated rule of “no politicking, no proselytizing”. Pat isn’t shy about calling us out if we start to stray over the edge. Thanks, Pat!