SEARSPORT— NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month, is a challenge many new and seasoned adult authors take on each year to write 50,000 words by November 30. Many try but don’t hit that word mark.

Searsport eighth grader, Terrin Connor, decided she was also going to take on this challenge at the beginning of November. By the time, she was done, she had 33,000 words under her belt nearly 15 chapters and three quarters of the novel finished, winning the coveted Highest Word Count Award of all 18 SDMHS students who participated in National Novel Writing Month.

“This was my first time doing NaNoWriMo,” said Terrin, 14.

“I saw some posters about it at school and asked my friends about it because it seemed interesting.”

Every morning, she has to get up at 6 a.m. in order to be at school by 7:30 a.m. After a full day, she didn’t go home, but instead, stayed after school for flute practice until 4:30 p.m. After a long involved day, many students just need a zone-out break, but Terrin pushed herself. “I always found time to write; sometimes I’d skip chores or stay up late.”

Her mother, Jessica Connor, had this to say: “The thing about Terrin is she is very quiet and private, but she also struggles with perfectionism. We often have no idea what she's up to and then she will suddenly will surprise us with a new song or instrument that she is learning and her performance will be nearly perfect and stunning. We're just grateful that the things she chooses to remain private about are positive, healthy things.

“When she was writing her story, she would go into her room and disappear for an hour or two,” continued Connor. “She would run story ideas by us and we would talk about it but she would rarely tell us what she decided in the end. One night, we all stayed up very late. Everyone in the family sat out in the living room. Terrin wrote that night for four hours straight from about 5:30 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m, took a 30-minute break and wrote again until 11 p.m. She was very dedicated to the cause and really enjoyed it. I think she was sad when it ended.”

“It felt relaxing to be honest,” said Terrin.

Terrin said she had no story in mind before the challenge, which then, prompted her to start thinking of characters and plot.

“I didn’t know what to write about at first, but I looked around and said, ‘Well, here’s the school. Why not write about middle school and complain about my experiences? Because I can’t really do that in real life.’”

Beyond sports and playing the flute, Terrin also decided to pick up playing electric guitar this year.

“Mr Ed, [an after-school ed tech and musician] is really cool and in charge in this sort of informal ‘School of Rock’ club at school,” she said. “I was playing flute and he pulled me aside and said ‘How would you like to play the electric guitar?’ I’d already learned how to play acoustic with a couple of lessons, so I picked up the electric guitar and began learning songs. When I first started, I kept breaking the strings and it was really annoying. I could only play one-chord songs. I practiced enough to get pretty decent. I didn’t really tell my mom.”

At this point, her mother Jessica breaks in with a story.

“I was at her school watching the Christmas concert the other night, and as the curtains opened, I saw my daughter standing there on the stage in a black leather jacket, holding an electric guitar I had never seen before. As the curtains opened wider, I realized she was surrounded by an entire rock band of students.” [See Jessica’s Facebook post in the sidebar for the full story]

“I had the best time of my life up on stage,” she said. “I didn’t look like it, but I did.”

Terrin said she thinks she’s got about 200 more pages to go to finish the novel. After that, she’s not sure what she’ll do with it next. “I’m going back and forth about publishing it. If I think it’s good and you think it’s good and we both agree, then I will.”

Figuring out her own conflicts, working on improving her own character(s), finding creative ways to circumnavigate the plot holes of middle school — Terrin’s got what it takes to be the master of her own story— and that’s why she’s one of the Rad Kids.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

For the month of December, we continue our “Shop Local” series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Recycle Me Silly Design

Robot sculptures made with found objects and vintage tins by Bill Tozier in Augusta.

The back story

Tozier, the vice president of a Credit Union, has a couple of side gigs that fulfill his creative side. One is his music.

“I play guitar and sing at this place almost every Saturday night and I just love it,” he said. “It makes people happy and plus, I get a burger and fries out of it.”

The other thing he does is a bit harder to explain, but it all started when he and his wife, Kelly, went antiquing around a year ago. He discovered some vintage tin cans, found materials and odds and ends every day items.

“I started making a dozen or so of these little sculptures for family members and coworkers and I had so much fun making them,” he said. “I started collecting a small inventory of all these antique materials from New England and was having so much fun with it that I decided to sell a few of them on Etsy. I mean, you give some as gifts and you never know if they will be well received. I wasn’t overly confident about them at first; not everyone was going to ‘get’ what I was doing. I didn’t intend to sell hundreds of them, but my wife is always honest with me and will tell me if she likes a piece or it needs more work. I’ve made about 42 sculptures and sold about half of them. I’ve enjoyed making them; it’s a form of art, a form of relaxation and it reuses recycled materials. But, mostly they make people smile.”

Fun Fact

“I’ve found for small crafters like myself the best way to get your work out there is to put it up on Etsy and then do craft shows.”

Where to find it/price range

A variety of one-of-a-kind sculptures and prices can be found on Etsy

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN— December is the season of giving and two businesses are making use of the collaborative model of a pop-up shop in a seasonally vacant space.

Beyond The Sea bookshop, which had to close in October in Lincolnville Beach after 12 years, is open again temporarily until Christmas. The move was born from necessity.

“I still had inventory left over from the shop and it was in boxes all over my living room,” said owner Nanette Gionfriddo. “So, I contacted Katie Capra and Dale Turk, co-owners of Red Barn Marketplace in Lincolnville, initially to see if they had any space, but they close up for the winter and go south. Instead they offered me this space on Bay View Street for several weeks.”

The Red Barn Baking Co., which Capra and Turk also run as an offshoot of the Red Barn Marketplace, sits vacant all winter at 47 Bay View Street; was the perfect solution for both business owners.

According to Storefront Magazine, there are a number of elements that are critical to a pop-up shop’s success. The location is paramount. Because pop-up shops are only open for a short time, there has to be high-volume foot traffic. Camden’s foot traffic sees a jump every December due to holiday shopping.

As for the location of her old business in Lincolnville, Gionfriddo said: “I knew it was a challenge, because other local business owners told me that this location wouldn’t do the kind of business you see in Belfast or Camden,” she said. “It’s a beautiful location, but a tough spot for retail.”

“I have jewelry, new books, second hand books, notecards, puzzles and most everything is 25 to 50 percent off,” she said.

Keeping her Facebook page still going, a number of her loyal customers have expressed their delight to see the shop open again, even if temporarily. Whether Gionfriddo will re-open a bookshop/sandwich shop in another location permanently is still an unknown.

“After this, I’m going to get a job and I’m going to use the time to investigate whether there are any other retail spaces that would work for us,” she said. “We kept our restaurant equipment, just in case.”

To follow Beyond The Sea’s pop up shop visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

For the month of December, we continue our “Shop Local” series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Mary Alice Bird’s Hat Designs

Upcycled handmade hats from old sweaters

The Back Story:

It all started 25 years ago, when Rockland resident Mary Alice Bird heard a story from her daughter, Sarah Bird, who had come across stack of old wool sweaters at a resale ship in Austin, TX that were about to be thrown away. Sarah didn’t have the heart to see them go to waste, so she took them home and made hats and other upcycled items out of them. “When I retired 15 years ago, I was talking to my daughter and she said she thought I’d enjoy doing this too,” said Bird. “At the time, not many people were doing this kind recycling here in Maine, so I made a series of hats for the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Christmas Fair.

“Being rather compulsive, I’d made a lot of them,” she said. “Since at that time I was living on an island, I went into Archipelago to see if they would take them on consignment. And they did. From there, I branched out to making different kinds of recycled fabric items — scarves, handbags, children's clothing, slipper socks, and for about the next 10 years, sold my things not just at St. Peter's Fair, but at Archipelago and about three other area shops. I get my fabrics from clothing and fabric remnants at from Good Will, Salvation Army and other rummage sales, as well as from friends who give me sweaters that have a few holes or have gotten shrunk by mistake.  I then shrink wash them and cut them into the pieces of my design patterns. What I enjoy is mixing unusual textures and colors. Two years ago, as I was approaching 80, I retired from year-round sewing and now only prepare items once a year to sell at local craft fairs to benefit the community service work of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, located in the center of downtown Rockland.”

Fun Fact

Mary Alice said a number of her past customers came to the Festival of Lights Craft Fair specifically to buy something and at the end, she cleared around $1,000 and gave it all to her church.

Where to find it/price range:

Most of her handmade items are between $25-30. Mary Alice takes special orders and people are welcome to make an appointment to view her stock of items at home. She can be reached via email: mabjab51@gmail.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDOBORO — Mention the word brownie and people think you’re either referring to a junior division of the Girl Scouts or that baked, delicious treat. But actually, brownies are mythological creatures of Scottish and English folklore, industrious little hobgoblins with pointed ears who like to hide out in houses or barns and who only come out at night to assist with unfinished chores.

Waldoboro crafter Chris Ann Derby has made a full time career of introducing brownies to Maine, not only in her enchanting color pencil illustrations, but also as plush dolls she sews by hand.

“I have always been creative and loved to draw, but my high school guidance counselor discouraged me from taking art my senior year,” she said. “I probably would have minored in art in college, but resorted to only taking a single drawing class my senior year. The only two drawings I kept from that class were of old barns from my favorite book in the college library.”

Instead, she went on to pursue a career in science, then as an educator.

Derby said her inspiration for the brownies came from various threads in her life that all collided at once. Six years ago, another crafter in Waldoboro was handmaking brownie dolls. Finding them irresistible, Derby bought one and began photographing his adventures.

“You have all of these myths in Scotland, but not in New England, so I started making up my own mythology of this Brownie in a New England barn,” she said.

At the same time, her position at the local high school required her to accompany a student to an art class, much to Derby’s delight.

“Ten years ago, when I turned 50, I decided that I wanted to be the next Grandma Moses,” she said, referring to the artist whose painting career began at the age of 78. She tried drawing a picture of her new brownie, and was surprised at how well it came out. The art teacher encouraged her to keep drawing them.

“I started writing down my brownie’s adventures and creating illustrations to go with them,” she said.

In 2012, a meeting with an editor at Down East Magazine encouraged her, but she hit a snag when asked if the brownies she was drawing were of her own design.

“The lady who designed the brownie I’d bought told me I couldn’t use his image, because it was copyrighted,” she said. Then, Derby’s lifelong sewing talents came in. “I spent a year redesigning the pattern to make a brownie that looked entirely different,” she said. “Finding the best fabric and the strongest wires for the arms and legs was a real challenge.” She began making more varieties of brownie dolls, either boys or girls, with different skin tones and hair colors. “It takes me about two days to make a doll, and several more to design and sew the clothes,” she said. Prices range from $150 to $200, depending on the degree of detail in their outfits. “Two years ago I made a rock star brownie for a real rock star!” she said.

In searching for a unique origin story for her brownie, her husband Jim, a house-and-barn restoration carpenter, suggested she make her creations into barn brownies.

“There are many myths about barn brownies in Scotland, but none in New England,” said Derby. “So, I created my own legend of the New England barn brownie.” In writing her story, she created her own folklore: that if a barn falls into disrepair, the brownie must find a new place to live or will perish with the barn. Derby began photographing her newly-designed brownie in one of the barns her husband was working on, with the aim to use those photos for the illustrations with her book. But at a writer’s conference, an agent told her that publishers won’t touch children’s books with photographs, so she went home and began converting her photos to illustrations.

Derby said she is backlogged with orders for the barn brownie dolls for now and is limiting her custom orders, because she is still actively working on her original goal of finishing her manuscript and illustrations for a series of children’s books about her New England barn brownie’s adventures. “I have an agent waiting to view my completed manuscript, so that is my first priority,” she said. Derby and her barn brownie will be presenting at the Rockland Public Library in January for story time, or you can email her at: newenglandbarnbrownies@gmail.com for more information.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—  For the past year, a bag of food and a specific recipe have come home each week with Crystal and Tai Ivers’s young sons, Noah, 3 and Gerald, 5, from the children’s Head Start program, thanks to a new pilot project from Waldo Community Action Program (WCAP) called “Head Start 4 Hunger.”

The boys were excited to unpack the bag each time, for it meant they could do some of the chopping and prepping for the night’s dinner.

The project came out of a desire to do something similar to a weekend backpack program, however, WCAP did not just want to send food home. Around the same time, meal kit delivery systems such as “Hello Fresh” and “Purple Carrot” were having an impact on the way people cooked at home.

“I think subscription meal kits are a good idea, but they’re too expensive for most families in Maine with low incomes,” said Tabitha Lowe, WCAP Community Partnerships Director. “These families are often restricted to making meals based on what information and resources they have access to, especially in a rural community like this one, where many just don’t have the Internet at home to look up recipes. So, if they got a turnip in a bag of food, they might not even know what to do with it and give it away.”

“Head Start 4 Hunger” combines nutritious ingredients in meal kits they put together with recipes in order to introduce children and parents to new foods and cooking experiences, which will help combat food insecurity and obesity in Waldo county in the long-term.  

In 2017, WCAP’s Early Childhood Program, which oversees Head Start and Early Head Start in the area, served 206 eligible families in Waldo county.  Cherie Merrill, Early Childhood Nutrition Coordinator and Tabitha Lowe, Community Partnerships Director spearheaded the project, which is now in its second year.

The meal kits include a healthy recipe with nutritional information, developed by a registered dietician specifically for the project, and all the nutritious fresh ingredients, canned goods, and spices needed to prepare it.

Through a Federal Community Services Block Grant and a grant from United Midcoast Charities, 25 families (52 adults and 68 children) benefited from 924 distributed meal kits.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church has also donated funds and, in addition, their volunteers spend every Wednesday at WCAP to pack up the meal kit bags with WCAP staff helping to deliver bags when necessary.

Statistics don’t always show the whole story.

“I think the main thing is that families were having more bonding time cooking together,” said Lowe. “In one family, the bag of food would become part of this family’s cooking routine that one child, a five-year-old girl, looked forward to opening each week to see what they could make.”

“We made a lot of home visits to this particular family,” added Merrill. “The little girl was underweight and having a lot of issues. This family didn’t have a kitchen table; they didn’t have chairs. So with this program, the little girl began to get involved with cooking every night with her family. Long story short, we got them a table and chairs and they sat together at the table for dinner every night, not on the couch in front of the television. She’s now making progress toward a normal weight.”

The families surveyed from the program expressed their appreciation for the free service. “When food has been low before pay day, it helped,” said one respondent. Another added, “Some nights I didn’t know what we were having for supper and then the bag came home and saved us.” 

Beyond the meal kits, “Head Start 4 Hunger” also offered the parents a number of cooking and gardening classes, as well as parent field trips to explore new places such as the farmer’s market. “Sumer Bayer at WIC will do field trips with the families and show them how to use their SNAP cards at the Belfast Farmer’s Market,” said Merrill. “We also partner with Beth Chamberlin from SNAP Ed, and she does Hannaford Supermarket tours and in-person meetings in which she teaches families how to shop. Each participating adult also receives a $10 Hannaford gift card.”

The results of the pilot program’s family survey revealed that 73 percent of the families expressed their nutrition knowledge had improved with comments such as: “Didn’t realize the different foods you could combine to make a healthy meal” and “Learning that there was food we didn’t think we like, but we tried then to discover, we did.”

The program, which is the only one of its kind among Maine’s 10 Community Action Agencies, is ideal for replication. Merrill and the project’s registered dietician, Elisa Ross, have developed 24 new recipes for 2018-2019 such as Burritos with Fixings, Pumpkin Chili, and Tuscan Kale Tomato Bean Soup.

“We have made sure every recipe is WIC-approved, in some cases, replaced fresh meat with canned meat, such as tuna,” said Merrill. “It’s our hope that if they like the recipe, they’ll save it and be able to purchase the same items through WIC next time. We have also incorporated more fresh vegetables in the meal kit each year, which we get from Cross Patch Farms in Morrill, and each kit comes with a custom spice kit.”

WCAP’s innovative ideas for the project don’t stop there. “We will be eventually doing short YouTube videos on how to cook certain recipes and hope to create social media groups for participating families,” she said. “We really put a lot of thought into this because we wanted to be sure we were doing something that would address hunger long term and provide opportunities for children coming from generational poverty to widen their horizons,” said Lowe.

For more information visit: https://www.waldocap.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSPORT— Inside the yellow 19th century sea captain’s house on 1 Church Street, rooms have been decorated for a Victorian-era Christmas, with entry ways bedecked with evergreens, small trees with nautical ornaments, and other details that reflect what the holidays would have been for a 19th century family.

The Fowler-True-Ross house is part of Penobscot Marine Museum’s collection of historic buildings. Nine area businesses and community groups have taken over the decoration of each room and made it their own in time for the Victorian Christmas weekend event, Friday, December 7 and Saturday, December 8, in which the public is encouraged to walk through from 4 to 7 p.m..

The traditions of decorating for Christmas really started with Queen Victoria, in 1848 when the Illustrated London News published a drawing of the Queen and her husband Prince Albert, standing around a decorated Christmas tree, inspired by Prince Albert's childhood holiday experiences in Germany.

“It has been a tradition in Searsport for different community groups to come in and decorate each room of this house in the Victorian Christmas style," said Cipperly Good, Curator/Collections Manager. “So, it’s like multiple Christmases in one house, not necessarily true to any particular time period.”

Bluejacket Shipcrafters decorated the kitchen with vintage Christmas cards above the mantle of the hearth and stockings hung below.  In those times, gifts family members gave one another would have been very simple: cards, fruits, nuts, sweets and handmade cards items that could easily be placed on an evergreen tree. As gift giving became more central to the traditions in later years, they got bigger, mainly store-bought and found their place under, rather on the tree.

The garland and decorations on the outside of the house and walkway was done by a neighbor, Pat Brennan-Finnie.

Bangor Savings Bank decorated the Captain’s Office.

“They decided to do a little bit more modern take on Christmas with silver and blue as their theme as that is their logo colors,” said Good.

A small illuminated paper village lights up the table in the game room courtesy of Wayne Hamilton. The hearth hallway was taken over by the Nautical Scribe, a bookstore in Stockton Springs with ornaments made from Monkey’s Fists rope knots and garland. A small evergreen tree dominates the parlor, with hand-cut paper ornaments decorated by the Maine Ocean School. 

At the top of the stairs, a gift table with cards and books has been set up by The Lupine Cottage, co-op of Maine artisans and crafters.

The master bedroom features a handmade quilt.

“Judy Roche, a local quilt maker who has exhibited with us, collects vintage quilts and lent us this one for the bed, and her husband Pat, a woodworker, fashioned some wooden ‘stockings’ for the mantle of the fireplace.’

The children’s bedroom is festive with toys on the floor and another handmade quilt from staff member Faith Garrold. And the Carver Memorial Library donated mini book ornaments for the rope that cordons off the room. The Sail Locker decorated The Sewing Room with nautical theme, including a wreath made from warp.

It’s a fascinating walk back through time to go through the house. The weekend’s free tour starts at 4 p.m. and goes until 7 p.m.

“It coincides with  Searsport’s tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and there will be Santa, caroling and cocoa,” said Good. “There will also be a gingerbread lighthouse competition. On Saturday, the Pen Bay Singers will be performing at the Searsport Congregational Church at 7:30 pm, so attendees are invited to stop by the house beforehand. There will be ornament making both nights and the store will be open for those needed to do some last minute shopping."

For more information visit: www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST— Each year, Waterfall Arts invites Maine artists to submit handmade art and high-quality goods to be part of their juried “Handmade” show. The gallery is transformed into a modern marketplace complete with displays and racks full of everything from accessories to printed goods, clothing to hanging works of art and much, much more. Proceeds from sales at Handmade benefit programs at Waterfall Arts.

“This is our seventh year,” said Meg Fournier, Director of Programming & Outreach. “Year-round we try to make space for artists of all kinds. In curating ‘Handmade,’ we have established artists, but we also have up-and-coming artists. We want to see them have a chance to shine.”

The show officially kicks off December 7 with an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. with drinks and appetizers and goes until  December 23, but on Thursday night, December 6, there was a private “Sneak Peek” for Waterfall Arts’ members.

“We like to give our members incentives and this is a new event, to give them early access, so they can browse without the crowds,” said Fournier. “Last year we had 350 people at our Opening Reception.”

Each year is different, with new artwork and high-quality handmade goods packing the Clifford Gallery. Check out our gallery so you can virtually shop.

For more information visit: http://waterfallarts.org/handmade/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN — Paying homage to the little girl after whom the original café on 55 Chestnut Street was named, as well as to the local restaurant made popular by Chef Brian Hill, Jennifer and Jack Neal, the new owners of Franny’s Bistro, are excited to make their neighborhood bistro a local’s hang out once again.

“We wanted to keep a version of the original name while making it our own,” said Jennifer. “We’re tipping our hat to what’s been here before and taking ‘Francine’ — the original little girl to an adult ‘Franny’s — with an adventurous palate,” added Jack. “I think there is a built-in element of this restaurant and location having a local following, but with that comes a lot of expectation to live up to what came before. I like to do a lot of different cuisine, and don’t limit myself to one style. Our niche is going to be an intimate neighborhood place that makes you feel that you’re at home.”

The couple moved from Greenville to Camden several years ago to raise their sons.

“We’d always liked the place and came here a few times when Brian owned it,” said Jack. “We came by and spoke with the owner of the building Mark Senders, who’d already had a tenant lined up, so we thought, ‘oh well, that happens.’ But then, the tenant fell through and after that, everything fell into place real quickly.”

Jennifer, who also runs a floral business on the side, said with both of their sons now in middle school and high school, the timing was right to get back into the restaurant industry.

“We’re looking forward to having our sons work with us after school,” she said. “It shows them to can have a dream and make it happen.”

Jack, a chef for the past 20 years in Portland, as well as for a number of fine-dining inns in Camden and Greenville, has created a New American menu with a balanced array of comfort food, seafood, and vegetarian and gluten-free fare.

Patrons of the former Francine Bistro will be delighted to see Steak Frites is back on the menu, along with wintry stick-to-your-ribs dishes such as Tagliatelle Ragu, slow-cooked beef short ribs in a rich glace with grilled vegetables over housemade noodles.

The other element that Francine Bistro offered that the Neals plan to bring back are shareable appetizers such as smoked shrimp rolls, cider-glazed pork belly and creamy roast garlic mussels, as well as a sides menu for those who just want tiny plates.

“If you just want a drink and three small sides or share an entree and experiment, that’s how we like to go out and eat, and want to encourage people to try different things,” said Jennifer.

The interior has Jennifer’s elegant touch with cool, dark walls, the original wooden tables and much of the old Francine’s furniture. Jennifer’s extravagant bouquets of red and white roses bookend the bar, while small rustic touches such as pine cones and roses adorn the tables.

“I wanted the inside to be romantic,” Jennifer said. “A small intimate place you can come out on a date or with friends.”

Kathryn McKinlay, their bar manager, has crafted an eclectic cocktail menu. The “Tew-Pac Drop” a lemony vodka drink, a nod to the rapper Tupac Shakur, was one of their most requested cocktails at their soft opening last week. They will also have interesting mocktails, local brews and wines.

The official opening is on Wednesday, December 5. As they can only accommodate 50 people in the small restaurant, they require reservations. A menu can also be found online. For more information visit: Franny’s Bistro.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Behind the Slides, our ongoing feature, is where we meet with an artist who presented at a recent PechaKucha event and find out the deeper story beneath the images he or she chooses to portray.

Ni Rong is a Rockport-based photographer. Born and raised in China, her series In America-Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter is a personal project that Rong began in 2012 to investigate her Asian-American identity through self-portraiture.

The project stemmed from years of searching for an emotional home and a sense of belonging. This work has taken her on a rich and spiritual journey, and made her a stronger person as well as an artist.

Note: The slides appear in the right column. Click on the photos to match them with the actual slide notes (in italics). Beneath the slide notes will be the deeper story.

Home in Maine

I am truly honored to be here to share with you my project called In America. I started photographing this series in 2012. It was not intended as an art project; rather, it was something that I had to do for me, to explore my Asian identity.

This photo was taken in front of our home in Rockport. It depicted how I have truly arrived at my home in Maine, both literally and emotionally, both in a tangible and an intangible way. Our home is not only beautiful and inviting, but also strong and filled with history. There isn’t any background that would be more appropriate than our own home, to express how I felt that I have arrived at home: the east and west, all in a perfect harmony, filled with love and peace. 

Red Lanterns

So in some ways, where we are from has become part of who we are. By arriving in a totally different country and cultural environment, I have gained an identity. I was not conscious of this before, because everyone surrounding me was Chinese.

I grew up in Beijing with red lanterns everywhere, around home, and on the streets. At the New Year’s night, my father would light up a lantern with a candle inside and hand it over to me with a stick. It is one of the few toys from childhood that I had the most memories of. I cannot think of anything else to represent my Chinese identity better than red lanterns. These lanterns not only tell you who I am, but they also whisper to you how I feel from inside. No face needed, the lanterns will tell you all.

Mother

Despite of being thousands of miles away, home in Beijing has always felt so close to heart. Every letter with the familiar postage brought love and memories. My home has always been in Beijing, and Beijing has always been home.

This photo was taken inside of our home in Rockport, with my husband Dorsey’s desk, his favorite desk lamp, and a painting by our friend, Connie Hayes. It encapsulates all the important things in life, love and friendship. The photo was taken early in the morning with the sunrays flooded the house. I felt in the center of the brightest light existed what was the remains of my mother, whom I lost the year before this photo was taken. She was the symbol of home and love for me in Beijing.

Symbol of the Past

Returning back to the States, I found myself drawn to anything that reminded me of China. Memories of the past have never faded. To the contrary, with age, it’s grown like a seed inside of me. Even though it was almost 40 years ago.

When I spotted this snow-covered cornfield while driving on the snowy road in Jefferson, the scene instantly transferred me to the countryside in China where I worked for three years after high school. This powerful connection made me stop the car and I walked into the cornfield. It represented the China that I knew, before it transformed into today’s China that I have a hard time to recognizing and connecting with. Yes, I left the countryside 35 years ago, but in a way I never really left. The memory stayed alive and fresh in my mind; that’s where I began learning about life and all its challenges, and it has been a very important part of who I was, and where I came from.

Monhegan Island

I started to explore. Nature became my backdrops. By being with nature, it helped me let go. I felt cleansing, and liberating. The renewed energy made me feel strong and in balance.

My husband introduced to Monhegan Island many years ago. I learned from my islander friends that they set up bonfire on construction debris on the Fish Beach when the wind blows off the island. This amazing pile of debris symbolized to me the constructions and reconstructions that we all go through at different stages of our lives. I also sensed the healing power that it offered to me through rebuild. It was magical from this magical island. This power carried me through storms in life, and made me a stronger person.

Life is a Journey

Life is a journey; and this project started me on a spiritual one. It carried me much further than examining cross-cultural identity. Not only I arrived at a true home, I felt transformation.

It took me five years to finally start photographing the project ever since I had the idea for it. During those years, I dreamed of the images that I would shoot. This image was one of those that have lived in my head for years. To me, the boat symbolized life’s journey; the umbrella suggested the protection and support that we all depend on; and the heavy fog implied the uncertainty and unpredictability in life, which we all face. It reflected sense longing, and the determination of moving forward with confidence and hope.

Power of Nature

I also felt that I have grown as a person as well as an artist. The nature in Maine gave me strength and wisdom, as the people in Maine, provided me with love, support and courage. I would like to finish with a verse “When in Maine.”

I took this photo in our front yard by Rockport Harbor. To me, the birch trees and rugosa stems formed a tapestry that displayed the true beauty of Maine in its purist form; in the meantime, it suggested all the implied challenges and difficulties in the uphill journey that we all face in life. It took me three days to photograph this image, running back and forth with 12 seconds on the timer in the snowy field with -20F temperature. The image symbolized my belief that we cannot run away from difficulties and challenges in life; rather, we should embrace it. That’s how we grow and mature and become stronger each step of the way. Life is a series of challenges, and life is a celebration. This image expressed just that.

Here is my finishing verse I wrote it for the solo exhibit at the Ralston Gallery in 2015:

When in Maine, I am complete;

My feet on the ground, my spirit high.

Maine opens my world wide;

Connects with my heart deeply.

Nurtures my soul with its rain;

Matures me with four seasons.

Maine is love. Maine is home.

For more information about the artist and upcoming exhibitions visit: nirongphoto.com 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — A small group of “Broads and Bros” over the age of 50 gathered at Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center November 14 for a specific purpose: To advocate for Maine’s wilderness and public lands, while having fun doing it.

The group is a Midcoast Maine chapter of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a national grassroots organization based out of Durango, Colorado, lead by women that engages and inspires activism to preserve and protect wilderness and wild lands. They call themselves “Broadband.”

Chapter leader Theo Pratt hosted the meeting for just over a dozen people, including men, who were curious to hear about the chapter’s mission.

“The men who are allied with the Great Old Broads are called our Great Old Bros,” she said.

The organization started in 1989 when, on the 25th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, a feisty bunch of older female hikers took umbrage over Utah Senator Orrin Hatch’s claim that wilderness is inaccessible to elders.

About that time, wilderness designation had been proposed for Escalante, and Senator Hatch opposed it, saying, “if for no other reason, we need roads for the aged and infirm.”

Founder Susan Tixier and her fellow activists were outraged, and with sudden clarity, saw that an important voice was missing from the environmental movement: older woman—especially those impassioned, experienced, not afraid to speak out, and definitely not needing roads.

One when group was out hiking and discussing what action to take next, they came upon a group of elderly ladies coming off a trail—dusty, tan, sinewy, and gray-haired. Someone remarked, “What a bunch of great old broads.”

The name stuck.

Pratt said that the Midcoast Maine chapter (one of 40 chapters across the United States) focuses on the same regional missions that the national chapter does, mainly, to collaborate with conservation partners to urge Congress to designate new wilderness areas, and to monitor and protect the management of designated wilderness, wildlife and public lands.

“In the six months we’ve been in existence in Maine, our first goal is to grow the chapter and then give people something to do,” said Pratt, adding they are working on local initiatives to advocate for, but in the meantime, the group is also a social outdoor club with the aim to get outside, have fun and enjoy the very resources they are working to protect.

“We’re going to partner with Sierra Club and National Resources Council of Maine and some of their current issues as well as the Georges River Land Trust,” Pratt told the group. “We’re trying to pair all of our outdoor excursions, whether its hiking, snowshoeing or any one of the numerous ways to enjoy the outdoors with a a pizza party or a beer afterwards,” she said. “Advocate, Educate and Celebrate, that’s our motto.”

The organization has a website at www.greatoldbroads.org. Pratt can be reached at mainebroads@gmail.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

For the month of December, we continue our “Shop Local” series to shine the spotlight on local craftspeople who make things by hand. It’s important to shop local and to support the innovators and entrepreneurs who keep the creative economy alive in the Midcoast. So each week, until Dec. 25, we will bring you this series until you can’t take it anymore. Ready. Set. Go.

Gourmet Maine Lobster Crackers 

Real Maine lobster baked in a delicious cracker

The Back Story

In 2012, Pat Havener and her husband, Friendship lobsterman Greg Havener, were trying to brainstorm ways to make up lost income from the plummeting price of lobster.

Pat got an idea one day after her niece’s dogs were scrambling to lick up the remnants of a lobster feed, so she took some of Greg’s catch and put it into a food processor to make gourmet dog biscuits out of them, calling them “Lobster Treats for Salty Dogs.”

Turns out, they were not only a hit at the Rockland Farmer’s Market, but they were a product that people wanted for themselves, not just a treat for their dogs.

“We were cooking lobster for the biscuits one day and Greg held up this beautiful claw and said, ‘You’re giving this to dogs?’ and I said, ‘Yes, dear I am.’ And he said ‘You need to make crackers for people.’” 

Soon, after experimenting with the right ratio of lobster (which is about one small lobster for three boxes of crackers), Pat came up with a product that was light, crispy, and definitely had a lobster flavor.

The crackers, which are the only type of its kind in the U.S., were named “Best New Product—Specialty Food” in spring of 2015 at the at\ the New England Made Giftware Specialty Food Show and in 2016, they were featured on WMTW Channel 8 with Steve Minich’s “Made in Maine.”

Fun Fact

Greg and their son Andy lobster fish even in winter, weather permitting. Because of the distance to get out to his traps, Andy leaves at 3 a.m. and often doesn’t return until 6 p.m., hauling 400 traps during that time.

Where to find it/price range

You can buy a box ($10) on their website or at upcoming craft shows such as Sweetgrass Farm & Winery Holiday Open House December 8 and 9.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — North Beacon Oyster’s pine state take on the classic San Francisco cocktail is the perfect sip for when the sun disappears too early and you want a companion who’ll listen to all of your dark secrets.

"The Maine Revolvah is definitely a hearty drink,” said chef/owner Mike Mastronardi of North Beacon Oyster. “It’s a really simple cocktail and that’s the beauty of it, but it’s potent.”

Sipped in a martini glass by a roaring fire, or as an elegant warm-up to a holiday cocktail party, this high-class cocktail goes slumming for street cred with one of its ingredients, Allen’s Coffee Brandy.

An article in “Serious Eats” by writer Paul Clark, pinpoints the cocktail’s origins: “Introduced by San Francisco bartender Jon Santer around 2003, the Revolver was originally made with the rye-heavy Bulleit Bourbon (Bulleit, Revolver—get it?), which has a spicy spark that's accented with orange bitters and buffered by a dose of rich coffee liqueur.”

“A friend of mine turned me on it, and originally it was bourbon mixed with coffee liqueur, but we adapted it with Allen’s because obviously, that’s Maine’s most popular alcohol,” said Mastronardi.

Bulleit Rye is what rounds out the Revolvah’s  suppleness, along with Cointreau and orange bitters, which give it a sweet, citrusy top note. This contrasts with the swirling layers beneath, which hint at an old-time Sarsaparilla. And oranges— the dreaded obligatory fruit at the bottom of your Christmas stocking to give the illusion that there was a bigger toy lodged in the foot—are back in fashion for an adult drink, now that you know Santa never did care if you were naughty or nice.

“The original cocktail was a little too rugged, so the Cointreau just balances it out,” said Mastronardi, who prefers not to shake the cocktail, but stir it instead.

If you’re doing a winter-warm holiday cocktail party and want to try to recreate it, watch the video. Or stop by North Beacon Oyster and let them make one for you.

• 3 oz. Bulleit Rye
• 2 oz. Allen’s Coffee Brandy
• ¾ oz. Cointreau
• ½ tsp. or orange bitters
•  a garnish of orange peel

Don’t shake the cocktail, but just stir it over ice and pour into a martini glass.

To see all of our past “What’s In That Cocktail” series (with video!), check out our resource page: The best craft cocktails in the Midcoast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

OWLS HEAD —Rohobot Carlson, or “Ro” as he is known to his friends and teachers, is a second year student at the Midcoast School of Technology in Rockland and one of 12 students studying automotive technology. At age 16, he is studying how to identify, analyze and diagnose every single mechanical part of a car, which has about 30,000 parts, down to the smallest screws. He just received MCST’s award for “Student of the Month” in auto tech.

The enormous warehouse that sits in back of the MCST classrooms is where the students receive hands-on training in a number of fields, including building and automotive repair. The massive bay in the auto tech section holds three vehicles, all donated. Each vehicle is a little like a cadaver that first-year medical students use.

“I like cars,” said Ro. “I didn’t really know much about them, though, because I didn’t grow up around them.”

He was born in Ethiopia and adopted as a child to a Maine family. Just last month, he earned his U.S. citizenship.

“I wanted to learn about them and try this program,” he said. “I didn’t know what anything was when I first started, not even what a wrench was. I’m still learning; there’s a lot to learn, just on the components. For example, just the process of the brakes. The hard part is diagnosing what the problem is, but I can fix them if I’m shown.”

The students haven’t even gotten to the engine component of the course, yet.  The transmission of a vehicle has been Ro’s biggest challenge.

“Right now we’re working on the suspension,” he said. “If I have a problem that is not too difficult of a task, I’d like to learn how to fix it. I know that will save me tons of money later in life to know how to fix my own car.”

Though he he’s still working on obtaining his license and doesn’t yet own a car, his dream car would be a Camaro ZL1.

“It’s a pretty sporty muscle car; I’ve always liked cars since I was a kid, either cherry red or black,” he said.

Reality TV star Mike Rowe, host of Dirty Jobs, which celebrates the blue-collar work ethic of tradesmen, said there are abundant opportunities for affordable training and good wages in blue collar fields.In an article in City Journal, he stated, “Plumbers, pipe fitters, carpenters, mechanics, those men and women right now... can pretty much write their own ticket.”

The Auto Tech Program extends for two years and Ro is on his second year. As a homeschooled student, he is considering the idea of taking the program all over again next fall ,but as his instructor Tom Vannah explains, he’d advance into more of a deeper independent study on the subject.

As for whether he wants to go to a technical school post high school, Ro is not sure.

“If I do keep on with this, I’d likely go to a technical school,” he said. “I know there’s more work in the bigger cities, but I like Maine. I see myself living in Maine.”

Besides cars, Ro likes history as a subject and is pretty active in sports and playing soccer when he has time.

Apart from school, he works part time at E.L. Spear Hardware after school in customer service, another valuable experience if he ever decided to work as a mechanic.

“You definitely learn how to deal with people in customer service when you’re a mechanic,” he said. “In some ways, that is the most important part, to be able to communicate to all kinds of people.”

Like most of the kids profiled in this series, he isn’t sure what the future holds. He just knows if his car ever breaks down, he’ll be one of the few kids he knows, who’ll have no trepidation pulling up the hood and getting a little dirty to fix the problem.

Hail To The Rad Kids is an ongoing feature highlighting teens in the Midcoast with special talent. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — Shopping at the Festival of Lights Craft Show, hosted by Pope Memorial Humane Society, was a win-win on Small Business Saturday, for both the artisans and crafters and the shelter animals who benefited.

“We have more than 40 tables here, which were booked at maximum capacity by October of this year,” Kasey Bielecki, Event Coordinator at Pope Memorial Humane Society. This popular craft event, once a mainstay at the Samoset Resort, moved to the spacious and warm-toned Elks Club in Rockland. Now in its 39th year, Festival of Lights Craft Show had vendors from all over Maine. “It’s not technically juried, but we interview single vendor who applies to get a sense of what they create and make sure that we don’t have multiple tables selling the same type of craft.”

A multitude of Maine-made, unique and one-of-a-kind wares were offered at this Craft Fair, one of the biggest in the Midcoast around the holidays. Crafters offered knitted and felted items, toys, buttons, ornaments, among many interesting items. Little know artists were also present with jewelry, inspired artwork from found materials and food vendors gave samplings of  special barbeque sauces, lobster-flavored crackers and homemade fudge. It was a chance for those who make and create all winter long (and who may not have a web or Etsy presence) to showcase their items, and for the community to shop locally, find unique presents and stocking stuffers and support the artists of Maine.

The Craft Fair asked for a $2 donation at the door, as well as the vendor table fees, which went entirely to Pope Memorial Humane Society. Proceeds from the bake sale did as well. In addition, most of the vendors offered a free item to the silent auction, which concluded at 3 p.m.—and likewise, all proceeds from that silent auction went back to helping the shelter animals as well. “Last year, I believe we took in around $7,000,” said Bielecki.

Many of the vendors said they would also be displaying at the OHS Holiday Art & Craft Fair next weekend.

Check out our gallery of faces and crafts. Photos by Kay Stephens

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is largely regarded as the first day of the traditional Christmas shopping season, often benefiting big box stores and online giants such as Amazon, but where does that leave the little guys — the local shops, restaurants, inns, and artisans?

November 24 is Small Business Saturday, where shoppers plan to support small and entrepreneurial businesses around the country, a movement spearheaded by American Express in 2010. Maine is home to a little more than 145,500 small businesses, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration,  employing more than a quarter million Maine employees. The National Retail Federation estimates that 41 percent  of shoppers (67 million) are expected to shop on Small Business Saturday, and 78 percent of those say they will do so specifically to support small businesses.

A number of community organizations and retailers are already gearing up to attract shoppers to buy locally, handcrafted, Maine-sourced items, such as the Maine Federation of Farmer’s Markets, as well as a number of craft and artisan fairs such as the Craft Fair held at the Maine American Legion in Rockland and the Annual Festival of Lights Show at the Rockland Elks Club.

In Belfast, Larraine Brown, Director of Belfast Creative Coalition, said, “I'm happy to report that Saturday brings another great chance to celebrate Belfast's fantastic, art-filled community. We can purchase unique, 'perfect' gifts, and support our neighbors, our local businesses and our wonderful, diverse artists. All the shops will be open to welcome you with delights for your eyes, ears and taste buds. I hope you can join your neighbors and friends downtown on Saturday for art, food, fun and shopping!”

Downtown Rockland is also participating heavily in Shop Small/Shop Local initiative. "Shopping in a downtown district is far more appealing than any shopping mall,” said Gordon Page, Executive Director of Rockland Main Street, Inc. “ ‘Main Streets’ in every town and city of all sizes offer unique advantages during the holidays and all year long. Downtown Rockland offers a vibrant community connection with city residents, friends from neighboring towns and merchants that are known by their first names.”

According to a National Federation of Independent Business news release, it’s not too late for businesses who have yet to do any marketing for the day. Three tips that take minimal effort include:

• Let everyone know you’re part of Small Business Saturday social media. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest, post often and promote any Small Business Saturday deals. Use the hashtags #ShopSmall and #SmallBizSat so shoppers can find you easily.
• Brick and mortar stores: tell your regular customers about Small Business Saturday. Put a sign in your shop and flyers in bags reminding folks to come back the Saturday after Thanksgiving for special deals. Download free “Shop Small” signs from www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/promote.  
• Showcase the merchandise that would make a great gift. Group items on a table with a sign saying it would be the perfect gift for dad or a great gift for the grandparents. Restaurants can offer Small Business Saturday specials and gift cards.

Another way to check and see who else is participating in Maine is to log onto twitter.com and search with the hashtags #shopsmall and #maine

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

NaNoWriMo, what is that?

November is National Novel Writing Month. On November 1, participants all over the world begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30.

In Maine, there is a statewide community with a number of “Come Write In” meetups happening in libraries and coffee shops all month which can be found here (type in Maine).   Locally, the St George River Café, in Warren, is one of the “Come Write-In” sponsored locations. They plan to have NaNoWriMo themed events on Tuesday nights during November, starting at 5 p.m..

Previously, When Penobscot Bay Pilot covered NaNoWriMo in 2013 “Get Crackin’ Scribes”, there was only one Maine group. This year, Maine split up into eight regions with one named  “Elsewhere,” an at-large region that everyone is welcome to join if they wish, but if you fall in one of the other regions make sure to check there for more localized information.

Writers tend to help one another along, encouraging one another to keep their word count goals on track. The Maine NaNoWrMo Facebook group, a closed group with 428 members, functions as a virtual cheerleader, particularly when writer’s block sets in. When member Rebecca Douglass, posted “Just past halfway and I'm feeling the slumps. I know the cure: throw a curve at my protagonist. But I can't even think of a curve. Nothing but straight lines. Ugh.” she received many encouraging suggestions to keep plugging.

For the Midcoast region, the focus includes Bath to Bar Harbor along the coast. They welcome those in surrounding areas too, like Brunswick/Topsham and Ellsworth/Hancock/Winter Harbor. To sign up for the Midcoast region visit https://nanowrimo.org/regions/usa-maine-mid-coast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

NORTH HAVEN— The emerging talent currently on display at  Center For Furniture Craftmanship’s Messler Gallery, is, as usual, exceptional. The exhibition opened September 21 with 21 pieces on display.

What makes this show different from most is that each piece was created by scholarship and fellowship awardees and selected by a jury. One cherry bench, in particular, made a play of light from the late afternoon sun coming through the windows. The piece, with maple inlay and scrollwork, belongs to artist Christina Vincent, who lives and has a small shop on North Haven. Having previously attended two workshops with the Center For Furniture Craftsmanship, she recently completed a scholarship for a 12-week Furniture Intensive. 

With a degree in art and design, Vincent knew that moving to an island wasn’t going to lead to a lot of design jobs, so, she started a landscaping business  and began working on her furniture on the side. When she was awarded the scholarship, she was thrilled, but she had to overcome a few obstacles to make it work.

“I couldn’t travel every day by ferry, so I ended up renting a friend’s room in Rockland for the twelve weeks, while ferrying back home to North Haven on the weekends to see her husband and tend to elements of her landscaping business,” she said.

In the last few weeks of the Furniture Intensive, Vincent’s class focused on steam bending, lamination and curvature. Out of those lessons, she created a pair of walnut high stools with graceful movement titling them Blue Heron.

“The interior of the stools are laminated wood, with intricate edging and a coopered seat,” she said. “They’re very delicate, but notably artistic pieces.”

Vincent prefers to work with hardwoods native to the Northeast. Every piece of rough timber is hand selected for its unique qualities such as color, pattern, and texture.

The call for the Messler Gallery exhibition was during her Intensive, so she submitted a previously made piece, a bench, named Fernwood. The scrollwork is, upon first glance, fairly feminine in its design, but the cut out in the shape of ferns.

“In that piece, it’s all traditional joinery and Bird’s Eye Maple inlay work,” she said. “The movement comes from the way the light passes through the scrollwork during the day and makes intricate shadows.” Vincent, who strives to create functional furniture, borrows from natural elements for her work, much of it inspired by North Haven itself. “I just wanted a few decorative elements that separate this piece from a typical bench.”

Vincent not only makes each piece with a function in mind, but with her artistic training, often adds elements of carving or handpainted imagery on her pieces “just to add a little bit more of my style to it.”

As a result of her experience and the quality of work she was able to produce, Vincent has been invited to exhibit at CraftBoston holiday craft show in mid-December. 

“That was also a juried application process, and as soon as I wrap up things outdoors for the season, II’m going to get ready for the show.”

You can view Vincent’s work and 20 other fine pieces of furniture at the Messler Gallery, which will be up until January 2, 2019.

For more infomration about Vincent’s work and style visit: https://www.christinamvincent.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — For anyone who has ever imagined owning a business, Midcoast Women (formerly Midcoast Women’s Collective) hosted three female entrepreneurs with small businesses on Rockland’s Main Street on Thursday, November 15, at the Rockland Public Library. Here are four takeaways from that night, with insights on dealing with the obstacles and what energizes them to keep going.

Inspiration

“I grew up in the environment of small businesses,” said Lacy Simons, owner of hello hello bookshop. “My parents owned a photography studio when I was young, however I didn’t actually believe until 10 or 12 years ago that I could own a small business myself. I thought it was this magic thing that you had to go to this tree and the tree would tell you what to do and then you had to learn math. I went through a lot of paths to get here. So, I started taking small business classes with Betty Gensel of The Women’s Business Center and I didn’t have to fight with myself on whether I was capable, there was no doubt in my mind.

“For me, the desire to be independent and not take directions from anyone, was my inspiration,” said Leah Ondra, owner of Clementine. “One of the unglamorous things about my bio is when I went to college, I worked in retail. I was grateful for the job, but I had to work weekends, late nights, I had to do whatever they said. So, when I moved back to Maine, I felt ready to do something slightly different. Two months after we got back, a friend of my mom’s had a space in Bar Harbor, but it was in the process of getting the roof repaired. I was told if we got into that space, they’d let us have it for three months before it shut down for repairs. So if someone told you you had two weeks to open a business—why not? Also, at the time I was reading the book, Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously and was so inspired by it. These are the little breadcrumbs that happen, but until I looked back to all of the little steps I’d taken, it’s how I realized I got here.”

“Back in 2009, I had a great job, and a new husband,” said Nancy O’Brien, owner, FIORE Artisan Olive Oil and Vinegars. “We lived in Rhode Island. We didn’t live in Maine full time yet, but wanted to. After a few years of talking about it, I had the idea of opening an oil and vinegar shop, but I really didn’t have a plan. I happened upon an available space in Bar Harbor before I had a plan. I’m usually a black and white thinker and not much of a risk taker, but this time I went out on a limb. I signed a lease and filled a notebook with a million things to do.”

Obstacles

“I had student loans; I had no savings,” said Simons. “So, I just did it and I’m going to pretend it was just as easy as it sounds. I had to get to work immediately; I had to build a business plan, secure a loan and rely on my community to help me get through all that. Those first days of opening the bookshop, I was working six days a week, I was exhausting myself. I’m not saying I did it all by myself; I had the help of my husband and friends. I also had to learn how to delegate to my manager, and that was hard. It’s still something I’m learning to do.”

“When you’re given an opportunity, go with it,” said Ondra. ”Pick a [starting point]. Because you’re going to have 20,000 things to do before next Tuesday. I did end up having to move all of the items in my store in Bar Harbor from one side to the other three or four times because the roof kept leaking.”

“In 2009, it was during the onset of a big recession, when I was going around to bank to bank with my business plan, and was turned down several times,” said O’Brien. “This was a time when businesses were failing; banks were too big to fail and I was trying to open an oil and vinegar shop.”

Perseverence

“The down side is, you never stop putting out fires,” said Ondra. “And I used to think it was just the opening day fires, then it was the ‘we need more staff’ fires, but you have ask yourself: “Can I be okay with how far I’ve gotten past each obstacle?’ Because there will be 20 more things that need me tomorrow. It can sometimes overwhelm and burn out, but if those 20,000 things you have to do are connected to what you love, you can do it.”

“Even though I was turned down a couple of times, the banks said I had a really strong solid business plan,”said O’Brien. “They liked the concept; they just couldn’t fund it. Great You believe in me, but you’re not going to give me any money. But, I took every conversation apart from those bankers and I learned to alter my plan and knew what to say at the next bank. Persistence paid off and I found a local bank that believed in me and was willing to work with me.”

Practicalities

“The number one thing is to develop a business plan,” said moderator Diane Sturgeon and Deputy District Director for the US Small Business Administration's Maine District Office.

“My business plan was an outline on paper for me to show myself and my bankers what my vision was. And that plan has always helped me to look back and see what I intended to do, what I didn’t do and adjust the vision.

Midcoast Women continues their Collective Voices storytelling series this winter, highlighting women of different backgrounds, interests, ages and career paths. See more at https://www.midcoastwomen.org/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDOBORO— Elizabeth Flanagan, 18, a senior at Medomak Valley High School, got a crash course this past year in what it’s like to be a published author, thanks to Portland’s Telling Room, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth in writing and storytelling.

“She applied for our Young Emerging Authors program last year and had to submit a book pitch, 10 sample pages and a recommendation,” said Kathryn Williams, the lead teacher of the YEA program. “Of the number of applicants, we chose four fellows, which included Elizabeth. I was really intrigued by her concept, because we’d never done a historical novel before.”

The premise of the novel, titled The Secrets They Left Behind, is set in 1950s and 1920s Iowa and follows 14-year-old Clara Rollins as she untangles an intricate web of secrets involving her father, his brother, an infamous bootlegger, and his beguiling wife.

“I came up with the idea for the book when I applied for the fellowship,” said Flanagan. “It developed more once I got accepted. I sat down and wrote four chapters and those ended up being the sample pages.”

Williams, who served as Elizabeth’s executive editor, said: “It was fairly ambitious because it weaves together two different timelines with a mystery at the heart of it. I was also impressed at how ell thought out the book concept already was.”

“It felt right to be a historical novel and take place in a small farm town and I knew I wanted it to be about two generations so there needed to be a time jump with mysterious goings on,” she said.  “And I love the Roaring Twenties and the Prohibition era, so I wanted that in there too.”

Each week, she was allowed an early release from school to fulfill the fellowship. Her father drove her down to Portland to The Telling Room from Waldoboro, and waited while she attended a two-hour writing and mentoring session. “I couldn’t have done it without my Dad. When I applied, both of my parents told me that if I won the fellowship, they were going to make it work,” she said.

Like all authors, she had to delve deeply into researching her setting and characters, the most challenging of which, was describing farming, something she’s never done. “I did a lot of research online, and ended up on this Iowa Historical Society website,” said Flanagan. “In one scene, I had the characters on a working farm and needed to learn about winter wheat harvesting, so I listened to these recordings of these old farmers and working with threshers and how to harvest winter wheat.”

“We worked with Elizabeth for almost a full year,” said Williams. “At one point, we brought in writing mentors who came in to work with the students and really get into the manuscript, starting out on structural issues on the macro level, on character development and for almost four months, they worked on editing and revising the manuscript.”

Flanagan worked closely with a mentor, published author Deirdre McDonough-Fulton, as well as the book’s editors and designer. “Dierdre got to know my characters and story so well, almost as well as I did and just talking with her fleshed out a lot of things in the editing process,” said Flanagan. As for the cover, Flanagan also had input with The Telling Room’s designers, supplying the idea for the overlay of the farm silhouette superimposed on what looks like an old-fashioned handwritten letter.  “There’s a letter in the book that sparks the start of solving the mystery,” she said.

As part of her fellowship, Flanagan signed a contract with the Telling Room that allowed her the copyright of the manuscript, but assigned The Telling Room exclusive worldwide rights to publish the novel, with all proceeds reinvested into Telling Room programs.  “All of our core programs are free to students,” said Williams.

In August, The Telling Room celebrated with the launch of the fellows’ books and a celebration of the authors. “It was awesome. Some days I really can’t believe it; and I have to hold the book and say it was real. I did it,” she said.

The publishing launch has been a success. “The first print run of 75 copies book sold out, so we are on our second print run,” said Williams.

Flanagan is only planning to do a one-night-only book reading at the Waldoboro Public Library on Wednesday, November 14 at 6: 30 p.m. Williams will also be on hand this evening to sell copies of the book. For more information visit: http://www.waldoborolibrary.org/

To purchase a copy of Flanagan’s book online visit: https://www.tellingroom.org/store#Books

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST — Joseph Ascrizzi and his son, Max, will tell you that, along with Joseph’s brother, Tony, who passed away in 2014, the three family members never consciously set out to thematically echo one another’s artistic styles. It is evident however, from the layered artwork that currently hangs at Waterfall Arts’ Corridor Gallery, that the Ascrizzi Gene, as Joe calls it, is part of every piece.

“Sure there’s a genetic thread, but we don’t try to collude,” said Joe. 

Apart from a similar show put together this past summer in Wiscasset, it never even occurred to Joe, Tony or Max to do a group exhibition. They’d all just done their own thing.

“When Tony passed away, it sort of became this need to have his artwork out there one last time,” said Joe. “We initially thought we’d just showcase Tony’s work, and then we were sort of like, ‘Well, why not put all of us in there?’”

Each artist has his own approach. Joe is known for his carved box sculptures with materials such as wood, bone, antler, gold, silver and stone. Max’s paintings are inspired by rural Maine landscapes, often in stark, nightscapes. And Tony’s work is largely sculptural, as he’d worked in bronze, welded steel, hand-sewn fabrics and mesh.

Unlike their Wiscasset show which separated each artist’s work in a different room, the pieces hang and stand on pedestals all together in Waterfall Arts’ Corridor Gallery as if produced from one artist—something that Joe and Max rather enjoy, for it feels as though with Tony’s work, they are all together again, seamless.

The Ascrizzis roots hail from Italy’s Calabrian town of Sant’Eufemia d’Aspromonte. In a tribute to the family for the show, Liberty artist Alan Crichton, summed up the family’s artistic ethos as coming from: “a rich heritage of invention and an intuitive love of primal materials that has challenged and informed their art and their lives.”

As for Max, who grew up in Freedom, traveled, then came back to Freedom, his rural landscapes are captured in a raw state “during their transition from dark to light or vice versa.”

He never paints from photographs.

“They just come to me,” he said. “The scenes are just glued into me. They just appear.”

Joe’s process is unsurprisingly, exactly the same. In two of his ink paintings, he borrows from mythological elements such as minotaurs and maidens and things not quite human emerging out of the shadows.

“They appear to me as well,” he said. “Probably because we read a lot, immerse ourselves in different writers, different literature, sometimes this just comes out of the subconscious. There is a balance between receptive and creative. If I ever try to consciously flesh out an idea, to me it looks contrived. It doesn’t feel right.”

Another similarity between all three artists is their love of music. In the middle of the gallery stands an odd-shaped thing made from a hollowed out log, a functional art piece and a musical instrument Joe invented, which is a cross between a thumb piano and a mbira, an African instrument.

“There was an apple tree in Connecticut where we lived at the time that had gotten struck by lightning and had a hollow in it,” he said. “I just hollowed it out more, added the skins to the ends and added garden rakes to it as the keys.” “I invented the name and call it an Applelimba.” Unlike most art you can’t touch, Joe encourages people to touch and play it. 

On the far wall is a dulcimer handmade by Tony. 

“He made lots of these,” Joe said. “Some of his earlier stuff was all made in fine woodworking.” And Max has always played guitar and has written his own music.

“We have that connection, a love of wood, and making and that goes back generations,” said Joe.

Go see the exhibit, which is only up until November 16. For more info visit: Waterfall Arts.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SEARSPORT— Apple crisp, cider and enthusiasm for the creative economy was on the docket Monday night, November 12, for the Belfast Creative Coalition, which organized a public information gathering event at the Mermaid Plaza in Searsport.

“We’re hosting these community events as a way to get feedback from the people who live here on a cultural plan we’re developing for Waldo county,” said Larraine Brown, Director of Belfast Creative Coalition. “We’ve got an economic tool to develop the creative economy and to support and appreciate the artists who live and work here.”

The goal, according to BCC, is to create the Waldo County Arts and Cultural Plan, with an inclusive study to:

1) Get an inventory of existing resources:

2) Get feedback from residents on their arts and cultural preferences;

3) use public meetings to identify local priorities; and,

4) Develop a plan that addresses those local priorities.

“The end result of meetings like this [is that] we will have a plan that identifies what the people in both the town and surrounding rural areas want,” Brown said. “We have a lot of wonderful things that are happening in the art and cultural scene, but we also want to know from people what else they want to see happen here.”

While a young man, Jonah Palumbo, 11, played violin, residents from Waldo County gathered in the back room of the former Mermaid Restaurant and Pub to watch a presentation and share their opinions in a survey.

Next Monday, November 19,  the BCC, will once again, host a Cultural Planning community event at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast from 4:30 to 7 p.m. to gain input from the residents. For more information visit: Hutchinson Center. “We’ll have a little bit of arts and performance to kick it off,” said Brown.

For more information about the Cultural Planning process visit: www.belfastcreativecoaltion.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The days are shorter and the nights, colder. And rodents are locked in an age-old battle with humans: They want in. You want them out.

This past summer, an unusual number of squirrels zipped frantically across the roads. The Portland Press Herald and The Bangor Daily News both published articles this past summer pointing to  “population irruption” or a population spike, particularly with gray and red squirrels, due to an abundance of acorns and last winter’s protective snow cover.

While hard data is unavailable on whether Maine’s rodent population has significantly increased, local pest exterminators caution that when the fall months get colder, squirrels and mice are going to be looking for away into homes and cars for warmth. This is a problem, not just because humans are loathe to share their residences and vehicles with “nuisance wildlife,” but because these rodents can burrow into tight spots, die and cause a stink. Or else they gnaw at insulation and damage electrical wires.

Jesse Richards, owner of Central Exterminating Services said:  “To be honest, we’ve been seeing a boom in the rodent population for the last four years. Four or five years ago, we weren’t handling a lot of rodent work in the area, but now, particularly in the fall, it’s nonstop. Rodent extermination is probably our biggest source of business right now. We’re handling five to 10 rat and mice jobs a week.”

Thomas Swartz, owner of Hot Wax Auto Detail Center in Rockport, has also been getting incessant calls about the issue.

“We’re getting hundreds of cars in with mice nests in the cabin air filters this fall,” he said. They get inside the side panels of the car, up in the headliner. 

“Probably 25 percent of the cars coming in to be detailed have that issue,” he said. “People don’t even know they’re driving around with these nests, sometimes even with dead mice inside, and they’re breathing in all that air. It’s so unhealthy. If you could see some of the ones we’ve extracted out of cars you’d be shocked.”

Swartz said a popular myth to keep mice and squirrels out is to place Bounce dryer sheets in the car.

“I’ve found more nests made of Bounce sheets,” he said.

Swartz said the best remedy to keep rodents from getting into your car is to buy a vial of essential peppermint oil and soak cotton balls with them, placing them under the seats, under the spare tire in the trunk and in any small compartments of the car.

“They’re getting in through the tire wheel, so place some in there too,” he suggested.

Trying to close up a camper or an RV for the winter? Many crowdsourced suggestions coming from camping pages on Facebook recommend putting bars of Irish Spring soap, whole cloves and moth balls inside the camper/RV, whereas others have not had luck with such remedies.

Plug up any holes with steel or bronze wool or clear packing tape to seal up any visible opening into the vehicle. Others recommend Fresh Cab, which can be purchased online or at Tractor Supply.

“They also don’t like walking on crushed gravel,” said Richards. “Park your car or camper on a pad of crushed gravel rather than on the grass.”

To keep them out of the house, Richards said, “Keep your property maintained and manicured as rodents seek shelter in tall grass and underbrush. Look around where your oil pipes go down to the basement and plug up any small holes or openings with insulation foam to prevent these spaces for being entry points.”

For more information click on “How to protect your car from rodents”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—The day I met 17-year-old Isabelle Olson, she was soft spoken, apologizing for her voice, because she was fighting a cold. That’s generally not a problem when you’re a senior in high school and just have to get through the school day. But, Isabelle is one of the lead actors in the CHRHS play Anything Goes, staged at the Strom Auditorium—and a strained voice is not ideal when you’re singing soprano.

However, she’s already a professional and knows the show must go on.

A full day of schoolwork and nightly rehearsals aren’t her only challenge. Isabelle lives on Islesboro and in order to participate in theater, she must travel back and forth on the ferry and stay at a family’s friends, going home to see her family on the weekends.

“The ferry leaves at 5 p.m. so when we have rehearsals later than five, which has basically been the last two weeks, I stay on the mainland,” she said.

“I live out of my duffle bag,” she said. “I’m in a limbo between two families, so I just try to self-parent. Some days I’m here when school starts to 10 at night. I’m always really excited to go home, but during the week, I don’t even have time to be homesick.”

This is Isabelle’s fourth year in theater and she not only has moved from ensemble to lead roles, she has just been named “Student of the Month” from the CHRHS Visual and Performing Arts Department, which stated, “[Isabelle] shows her love of the arts by going the extra mile to be involved at CHRHS: traveling across the bay each week to get to Camden Hills, and hosting fundraising concerts ...”

“I’m the kind of person who needs at least three hours of silence after a show wraps,” she said. “I’m both an introvert and an extrovert. You need to be an introvert to get into a character’s emotions and feeling and you need to be an extrovert to convey that to the audience, but, I have to decompress after.”

Anything Goes is on its last run this weekend. Details can be found in our Weekend Spotlight. Additional photography provided by www.martistonephotography.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Additional

APPLETON— In most paintings of Maine islands, conspicuously absent is the debris and junk that regularly washes up onto its shorelines. A lot of it tends to be ghost gear— lobster traps that have been smashed apart by the weather and have drifted to shore in mangled pieces.

Appleton artist Abbie Read, whose family owns property on Matinicus Island, noticed the junk along the shoreline and decided to haul piece by piece back to the mainland. No, not to the dump, to her studio.

“I spend a lot of time on Matinicus and for years, I’ve been collecting these little pieces of broken, rusted traps and all of the parts,” she said.

Read said she’d haul back the unsightly debris  from the island to the mainland and store them in her studio, unsure of what would become of it. 

“I always had it in the back of my mind I’d make something with the pieces,” she said. “Then, last spring when Waterfall Arts held a call for artists on the theme of Intertidal Zones, I began to assemble all of the pieces into an installation. For me, all of the junk that gets washed up on Matinicus was perfect for that theme.”

After the Waterfall Arts show concluded, the community arts center allowed Read to hang the installation on the second floor wall by the stairway, where it now resides indefinitely. Only those familiar with the lobster industry will notice some of the details in the rigging. Woven throughout the pieced-together grids of the wire traps are discarded bait bags, nylon netting, a plastic escape hatch, old frayed warp. Broken and lost gear is an economic hardship lobster fishermen know only too well. These unglamorous workaday pieces of fishing gear have now transformed into a tribute to the many unknown generations of lobstermen.

But, there is one more layer to this installation; and one has to know Abbie Read’s particular style of work to catch it. Within the rigging, which is patched up like a crazy quilt from various broken traps, are subtle grids made from linen thread that Read has constructed, which mimic the gridwork of the broken traps and blends right into the exhibit. These handmade nets also lace across her multimedia collages, which often incorporate altered books, maps, found objects and natural materials such as stone.

Read isn’t done with the piece.

“I stopped working on it because I ran out of materials,” she said. “But, I still plan of adding to it, it’s just a matter of being able to haul this stuff back from the island. I call it an ongoing project because it will get bigger. It no longer fits in my studio.”

For now the piece can be seen at Waterfall Arts.

For more information visit: Abbie Read and Waterfall Arts

Related: Check out this altered book ‘library’ at the Belfast Free Library

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Skulls and skeletons still linger days after Halloween has passed. On November 1 and 2, the world celebrated Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday that honors loved ones who have passed on.

If you ever wondered what this was all about, the festivities originated by the Aztecs around 3,000 years ago. The cultural practice merged with elements of Christianity to coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Death was recognized as a normal part of the human cycle and not to be feared. On these particular days, the deceased awakened from their eternal slumber when the living relatives and friends put on feasts and celebrations to “call to them” so to speak. Many of these celebrations would be held in cemeteries. All the food, tequila, mezcal and parties were meant to let the departed enjoy all of the things they enjoyed in life for a night or two.

Two of the more recognized symbols from these festivals are the brightly colored skeletons and skulls (calacas and calaveras). Dating back to the Spanish conquest, the Spaniards added to the already established practices of the Day of the Dead with their own contribution: sugar. Making little molds of sugar and water into skulls, people would write the names of the deceased on the forehead and decorate with ribbons and icing. Often, the smallest sugar skulls were meant to honor babies and small children who passed on too early. Rather than make them hideous and ghastly (as one would for a Halloween mask), the skulls were decorated with bright color—because once again, color represented vibrant life and no one wanted to offend the dead with too much mourning or sadness.

Around the state, the University of Maine held a Day of the Dead celebration making paper skull masks and a number of Mexican and Latin American-themed restaurants around Maine participated with their own Dia de los Muertos traditions including La Mesa in Liberty and El Ancla, in Camden, where staff dressed up with masks and painted faces. Kids were invited to construct sugar skulls at 5 p.m. and at 9 p.m., the celebrations for adults kicked off with a Day of the Dead dance party with DJ Markos a.k.a. Mark Elwin from Mother Summer Soul radio show. 

For more information on Day of the Dead visit: Aztec Central

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — In a long-awaited moment for brewer Rich Ruggerio, the doors of his WW II aviation-themed nanobrewery, Liberator Brewing Co., officially opened to the public Wednesday, Oct. 31.

“Back in the ‘90s, I had a brewery called Rocky Bay and over the years, I put in breweries for other people, but I just felt it was time to do something on my own,” he said. “It just felt awesome to finally open the doors.”

With a two-barrel system, Liberator opened with four beers on the opening day menu, including an Air Screw Pale Ale, a tasty single hop pale ale and the Illuminator, an American wheat beer that was subtle and well balanced.

Ruggerio said, “Our plan is to offer up to six ‘mainstay’ beers at all times and beyond that, be brewing up to 15 beers, which we will rotate out.”

He said they don’t yet have a flagship beer and that they will be waiting on customer feedback.

“We’ll have a new beer coming out for the fall called Axis Night, an American old-style ale around 9 percent ABV with some Belgian-style malts and American-style malts from Blue Ox Malts in Lisbon Falls, kind of malty but very drinkable, very smooth,” he said.

Beset by a number of delays, including  a complete build-out of a brewhouse in the back, building renovations, and state and city inspections that prevented a June opening, nevertheless Ruggerio persevered with Liberator, making it a Maine-licensed farm sustainable nanobrewery, offering “unique hand-crafted ales and lagers, local wines and locally prepared light fare.”

Inside the tasting room, members of the Rockland community, including fellow brewer, Dan Pease, owner of Rock Harbor Pub and Tasting Room, were on hand to welcome Rockland’s newest business with a pint.

“It’s another reason to come to Rockland,” said Tom Peaco, Executive Director at Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We have breweries and wineries in the surrounding Midcoast area and just adds one more aspect of enticing people to Rockland. It also adds one more incentive to spend time in the South End, where we have that hidden gem across the street, the Center for Coastal, Jess’s Market, Primo,and Archers on the Pier just down the street.”

“For everyone coming up from the St. George Peninsula, this really is a great spot to be; it’s right at the entrance to the city,” said Gordon Page, Sr. “The whole concept of the downtown industry is about growth in incremental changes. You can’t do it all overnight. I’d have to say Rich has been enormously patient in getting through all of the paperwork and the process to get this place open.”

The microbrewery and tasting room is housed in a historic building, which according to owners Polly Saltonstall and John Hanson, once used to be a motorcycle repair shop in the 1970s, called Stone Choppers custom motorcycle repair shop, and a notorious hangout for to the NSKK Motorcycle gang.

“The story has it that a rival gang threw a bomb at this building and it bounced off and blew up in the street,” said Hanson.

“I had a lot of interest from a lot of different people,” said Saltonstall, whose offices for the magazine, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors, are upstairs. “We very much wanted whomever took over this building to serve the community and be a center for the community in Rockland. Rich is a guy who has a solid reputation for having worked as a brewer in Rockland for so long.”

Liberator Brewing Company, named for the World War Two B-24 bomber, has a Farm Sustainable license, which stipulates that a certain percentage of the ingredients in the beers must be locally produced. Ruggerio also plans to offer locally sourced  and homemade food, such as the sausage and sauerkraut they had in the crock pots on opening day as well as collaborate with local restaurants, including Rotary Pizza.

Hours will be Wed-Sunday, opening from 2 to 8 p.m. during the weekdays and on Friday through Sunday 12 to 8 p.m.

https://www.liberatorbrewingmaine.com/

Related: Liberator Brewing Company to touch down in Rockland

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST— The kitchen at Waldo County Technical Center is fired up with activity on Friday mornings as Chef Matt Maniscalco works with high school students on preparing a simple menu. On October 26, it was potato and corn chowder, spaghetti with a homemade meat sauce, and an apple crisp with strawberry puree.

By 8 a.m., Maniscalco and his students were busy prepping the pre-fixe menu, setting up demos of how each dish is prepared, in anticipation of the lunch crowd.

“We’ve only been open since October 19, so right now, as the students are learning, we’re starting off simply,” said Maniscalco.

The public café originated nearly 20 years ago when the center’s previous chef worked with the students to create a hands-on restaurant experience replicating real world skills.

“When I started this position two years ago, people kept asking when we’d bring the café back,” said Maniscalco.  “With 32 students in our Culinary Arts Program, we now have the numbers to pull this off. And it’s a great way to connect with community, especially the grandparents and parents for the students, who, not only get a great meal for a low price, but also get to see their kids learning in action.”

The dining room, which can seat 30 people is far from fancy, but it’s light and airy with simple pine furniture.  In some ways, it almost feels like a stage set.

In the age of cooking shows, culinary travel shows and celebrity chefs, the WCTC café is a refreshing experience because it is not quite real. Yes, one pays for the meal and the students are serving as both sous chefs, and front of the house servers, but no one is going to be held to a standard one expects from a real restaurant. There’s no need for tips, or a Yelp review. In fact, mistakes will be made, because that’s how the students will learn.

Hannah Paige, 17, performs as the café’s general manager, seating each person coming in and instructing her “staff” to make sure diners have enough water, coffee, and napkins.

“You should have seen her the first day,” said Maniscalco. “She was very nervous, but now she is a pro. Waiting tables with the public is very daunting for some of these students. Some kids have expressed to me their anxiety of interacting with the public and I just let them do whatever feels comfortable.”

Maniscalco, who has worked both as a chef and server in Manhattan, Mississippi and Hollywood for 14 years, keeps an eye on his students throughout the entire service.

“I can just take a peek out the door and know what needs to be adjusted,” he said. “And then when the public is gone, we go over everything that can be improved.” Yet, he is no taskmaster. His students trust him and know that if they don’t get everything right the first time, it’s going to be okay. “Often, my kids will go home on the weekend and prepare something from scratch they learned to make in the kitchen that week and surprise their family with a dish, then come back in on Monday and tell me all about it,” he said.

Most of the food is donated from the local food pantry and farms. Maniscalco also sources ingredients from certain purveyors and often will pop into Hannaford the day before the cafe to pick up last minute items.

“We try to use the best ingredients possible,” he said.

While the Culinary Program is still in its infancy, the pre-fixe menu each week will be simple constructions of classic comfort foods. But, as the students build on their skills, Maniscalco will continue to offer more sophisticated flavors, tastes and menus. “We’re not going to garnish plates with foams or sauces or anything that fancy, but we will explore more food within certain geographic areas, such as homemade pastas that you’d make from Italy, or Lo Mein, that you’d make in China,” he said. “We’ll embrace those flavors and begin working with them. I eventually want to step back and oversee them take over.”

Many of WCTC’s students, once they’ve graduated from the Culinary Program, have gone on to get cooking and serving jobs in the Maine restaurant industry. “They’ve had two years of real life experience our program, and they know what they’re doing,” he said. With a very real shortage of experienced staff in the Midcoast’s restaurant industry, this program is a guaranteed pipeline for experienced workers.

The café will run every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. until June, barring any school functions. Each week the Center will offer a pre-fixe menu, which can be found on their Facebook Page. The public may come to the Center, pay $9.00 for the meal at the door with cash or a check only. Call or email the Culinary program to make a reservation 342-5231 ext#122 or email mmaniscalco@waldotech.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WARREN—Ever since partners Ann Gonzalez and Fanny Faye Davis opened the St. George River Café in 2016, they’ve always wanted to add a literary component to their weekly music offerings and artist showcase. Starting Tuesday, October 30, they plan on hosting a monthly Tuesday Story Hour, a nod to the Moth Radio Hour on NPR, in which local storytellers can share a story, whether it’s funny, serious, sad, real, or invented.

“Doing something on the literary side has been an interest of mine for a long time,” said Ann Gonzalez, who holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. “Last year, I went to a storytelling event at the Camden Public Library, which was great fun and we heard some amazing stories. Mainers in particular have some great stories.”

Asked about the format, she said, “It’s open mic, but we’re not going to make it too formal. The way it worked at the library event, someone would just get up and tell a story. We’ll try to keep the time limit to around five minutes.”

A community member recently built some bookshelves for the café in the back and Gonzalez said she’s interested in selling local authors’ books.

“We’d like to get some local authors in here to read from time to time,” she said.  Gonzalez said they also plan on hosting their space for NaNoWriMo, an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month.

STORY HOUR has no cover and is open to all. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes to 7 p.m.

Related: Sleepy village of Warren wakes up with St. George River Café

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST— The word “Isuken” means unity in the Somali language, and after a successful crowdsourcing campaign this summer, six Somali Bantu members of a farm-to-table cooperative in Lewiston were able to parlay the word into the official name for their new business — the nation’s first Somali Bantu farm-to-table cooperative food truck.

With October being National Cooperative Month, the Belfast Co-op invited the Isuken Co-op food truck to Belfast on Saturday, October 20, to share the fresh, local cuisine of Somali Bantu farmers and chefs with the Midcoast community. 

“A lot of the co-ops are celebrating the month of October in different ways,” said Marketing Manager Carisa Carney. “Co-ops operate under seven principles and the sixth is ‘Cooperation Among Co-ops,’ so we thought it would be a great way to honor the principle by inviting the Isuken Co-op Food Truck to Belfast.”

Inside the truck, parked in the Belfast Co-op’s parking lot, several members of Isuken’s worker-owned cooperative were busily preparing for lunch.

“We have our own food traditions that I want to share with a culture that has never tried it,” said Isaac Garrow, worker-owner and Operations Manager for Isuken Co-op.

On the menu were sambusas, which are fried pastries filled with meats and local vegetables sourced from New Roots Farm Cooperative, a 30-acre farm in Lewiston, run by four Somali-Bantu refugees, who became citizens after coming to the United States in 2006.

A long line began to form around noon, when Isuken was open for business. Beyond the sambusas, Isuken was also making and selling Somali chai tea, a sweet, spicy, milky tea.

This is the first time the Belfast Co-op has hosted a food truck in their parking lot for National Cooperative Month.

“Any collaboration we can do to assist and support another co-op in the state of Maine is really important to us,” said Doug Johnson, Belfast Co-op’s General Manager. “It’s something we’ve been building over the last several years with the Cooperative Maine Business Alliance, which we’re part of. And that’s how we came to learn of Isuken and the work they’re doing in Lewiston.”

This past summer, Isuken’s Kickstarter campaign successfully raised more than $14,000, surpassing their original goal of $12,000 to launch the business. More than 200 backers contributed to the campaign, which allowed the worker-owned cooperative to purchase the food truck. After they spent the day in Belfast, Isuken headed back to Lewiston, where they will continue to work at fairs, festivals and downtown locations selling their food. As they continue to build their brand and raise money. Isuken’s long-term goal is to put down roots toward a permanent farm-to-table restaurant.

For more information visit: https://isukencoop.com/#

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE— Books and cooking have been Nanette Gionfriddo’s passion for the last 12 years, but after the combination of a particularly slow summer season for her bookshop, Beyond The Sea, and her landlord’s announcement that the building is for sale, Gionfriddo will be closing her shop for good by October 30.

Gionfriddo got her start in Belfast with a small shop selling only gifts, gift books and espresso. One day, a friend asked her to carry some of his book titles.

“I researched the quality of his books and they were fabulous,” she said. “Then I started to put my own recommendations on certain books. When those sold, the bookshop grew from there, as I started buying more new and secondhand books.”

Gionfriddo’s niche has always been to champion lesser known Maine authors and smaller Maine publishers. 

“Folks would come in and ask ‘Do you have Stephen King? Or the latest and greatest best seller?” she said. “And I’d say no, because you could find that on Amazon and I can’t compete with that.” 

Instead, her formula has always been to research every single title that she brought into her bookshop.  If it garnered a high rating online, she’d often read and review each one.

“Every book in our store was a ‘Staff Pick,” she said.

Loads of books upon her bookshelves and spread along the tables would have Gionfriddo’s handwritten recommendations on Post-It Notes.

“People would come in and tell me they didn’t know what to choose in these big bookstores such as Barnes & Noble because there were so many and it was so overwhelming, but that they could always find something they loved here.”

Six years ago, she made the decision to move to Lincolnville Beach after losing her downtown Belfast space when the owners decided to open their own store.

“I knew it was a challenge, because other local business owners told me that this location wouldn’t do the kind of business you see in Belfast or Camden,” she said. “It’s a beautiful location, but a tough spot for retail.”

Add to that, the current owners of the building are retiring and want to sell the building.

“It was a fast decision,” she said. “We decided in September and didn’t want to put the owners in the position of trying to sell the building in the middle of winter, so we decided to wind things down at the end of October.”

Last year, Gionfriddo got a license to open a café with her signature “Grab And Go” Italian subs, chilis and soups, as well as baked goods, which drew an entire different clientele.

“I succeeded to a certain degree, but not enough,” she said.

However, she is not entirely done with the bookshop and cafe concept, and will be taking some time off with her husband to contemplate their next steps.

“I am taking people’s information and emails at the counter, because when we land on our feet again, we want to be in touch with those who’ve been loyal to us,” she said.

There is a 25 percent sale all merchandise in the store, except for the artwork and most of the furniture is for sale. For more info visit: beyondtheseamaine.com

Related: Beyond The Sea Cafe

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Every year we do this Halloween Rundown, it gets bigger and better. Just like last year, Halloween falls in the middle of the week, so we’ll have events before and after on both weekends to share. We have combed through every cool event going on to bring you a comprehensive rundown of Halloween-themed events. From parties to art, from poetry to theater, and to haunted houses, we've color-coded these events for Adults and Parents and Kids to make finding them easier. Don't forget that there is also a Candy Drive for the Camden and Belfast neighborhoods most hit up for Halloween.

Friday, Oct. 26

· Adults and Parents and Kids: The Belfast Makers are opening the doors of its highly haunted playhouse, the Basil Burwell Community Theater, for three chilling nights. Questionable characters will attempt to guide foolhardy adventurers through the labyrinth inside the old Church at 17 Court Street. Many are expected to survive the trip and make it all the way through, but safety is not guaranteed.Friday, October 26 • Saturday, October 27 • Wednesday, October 31 5:30 to 7 p.m: Free admission. Spooky Tours for all ages.

· Parents and Kids:  Ashwood Waldorf School’s annual All Hallows’ Eve Walk takes place from 5-6:30 p.m. Free. FMI: Ashwood Waldolf Walk

· Adults Join FOG Bar and Cafe for the annual Halloween Hootenanny Spectacular. This year’s theme is ‘Animal Farm ‘ A Frightening Place Just Outside All Of Our Haunted Souls’ Wildest Expectations. Animals Will Revolt, Rules Will Be Made... & Broken... Zombies Will Walk The Farm... The band playing will be Farmer Funk & The Disgruntled Livestock. No Cover • 21+  Starts at 8:30 p.m.

· Adults and Parents and Kids: Fright at the Fort’s theme this year is “King of Horror”based on Stephen King’s iconic novels and short stories. The best haunted house in Maine goes from
5:30 - 9:00 pm on Friday, October 26 and Saturday, october 27. Arrive no later than 8:30 pm to experience the full 20+ minute tour.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Pro-tip: it’s absolutely worth it to beat the lines and get advance express tickets at FrightXTix.com. Additional information on Fright at the Fort may be found on the fortknox.maineguide.com 

Saturday, Oct. 27

· Parents and Kids: Want to go out and do an adult Halloween and don’t have a babysitter? Kids Unplugged (Belfast) is throwing a Parent’s Night Out from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. with crafts, costumes, games, pizza and a movie. Price: $30 per kid or $50 for two kids. Reservations required.

· Parents and Kids: The Boothbay Railway Village is not doing its annual Ghost Train this year (returning in 2019.) Instead, join them for a Railway SPOOKtacular from 2 to 8 p.m. A ghoulish afternoon and evening of monstrous family fun.  Guests are encouraged to dress in costume and bring along their own trick-or-treat bag. Tickets.

· Adults Crosby Center (Belfast) is hosting a play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, which tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and is an allegory to the McCarthyism of the 1950s. The play goes from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.  The play also runs Sunday night, October 28. Tickets.

Cancelled· Adults  CMCA  (Rockland) is back with their annual themed Halloween event; this year it’s Dark Matter. Don't be a "normal matter!" Step inside the galaxy and get lost in the mysterious power of dark matter. This one is looking like another crazy night filled with all sorts of fun yet unknown to mankind. Expect a costume contest, cash bar (21+), music, dancing. Goes from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Tickets sold at the door.

· Adults Edgar Allan Poetry Slam at The Pour Farm Brewery (Union). For Halloween, celebrate the macabre, the morbid, and the melancholy at The Pour Farm brewery in Union, Maine! Read a spooky poem you wrote, bring a classic, or just come out and drink a few beers with the ghosts. From 7 to 9 p.m.

· Adults: Trackside Station (Rockland) is holding their annual Halloween dance party with Just Teachers playing from 9 p.m. to midnight. Costumes encouraged with prizes and a $5 cover.

· Adults: Bowen’s Tavern (Belfast ) is having their annual Halloween party with the band, Fallen. Best costume contest; winner takes $150 prize. The band starts at 9 p.m. and there is no cover.

· Adults: Myrtle Street Tavern (Rockland) is having a Halloween Hootenanny with the band, The Shizzle, with a costume contest, giveaways and oddities from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

· Adults: The Country Rose Lounge (Belfast) is throwing a their annual Halloween party with the Tyler Healy Band from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. and a costume contest with prizes. No cover.

· Adults: The Black Harpoon (Port Clyde) is throwing a Halloween party from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. with the band Living Room Circus.

· Adults: Island Zero screens at the Strand Theatre. Written by NY Times Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen and directed by Josh Gerritson, the horror film Island Zero is about the inhabitants of a fishing island off the coast of Maine who find themselves mysteriously cut off from the outside world after the ferry suddenly stops coming. When dead bodies turn up along the water's edge, the hardy band of survivors must find out who, or what, is killing them. Shot at midcoast locations, and the cast includes some local talent. Followed by Q&A with director Josh Gerritson. Starts at 8 p.m. Tickets: $8.50.

Wednesday Oct. 31

· Parents and Kids: Trunks For Treats hosted by Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 15 Wesley Lane, Rockland, from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be a "Silly Haunted House” with creepy things to touch and sniff, but not to scare with games, face painting, crafts and, of course, treats from the trunks of cars that are decorated for Halloween.

· Parents and Kids: Another Trunk or Treat for children through 6th grade will be held at the People’s United Methodist Church (13 Chapel St.) S. Thomaston from 4 to 6 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the event will be in Fellowship Hall.

· Adults: and Parents and Kids: Thriller Flash Mob. Each year Kinetic Energy Alive teaches the community how to do Michael Jackson’s Thriller Dance in six weeks and takes to the streets on Halloween night to dance right in the middle of Pearl Street, a well known trick-or-treating community gathering area. To learn more about how to join visit: Thriller Dance

· Adults: Ada’s Kitchen is throwing their second  Halloween bash with special cocktails, costume prizes and The Dolphin Strikers rocking all night from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

· Parents and Kids: Alder & Vine (Belfast) will be open from 3 to 6 p.m. with trick or treating; crafts for kids; nacks and beverages and “spooky sights and sounds.”

· Parents and Kids: The Lincolnville General Store is hosting a community Halloween party inside the Grampa Halls building, directly across from the General Store,where there will be a photo booth. Come dressed in your finest expression of yourself and participate in our annual costume contest. Two categories, one for best group, one for best individual. Starts at 5 p.m.

If we’ve missed anything, please email any corrections/updates with the subject line: “Halloween Rundown” to news@penabypilot.com

ROCKLAND— On a rainy, dreary fall day in October, a table had been set out behind the Rockland’s South School (RSU 13) on 30 Broadway with boxes of garden vegetables, grocery store bagged lettuce, Maine-picked apples carrots and other fresh offerings. A simple sign said: “Free Farmer’s Market.” There was no waiting line, no eligibility requirements, no quota. Anyone could pick up a plastic bag and fill it with what he or she needed. It was simply a gesture of goodwill on the part of a group called PFT (Parents, Teachers & Friends) and the administration of South School.

On the first Tuesday of each month, Brenda Thomas, the chair person for the South School PTF, goes to pick up a delivery of donated food.

The Area Interfaith Outreach Food Pantry and the Backpack Program, run by Coordinator Sherry Cobb, have organized this monthly food pick up from Good Shepherd Food Bank in Warren. 

By 10:30 a.m. Thomas and other volunteers have tables set up under the trees at South School filled with boxes of fresh food. They stick around for the first big rush of people, while people go “shopping,” then leave the tables to work behind the scenes by delivering bags or boxes to a short list of people who don't have transportation to get to the Farmer's Market.

“This method came out of some trial and error,” said Thomas, who first started working with this “Produce Program” since March, 2018. “The Produce Program is intended to supplement the weekly Backpack Program that provides shelf-stable foods for food-insecure families. Oftentimes, the bag of food kids take home in their backpacks on Friday is the only food they have until they return to school for breakfast and lunches during the school week.”

The Free Farmer’s Market is another way to make sure families get the food they need.

“The first few times we tried this, I was filling plastic bags with equal amounts of items from the boxes and sending the bags home with the kids on the buses,” said Thomas. “But, then we got the feedback that many of the kids weren’t taking them home, just leaving them on the bus and the bus drivers were having to deal with all of this discarded food on the floor.”

Thomas and the South School administrators brainstormed a “Grab ‘N Go Farmer’s Market” concept going forward. “Letting people choose what they wanted not only saved us the time of having to put all of the food in equal amounts in bags, but it also allowed people to choose what they want and not waste what they didn’t want,” she said.

After a few times standing at the tables while people drove up and came through, Thomas further noticed that the volunteers’ presence was a bit of a hindrance.

“Even when you’re standing there and telling them, ‘Take as much as you want’ we realized people hesitated to take too much because they felt like they were being watched.”

So after setting up the tables, Thomas and the volunteers took off.

Even that innovation raised some questions.

“People would ask me, ‘is there a limit on what I can take? I have a sister who’s at work today, but could use some food,’” she recalled. “And, we want the stigma of taking home food removed. It’s not need-based. You don’t owe anything. And I told the woman, ‘If your sister needs something, take it for her. I’d rather see people go home with the food than have it not be used.”

The Free Farmer’s Market generally goes from 11 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. Many parents who are coming by to pick up their kids will also swing by and pick up a bag.

On October 2, by the time Thomas came back at the end of the day, she said, “We put out 1,126 pounds of food and when I got back we had maybe 13 limes, a half a box of apples and a half a box of tomatoes.”

And that was a productive day.

The next Free Farmer’s Market giveaway will be Tuesday, November 6.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — As anyone who has come home from the grocery store knows, there is an art to bagging groceries so the bread doesn’t end up squished under a bag of potatoes and the hot rotisserie chicken isn’t melting the ice cream.

Amy Taylor, of Rockland, has this bagging system down pat.

“I’m probably the world’s pickiest bagger,” said the Shaw’s Supermarket employee. “And I tell that to customers when they say, ‘just throw all in the bag.’ And I start to stress. I say ‘I’lI can’t put this chicken in with this produce; I can’t do it!”

A part-time grocery bagger for the last 10 years, Taylor takes her job seriously. So much so, she just won “Maine’s 2018 Best Bagger Champion” at the Maine Grocers and Food Producers Association’s Fifth Annual Best Bagger Championship September 27.

Her award provides her with an all-expense paid trip to San Diego for two to represent Maine at the 2019 National Championships in February at the National Grocers Association Show.

If you were unaware that such a competition exists, you are not alone.

“Yeah, who knew?” she said. “Every independent grocery store has their own competition and then, it just gets bigger from there. A lot of my customers had no idea about it and have asked me to explain what it is.”

Taylor, 33, is not only a grocery bagger, but also works part time as a K-5 substitute teacher, as well as a third job as a work-study student at the college of the University of Rockland. She is also putting herself through college to earn her education degree. She is also a mother to four young children.

The most exciting part of this upcoming competition for Taylor is not necessarily the chance to compete for the grand prize of $10,000; it’s getting on a plane and leaving Maine for the first time in her life.

“I have to say I was very nervous at first when they announced I was the winner [of the 2018 Best Bagging Competition] because I knew that meant I had to get on a plane and go clear across the country.”

When she arrives in San Diego, the competition, which is held over a period of three days, will test 32 grocery baggers from all over the country on their skills in a series of heats. Taylor says the key is practice. The competition will require speed and ideal item placement in several reusable grocery bags.

“I’ve been doing this for so long that for the state championships, I didn’t need to practice my speed,” she said. “I took a more logical approach. Since we knew what the items to be bagged were going to be ahead of time, I divided each bag equally by weight, figures out how each item should be stacked, wrote it all down and memorized the placement of the two smaller bags.”

Asked it she is still using her shifts at Shaw’s Supermarket to continue to practice until the February event, she said: “Yes, I can’t help it. Then I drive myself crazy with it and tell myself to stop.”

Maine will be rooting for you Amy Taylor.

For more information of the NGA Best Bagger Championships visit: National Grocers

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Dave Davis has a collection of old, hard-bound oversized books of Maine atlases from the 1880s and they’re not only a trip down Memory Lane, but they’re a trip down every known road, street, byway and bridge “The Way Life Used To Be.”

“Maps are really quite rare,” said Davis, of South China, who was one of the vendor present at the Rockland Historical Society’s Postcard and Ephemera show in September. He runs a side business called Snow County Nostalgia, featuring historic New England and Maine images and has been collecting maps for 25 years.

“We usually find them in auctions and they come in these large bound books,” he said. “But some of these books are all stove up, so we just pull the maps out and laminate them.”

Davis said many people will buy a map of the the town they live in and frame them. And there are hidden gems in many of them.

“I had a lady looking at a Rumford map in the 1880s and in that one, there were no French names listed on the houses,” he said. “With Rumford having a large French population today, she wondered why that was and it was because, the map was printed before the mills were built. And you remember, the French people came to work in those mills.

“What’s really interesting about them is that the original printed editions were less than a 1,000 print run and they were hand-colored. When you look closer, there are houses listed on each map and the atlas even shows who lived in the house at the time.”

Davis, who has been an avid skier since the 1940s, also finds old postcards of Maine ski resorts and makes posters out of them. Now mostly retired, he displays his collection in the Fairfield Antique Mall and on eBay.

Maps and atlases still remain a source of fascination for many people, not just collectors.  To that end the University of Southern Maine has reproduced Historical Atlas of Maine. The atlas provides an in-depth look into the many cultural, economic, environmental, and geological elements that have shaped Maine's history, from the earliest evidence of human population right up to today.. And this summer, they received an extraordinary gift of one of the world’s finest private collections of rare and historic maps.

Photos by Kay Stephens

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

PROSPECT— In the many years I’ve written about Leon Seymour, the eccentric, passionate executive director of Friends of Fort Knox, whose sole pleasure for the last 18 years was planning for and putting on Fright at the Fort, one of the best Halloween events in the state every October, this year will be bittersweet, as Seymour passed away this past May. A Stephen King-themed event was something he’d always wanted to see realized.

And starting October 13, it will happen. Dean L. Martin, the new executive director said that before his death, Seymour obtained permission from author Stephen King to put on an event with characters from some of his greatest works.

“We got permission to use the intellectual property of his books and characters, which is very important, because like most authors, he wants the courtesy of being asked when an organization puts on an event in his name,” said Martin. “I’ve heard he almost never refuses and graciously supports local communities.”

Staff and “Fright” fans alike will all have Seymour in their minds this year.

“I barely have to do any marketing or advertising because Leon worked so hard to build this event up nationally,” said Martin. “I’m standing on the shoulders of a giant. I have also always loved Halloween. We used to set up our house for Halloween for my kids and the neighborhood kids, so this will give me the freedom to do what I’ve always wanted to do on a scale 10 times as big.”

Martin has only had little more than six weeks to prepare. Having served as a pilot in the military and with a background in health care administration, he said he’s up to the task for this year’s “Fright” event.

“With my training, I have skills in logistics, operations, facilities management and event planning and this year, it’s even more of a challenge, because so many volunteers are coming out of the woodwork for this Stephen King theme,” he said. “We have super fans and theater groups who already know certain characters and want to play them, but are only available on certain nights, so it’s a bit like corralling cats to try to get the best show every night.”

The super fans are not the only ones excited for this year. Rumors have been swirling online that King and/or his family might be present at the event due to the fact that King’s radio station 100.3 WKIT will be broadcasting live on one of the nights, but Martin downplays that notion.

“We have no confirmation of that,” he said. “The name of this year’s event is ‘The King of Horror’ and I think some people got confused when they hear that the King of Horror was going to be at Fort Knox this year.”

“Every year, we change the theme and change up the sets, props, designs and rooms,” he said. This year, they’ll feature elements from 15 of King’s most iconic novels and short stories. And with Maine as a character itself in many of these novels, it’s going to feel very meta.

Let’s just say they’re going for the “IT Factor.”

The area before the entrance to the Fort will feature a number of family-friendly inflatables, including Pennywise from IT.

“We try to keep the outside more G-Rated and entertaining for the crowds,” said Martin. “Our policy is that this is not an event for kids younger than eight, because there are some scary elements, such as a chainsaw-welding madman, which of course the chain is off the saw, but also the characters do a lot of jump scares. So, you just have to know your child best and if he or she is easily frightened, you might not want to take them. That said, I spoke with a 22-year-old woman who has been coming to Fright since she was five and now she always goes through twice each year with her grandmother.”

Once participants go through, there is only one way in and one way out. Snaking through claustrophobic dimly lit corridors, the entire Fright Walk is about 20 minutes.

John Darling of Darling’s automotive dealerships, has given the event 30 cases of props and Animatronics.

“It’s on scale to be the biggest one that Fort Knox has ever had,” said Martin. “We can’t recreate the exact detail for the King purists. For example, the colors of the bed sheets in Misery may not be the same, but it will feel very much like the way you imagine a Stephen King set of hallways and rooms to look like.”

As their biggest fundraising event of the year, ticket sales from Fright at the Fort all go toward Fort Knox’s operations, conversation and preservation costs throughout the year. In the past, crowds coming through have surpassed 10,000 people.

The dates for Fright at the Fort are October 13, 19, 20, 26, 27, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets sold at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for ages under 12. Advance Express Tickets $13 adults, $7 for under 12.  Express Tickets allow brave Fright Fans to skip the line to begin their tour through the mind of the King of Horror and experience a Fright at the Fort that would make Seymour proud.

Related: The ghoulish underbelly of Fright at the Fort

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BREMEN— Katherine Dunn and her husband, Martyn, own a farm with a special focus: they take in elder/special needs goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys, cats, dogs and more. Since they moved the entire farm from Oregon to Bremen, Maine, two years ago, Dunn has always hosted an annual special day for the 30-plus animals whom she calls “The Misfits.”

“I would always have one day where I made pies and brought her donkey, Pino around to the neighbors.” 

This Saturday, October 6, Dunn plans to host their first public fundraising day called “Misfit Love Day” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

“I’ve always had a special place in my heart for unwanted animals, particularly the elderly ones and the ones with special needs,” she said. “We live in such a throwaway culture; people can’t even hang on to their old version of an iPhone anymore. It’s always onto something newer and better.”

She has also taken on needy animals that arrive as young adults, but grow old on her farm. She recalls the situation of Rosie The Grumpiest “But I Am Fine As I Am” Pig.

“This pig lived a spoiled life with an elder woman, in a house where the pig had her own room and furniture,” said Dunn. “The woman died and the pig ended up in a shelter, but was so grumpy nobody could deal with her. I took her on and she has been grumpy since day one, but I just let her be herself.”

Today, Rosie, lives in her private quarters, grumpily, but also content in her elder years. She will most likely be sleeping during the event.

Many of her rescues come from state cases where the animals were seized from an individual or a farm from neglect or abuse. Each has its own story on her blog. Take “Girl George” a hermaphrodite goat adopted out of a neglect case. Girl George was one of three goats Dunn brought home from a state case.. (She originally intended to bring home one) Each animal is brought to the farm for one purpose— to live out their lives, and sometimes to be hospiced.

The expenses of running a farm are laid out in her colorful blog posts. Dunn, an artist and a writer, brings the plight of the animals into sharp focus, only in the way a writer can:

“Hay is probably our most important thing, besides love...and water...and care...and loyalty....and time....and pasture maintenance....and fence maintenance...and hoof and feet trims....vacinations....did I mention time,” she wrote.

Other posts personify the animals like a living children’s book. In one post about Sir Tripod The Goat, Sir Tripod tells her he is wants to sleep outside. She worries about his safety, but she listens to him.

“If one pays attention, one often will understand why they made that choice,” she wrote.

Since becoming a nonprofit once they were settled in Maine, they’ve been able to not only take in smaller, individual donations, but also, receive gifts in higher amounts. Not only does this help with the day to day financial costs, but it allows Dunn to bring the animals together with elder/special needs people for mutual healing and wellness visits, not only at their farm, but also at elder residences.

Pets are not allowed (strictly enforced) and children must be chaperoned. All funds from the event will go to feed and maintain the animals, and allow Dunn to continue her outreach mission to connect the animals with other elders in their homes. There will also be a fiddler playing amongst the wandering animals, and Dunn will have her books and some of her art of sale. For more information visit: Misfit Day and www.apiferafarm.blogspot.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDO—When students walk through the doors of Waldo County Technical Center each morning, Math teacher Lacey Breems has learned to pinpoint the behavior of a hungry student.

“They can’t focus; they’re usually exhausted, or really disengaged in the lesson and program,” she said. “Some of them are old enough that they’ve gotten used to it, and they still can get through their class.”

Though not a traditional high school, WCTC, a technical center serves 255 students from Belfast, Searsport and Mount View. Of those students, Breems estimates about a quarter to a third of the students have the greatest need for food security and warm clothing.

“We get students come through for our programs both in the morning and afternoon,” she said. “In the morning, for some students, either there was no time to eat or they didn’t have anything at home to eat for breakfast, or they couldn’t afford a breakfast at their school. Not all of the high schools offer a free breakfast or lunch, so we started stocking instant oatmeal and dry cereal in a closet pantry. In the afternoon, they might grab some mac and cheese or an instant soup and heat it up. Then, you start to see more of an engagement. Sometimes, it’s just the joy of eating food is enough to wake them up and put them in better moods.”

Maine ranks seventh in the nation for food insecurity and first in New England.

“The economy is not in a great place right now, especially in Waldo county,” said Breems. “We’ve got families struggling; students struggling with homelessness and going hungry. We feel it’s our responsibility to help our students in any way possible. Sometimes we help families as well and allow students to take food home.”

And it’s not just food that some students need.

“Of those students with the greatest need, they rarely have gloves or hats,” she said. “Some have no good winter coats or footwear and are wearing a heavy sweatshirt or the same beat up sneakers year round, even in the bitter cold. Then, there are other students who need protective footwear for some of the programs we offer and they can’t participate in the class if all they own are a pair of flip flops.”

Waldo County Technical Center has two programs that speak to these needs: Food For Friends, which provides free food for students, and the It’s Cool To Be Warm clothing closet run by Rachel Littlefield, which provides students with clean clothes, warm coats, and winter boots.

Students can access the food and clothing donations year round. Breems said that WCTC’s Student Services Coordinator Bonnie Kein will often procure a specific item or items to outfit a student for the wintertime through the school’s small budget and largely through donated items. Breems added that WCTC’s own staff is the primary source of those donations.

The clothing and accessories are given out year round and just before Christmas break, the staff lays all of the items out on cafeteria tables for the students to “shop” and take home for free calling it ‘Tis The Season.

WCTC is looking for help from the Midcoast community as the weather turns cold. Food items that are most needed are easily prepared, teen-friendly food items such as mac and cheese, cereal, and canned soup or pasta.Adult sized clothing items, especially coats, boots, and hoodies (sweatshirts) are of greatest need.  Gift cards to local grocery and/or clothing stores are also very helpful . Anyone interested in helping feed and clothe the teenagers of Waldo County, please contact Lacey Breems at Waldo County Technical Center at 342-5231. ext/ 222 or via email at lbreems@waldotech.org

Related: When a free school lunch saves the day in Waldo County

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BREMEN— Katherine Dunn and her husband, Martyn, own a farm with a special focus: they take in elder/special needs goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys, cats, dogs and more. Since they moved the entire farm from Oregon to Bremen, Maine, two years ago, Dunn has always hosted an annual special day for the 30-plus animals whom she calls “The Misfits.”

“I would always have one day where I made pies and brought her donkey, Pino around to the neighbors.” 

This Saturday, October 6, Dunn plans to host their first public fundraising day called “Misfit Love Day” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

“I’ve always had a special place in my heart for unwanted animals, particularly the elderly ones and the ones with special needs,” she said. “We live in such a throwaway culture; people can’t even hang on to their old version of an iPhone anymore. It’s always onto something newer and better.”

She has also taken on needy animals that arrive as young adults, but grow old on her farm. She recalls the situation of Rosie The Grumpiest “But I Am Fine As I Am” Pig.

“This pig lived a spoiled life with an elder woman, in a house where the pig had her own room and furniture,” said Dunn. “The woman died and the pig ended up in a shelter, but was so grumpy nobody could deal with her. I took her on and she has been grumpy since day one, but I just let her be herself.”

Today, Rosie, lives in her private quarters, grumpily, but also content in her elder years. She will most likely be sleeping during the event.

Many of her rescues come from state cases where the animals were seized from an individual or a farm from neglect or abuse. Each has its own story on her blog. Take “Girl George” a hermaphrodite goat adopted out of a neglect case. Girl George was one of three goats Dunn brought home from a state case.. (She originally intended to bring home one) Each animal is brought to the farm for one purpose— to live out their lives, and sometimes to be hospiced.

The expenses of running a farm are laid out in her colorful blog posts. Dunn, an artist and a writer, brings the plight of the animals into sharp focus, only in the way a writer can:

“Hay is probably our most important thing, besides love...and water...and care...and loyalty....and time....and pasture maintenance....and fence maintenance...and hoof and feet trims....vacinations....did I mention time,” she wrote.

Other posts personify the animals like a living children’s book. In one post about Sir Tripod The Goat, Sir Tripod tells her he is wants to sleep outside. She worries about his safety, but she listens to him.

“If one pays attention, one often will understand why they made that choice,” she wrote.

Since becoming a nonprofit once they were settled in Maine, they’ve been able to not only take in smaller, individual donations, but also, receive gifts in higher amounts. Not only does this help with the day to day financial costs, but it allows Dunn to bring the animals together with elder/special needs people for mutual healing and wellness visits, not only at their farm, but also at elder residences.

Pets are not allowed (strictly enforced) and children must be chaperoned. All funds from the event will go to feed and maintain the animals, and allow Dunn to continue her outreach mission to connect the animals with other elders in their homes. There will also be a fiddler playing amongst the wandering animals, and Dunn will have her books and some of her art of sale. For more information visit: Misfit Day and www.apiferafarm.blogspot.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Right now it’s easy to be green, because, as the Fall Foliage Report from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry notes, there is spotty color change out there.  But as we roll into October with crisper nights, the reds, oranges, yellows and golds will pop like a bag of Newman’s Own in the coming weeks. 

Here are three road trips to take this October for leaf peeping, apple picking and the sweet reward of a craft brew or tart hard cider on the way.

Western Maine

The best time for peak color in the western mountains is predicted to be October 6-13.

Grafton Notch Byway

If you start from the tippy top of Rt. 26 in the town of Errol (see map) you’ll have more than 20 miles of absolutely fantastic scenery: of rivers moving through mountain valleys and past Umbagog State Park. Stop at Grafton Notch State Park for a picnic and a walk along the river, or take a short hike to Screw Auger Falls and Mother Walker Falls. Your rewards come at the end of this trip (or beginning, depending which way you choose). First stop: Sunday River Brewing Co. on the access road to the Sunday River Ski Resort. Their selection of beers all pair well with the golden, brown, and red hues of the surrounding mountains. After that, it’s a short trip to Grover Hill Orchard which has pesticide-free pick-your-own orchard as well as free cider tastings on Saturdays.

Northern Maine

Peak conditions are estimated to be October 15-20.

Million Dollar Highway Route 1

It’s going to be a bit of a haul to get to the start of this road trip, which begins in the the town of Danforth (see map), but before you get your million dollar views, stop first at the Maine-ly Apples (346 Moosehead Trail, Dixmont), which specializes in the highly anticipated Honeycrisps. They grow 48 different varieties with five popular varieties for pick-your-own and they have their own cider making facility on site! Once you get to Bangor, hook up with Route 9 going east. You ‘ll hit Airline Brewing Co. along the way.  Enjoy a tasting at their refurbished wood working machinery from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The toffee and caramel flavors of their Red Ale make a great fall beer.Keep going until you reach U.S. Route 1 north and bang a left, which will take you up the Million Dollar Highway, affording unsurpassed views of the Chiputneticook chain of lakes including East Grand, Brackett and Deering as well as rolling hayfields, Mount Katahdin, Peekaboo Mountain

Midcoast

Peak conditions are estimated to be October 15-30.

Midcoast Ramble

Heading down U.S. Route 1 past Rockland, your first stop will be in Damariscotta to Biscay Orchards, a pick-your-own apple farm voted the Best Orchard in Maine by Down East Magazine in 2018. With 15 varieties to pick from, plus unpreserved cider, this is a refreshing way to start your road trip. Next, wind down toward Wiscasset and head left on Rt. 27, on one of those long, leisurely drives through rural forested areas before you hit Boothbay Craft Brewery  and sip on a flight (definitely try their road trip brew 257 Lager-perfect for the occasion) either inside their rustic Tavern Taphouse or outside on the picnic tables under the trees. After that, there are plenty of ocean views in the town of Boothbay and check out the Fall Foliage Festival October 6  to 8 (which happens a bit before peak season).

Autumn enthusiasts can visit the state’s official foliage website at www.mainefoliage.com to sign up to receive weekly reports by email, and can share their photos from throughout the state as the progression of color begins.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Though Dunkin Donuts may be dropping the “donuts” from their brand soon, that hasn’t stopped a 10-year-old caped crusader named Tyler Carach from eclipsing those headlines in his mission to deliver boxes of donuts to every police officer in America.

On Thursday, September 27, Tyler and his mother, Sheena, arrived in Maine after driving up from Florida for the sole purpose of delivering boxes of Dunkin Donuts and coffee to law officers in Brunswick as well as in Rockland. With a homemade cape that his grandmother made him with that states: “I donut need a reason to thank a cop,” Tyler was all smiles and enthusiasm, as he played “Hangman” with Lt. Reggie Walker and the officers at the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and answered reporters’ questions.

Maine is now the 41st state that Tyler and Sheena have visited to thank law officers for their service, protection and dedication. Sheena, a former police officer, said the idea started one day in a store when Tyler was eight-years-old and they spotted four deputies.

“He wanted to buy them some mini donuts from his allowance and they were super excited to receive it,” she said. “When we left, he asked me why the officers had gotten so excited over a snack and I told him, ‘Well, it wasn’t just the snack; it was that you took the time to say thank you and appreciate them. In his mind, he thought that was a thing everyone did and I explained to him that unfortunately a lot of people choose to judge the police and are not always nice to them, and sometimes target them, so then he looked at me very seriously and said, ‘OK, well, I’m going to thank every cop in America and buy them a donut.’ I told him there were 900,000 cops in America, and no matter what I came back with, he told me ‘That’s okay, I’m going to thank them all.’”

The Carachs started their mission locally in 2016 delivering donuts around Florida.

“Most of the travel, we fund a lot of it ourselves, and most of the donuts we get sponsored, but today, we purchased these today as Dunkin Donuts had met their quota for donations in this area,” she said.

Occasionally the family will also receive donations through a Go Fund Me account.

“We’ve always taught him, no matter how big of a goal you have, you can accomplish it,” said Sheena. “And he’s shown me that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. He’s also got a big support system behind him with our entire family.”

Usually when the Carachs plan a trip, it takes from one to two weeks and typically takes place in the summertime. Tyler goes to a charter school, but when he’s on the road with his mother, they provide Sheena with lesson plans to teach him along the way.

Sheena said the response across the county to Tyler and his donut giveaway has been phenomenal.

”We’ve been to a lot of departments, not intentionally, but just right after they’d had a fatality or an officer injured, and some people are just in tears because it means so much to them,” she said.

With more than 70,000 donuts given away, they’ve covered most of the eastern seaboard on their trips. On their way back home, they have stops to make in the greater Pittsburgh area.

“It’s just such a positive, thoughtful thing they’re doing,” said Chief Deputy Timothy Carroll. “Just going all over the nation thanking cops, there’s no better way to do it.”

Tyler is already working on turning his mission and brand into a 501(c)(3).

”He’s not going to stop until he’s reached every single police station in the United States,” Sheena said.

To learn more about Tyler and his cause, visit: www.idonutneedareasontothankacop.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND— “Do you remember the time we went went fishing up above the dam and you fell down in the mud.” —Fred.

CAMDEN—Though not on the official roster, Jack Churchill’s steampunk buggy was one of the more memorable additions to September’s Mini Maker Faire. A functional art piece on wheels, the buggy is Churchill’s latest project that took two and a half months to build with the help of local electrical engineer, Alex Taliadouros.

“I wanted people to stop on the street, look at it and say ‘WTF?’” he said.

The ‘73 VW dune buggy was in a dilapidated state when he’d purchased it earlier this spring.

“The engine worked great; it was basically just a frame,” he said. “We towed it home and stripped it down. Alex did all the welding. I did all the steampunk stuff.”

The street rod, though it looks like it might fall apart, is actually street legal. Churchill had to classify it as an antique, so he didn’t have to go through the hassle of registering it, but if needed be, the buggy would pass inspection. He retrofitted it with all new disc brakes, ball joints, working turn signals, seat belts and even a back-up camera.

Steampunk accents are evident in the details; in the rivets, leather, copper, brass.

“All of the things in Victorian era which comprised steam machines,” he said.

To get the authentic rusted-out look on the aesthetic parts of the buggy, Churchill applied three coats of vinegar, followed by a coat of hydrogen peroxide and salt.

“It started to rust in 10 seconds,” he said.

Then, he left it out a couple of weeks to let Mother Nature finish the job.

At the Faire, when Churchill took it for a spin in town, the buggy attracted people like bees to a flower. It’s a vehicle rife with inside jokes, such as the “Violation” ticket in the upper left hand corner of the windshield.

“It’s the kind of thing where if you get closer, you start walk around the whole car, noticing more and more things that will make you laugh,” he said. “It’s basically a honey trap. When people come over to look at it really closely, that’s when the fun begins.”

A retired film director, Churchill paid homage to the industry and people who love films with a number of hidden meanings in the buggy, such as the Red Rider BB lever-action gun from A Christmas Story.

“I was going to originally put the phrase ‘You’re going to put your eye out, kid’ on the buggy, but let the prop tell the story instead,” he said.

Prominently displayed on the right rear side is a “dead” upside down stuffed parrot in a cage, a tribute to the Dead Parrot Monty Python sketch.

“That’s probably the funniest thing Monty Python ever did in a sketch,” he said.

Then there are the subtle details, such as the vent on the hood of the buggy which is a set of “barn doors” or a light modifier with a paper clip attached to it.

“In the days of forced lighting with barn doors, you always had to have a piece of blue film clipped to the barn doors to balance the daylight,” he said. “That one is for the filmmakers.”

“Everybody loves two things on the car,” said Churchill. “One, that the headrests are made from old catchers’ mitts and two, that the bumper is fitted out with two Crocs so you don’t hit your shins on it. I added those details to give people some glee.” 

Churchill has been asked several times if he planned to sell it and he says no, and that’s not the point.

“The point is just to have fun building it,” he said. “I’m sure it will end up in a museum somewhere, but now my attention in onto the next thing.”

Check out our video of getting a ride in the steampunk buggy.

Related:

A visual tour of a steampunk motorcycle

He's like a little kid with a big toy

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Wait a minute; why are we talking about Oktoberfest in September?

You can thank the German Crown Prince Ludwig and his bride to be, Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, for getting the stein rolling on this fall festival when they got married on October 12, 1810.

All of the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the Royal Party in the fields in front of the city gates.  But it was the horse races that marked the end of the event that got the citizens thinking, “Wir sollten das jedes Jahr machen!”(tr: “We should do this every year!”)

However, the following year, 1811, desperately needed a German version of Julie McCoy from The Love Boat, because while the horses were back prancing about as the Bavarian entertainment, that was about it. There were no food tents or beer offerings, much less field games, leaving most Munich citizens to shrug and say “Meh” in German and go home.

By 1818, after all of the yearly Bavarian horse prancing, someone put up a small beer stand. That took off hotter than Sonnenstich, or “sunstroke,” because then the meager beer stands became beer tents in subsequent years, then great beer halls, while the festival expanded into athe ultimate Bavarian carnival with carousels and games.

As the momentum of the annual event took off, organizers stretched it out to a week, but then realized that mid-October was a bit too cold to enjoy outdoor festivities under the tents, so subsequent Oktoberfests were planned in mid-September, when the nights were warmer with the last of the festival ending the first weekend of October.

Here, then in order of chronological order are the Oktoberfests open to the public to enjoy this fall:

September 22, 2018

ANAH Shrine YOSHI Oktoberfest — Bangor

Hosted by Rollies’ Bar and Grill, this event is a fundraiser for the Shriners Hospital going from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a VIP Hour from 11 a.m. to noon and beer, brats, and pretzels available. Prizes for best dressed will be awarded, get your lederhosen out! Tickets are $25-30  (which include two drink tickets). FMI: ANAH Oktoberfest

September 27-30

Rangeley Oktoberfest — Rangeley

These guys are serious. For four days, this festival will offer food, entertainment and a cornucopia of beers along with a Brat and Streudel Contest, Stein Hoisting Finals, the Maine Forestry Museum’s Apple Festival on Saturday, a Scarecrow Ball on Sunday. And the fall foliage will just start to be showing its true colors right about then. FMI: Rangeley Oktoberfest

September 28-30

Maine Lakes Brewfest Weekend — Point Sebago

Though, technically a Brew Fest, this will encompass more than a few of the Bavarian styles and tastes with Oktoberfest entertainment. This all-inclusive three-day weekend is only for adults, designed to celebrate Maine made beers and wines while highlighting a Maine artisan craft show on September 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. . Note: you can book the entire three-day package with lodging through Point Sebago or just go for the Saturday event for $35 FMI: Brewfest Weekend package  or Maine Lakes Brewfest single ticket.

October 5-6

Acadia Oktoberfest — Southwest Harbor

With a wine tasting on the Friday night and 20+ brewers represented on Brewfest on the Saturday afternoon, the Acadia Oktoberfest’s Beer, Food, Music and crafts festival is lighting up the quiet side of the island for a weekend. This year also launches its first Homebrewing Competition Saturday, October 6. Tickets are $20 for the wine tasting event and $35 for the Brew Fest event. FMI: Acadia Oktoberfest

October 6

Swine and Stein Oktoberfest — Gardiner

It’s a pork party! It’s a street party! Visit the Biergarten tent  to taste great Maine craft beers, ciders, and wine. There will also be food trucks, music, corn hole and a giant Jenga, a Frozen T-Shirt Race, Main State Rock Paper Scissors Championship, and Swine Calling Contest. Tickets range from $15 to $50. FMI: Swine and Stein

October 13

Odd Alewives Oktoberfest — Waldoboro

Odd Alewives Brewing Co. is pairing up with Morse’s Saurkraut to do it up locally. If you can think of no finer way to spend a fall day than at a farm brewery in Maine, drinking crisp ale & eating hearty German fare to the sounds of a Bavarian oompah music, we hope you’ll join us and make this historic year one to remember. Goes from 12 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $35-70 with all of the details here. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Many outdoor people think working in the remote Maine woods is a dream job. But Tim Caverly, who was the supervisor of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway for 18 years, can tell you some stories. For example, from the first day he stepped into the role, he had a target on his back.

“When I first started the position in 1981, I’d heard rumors that people didn’t think I’d last six months,” he said.

When he started with a staff of 20, there were one or two individuals who had a grudge.

“I was told when I’d first started, one person was causing a lot of issues in the area, driving campers off their campsites, threatening them, then carving out his own campsites and cutting illegal trails,” said Caverly. “My job was to get him to stop.”

While everything he did was to ensure public safety and protect the natural resources of the Allagash Wilderness, some individuals who thought they were immune to the state’s laws began to extract revenge. One such scofflaw with a history of theft and vandalism had already targeted Caverly’s predecessor a number of times with malicious pranks, such as cutting electrical wires, adding water added to his generator, vehicle destruction and break-ins to his office, among other serious violations.

“The first six months I was appointed supervisor, things were relatively quiet,” said Caverly. “Then, I had to start clamping down on this particular individual and his antics. We started experiencing vandalism after that: rocks thrown through our picture windows, wires cut, and so on. One day in 1982, my wife and I went down to Reid State Park for a baby shower and when we came back by 11 p.m., our entire house had been burnt down to the ground. It wasn’t an accident.”

Caverly said only a few of these people made the job difficult as they had no regard for the law and wanted to use the Allagash for their own selfish purposes.

“They didn’t like to be told ‘no,’” he said.

But even those negative experiences couldn’t overshadow the positives and the joys that his 32-year career brought.

Caverly comes from a family who has spent their lives in the Maine outdoors.  He began working as a ranger at Sebago Lake State Park for the State Parks and Recreation Commission. After Sebago, he continued his employment with the Department of Conservation with assignments as a manager of Aroostook and Cobscook Bay State Parks as well as a regional supervisor of the Allagash Region; which included the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and the Penobscot River Corridor.

The career move required be ready for anything all four seasons.

“On any given day, I didn’t know what to expect or where I’d be when I got up,” he said. “I might be in an airplane looking for illegal construction in the one-mile zone around the Allagash; I’d more likely be patrolling in a canoe or boat looking for violations such as folks cutting down trees on state property.  For example, I’d typically have to stop someone who thought they could fell a particularly good pine tree and sneak it across the line to sell it. Or, I might be Augusta either supporting or rejecting a bill that a legislator wanted to pass concerning the Allagash.”

Other times, he was called to assist on a search and rescue for people lost on trails or drowning victims.

“I learned to be self-reliant quite a bit,” he said. “The key is to never lose your cool; quickly appraise the situation and decide the best route.”

More 40 different laws concerning the Allagash Wilderness Waterway were proposed during his position with the state.

“Some were good bills and some weren’t,” he said.

But, he showed up for every hearing with the intent to weigh in on every single bill that would protect the legacy of the Allagash.

Now the author of nine books with the support of his wife Susan, the Caverlys have presented 234 programs to more than 8,000 students in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. In addition they have donated more 1,750 books to 145 schools in Maine, N.H. and MA.

Though the day-to-day responsibilities of the job supervising the Allagash are over, the woods and waterways are so intertwined in Caverly’s life, he will always be the famed Maine woods’ protector.

All photos courtesy Tim Caverly

For more information: https://allagashtails.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — I started my afternoon in a Fallujah “Boneyard” of destroyed Iraqi vehicles, artillery pieces and armor. Ten minutes later, I was smack in the middle of New York City crosswalk, looking up at the sky, the buildings, the construction going on to the right as some guy set down his iced coffee and went back to work. Amid all the cacophony, my world went dark. Then, I was standing in the middle of the lush Hoh Rain Forest of Olympic National Park looking up at tremendous mossy covered Western Hemlocks, the only sound of a stream gurgling at my feet.

The Camden International Film Festival’s “Storyforms” exhibit has taken over Winter Street’s barn in what I can only describe as an adult fun house. Much like The Collective’s past interactive parties, there are stations throughout the converted barn that will transport you into another time and in the head of someone else’s story.

The main “stage” of the exhibit looks straight out of Blade Runner. A surreal sculptural installation by an artist whom I recently covered in a story Rachel Lee Zheng, layers monofilament lit by eerie green LED lights while participants sit in chairs with virtual reality headsets and earphones. From an observer’s standpoint, it’s unclear why they are moving in 360 degrees in their swivel chairs, their heads looking up, down, everywhere as if searching for something.

Then, I get in one of the chairs while a CIFF volunteer sets up a “story” for me to experience. “Do you want action or do you want meditative?” she asks.

“Action.”

The headset goes on; the earphones are next. And in seconds, I’m watching a documentary “Mind at War” about a soft spoken young man, Scott England, who signed up to join the military after 9/11, desperate to have some economic security. Through a series of interactive virtual reality paintings, I can now see why everybody is moving in their chairs. As England tells his story of being in Iraq, and losing his wife to another man, then coming home as a depressed veteran and his battle with PTSD and homelessness, it’s a story I can’t take my eyes away from. The scenery is all around me; I have to move my head to see the 360-degree picture. In my ears, England is talking to me and I’m hearing all of the nuances of his story in a way you just can’t get from watching a flat screen. It feels personal and I’m invested in what he has to say. That’s why this exhibit is called Cinema 360.

All of nine Storyforms in Cinema 360 immerse you in either virtual reality or augmented reality like this. The next one I watch, “Sanctuaries of Silence,” is also part of its own physical installation in the exhibit which puts you in a simulated room of a rain forest. In this one, I’m watching Emmuanuel Vaughan-Lee, while he stands holding a high fidelity microphone the height of a pool cue, first, in a busy crosswalk in NYC, before takes me to an immersive listening journey into Olympic National Park and on driftwood-littered beaches. I am listening with him to the sounds of water, the tides, the screeching bird, the trickle of a stream, the sway of wind.

I didn’t have to move more than a few feet and I traveled across the country and to a different continent in 20 minutes. This exhibit will put you in places and in the perspective of people you will likely never meet, but will feel as if you know them afterwards.

There is a scary looking white room called “Terminal 3” in this exhibit and there for 12 minutes with a “Hololens” headset on, you will experience what it is like to sit in an airport interrogation room, and through interactive, augmented reality, you’ll directly interrogate, and determine the fate of, the hologram passenger before you. These interrogations will become strikingly personal encounters that only end when the you decide if the hologram should be let into the country or not—but there is a twist.

There are a number of other installations in this exhibit, including “Fireflies: A Brownville Story,” where you will not only wear a Hololens, but you’ll be able to touch objects with hand controllers. Then, you’ll be inside a Brooklyn neighborhood which is divided by an ongoing rivalry between public housing developments. You’ll also see in “Manic VR” what it’s like to be bipolar and experience “the heightening of senses and the untamed imagination that accompanies this complex and mysterious condition.”

As I mention in my Local’s Guide To CIFF column, you don’t have to be a CIFF passholder to be able to go on these fantastic journeys. $30 will get you in on an experience you’ll never get in a small town. FMI: CIFF Storyforms

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Having covered this event since its inception for various newspapers and magazines, the Camden International Film Festival is one of those events that started small in 2005 and blew up to be this big international thing that it is today. So, while the cost of the weekend pass and maybe your weariness of more tourist traffic might deter some of you from going, let me just say: This is a cultural opportunity to see the world through filmmakers’ eyes. And given the divisive and acrimonious political climate we’re all immersed in (doesn’t matter which side you’re on) CIFF is the virtual passport to understanding how other people think and live. There is tremendous power in these documentaries that will move you. Trust me.

Here is my Local’s Guide To CIFF and what to spend your hard-earned money and time on this weekend.

Tickets and Waiting In Line

As always, CIFF makes it affordable for the average joe to see a lot of good stuff in this Festival if you pick and choose wisely. The Hub for tickets is located at 16 Bay View Hotel in Camden (side entrance via Bayview Landing) Tickets for individual screenings are still only 10 bucks. But here’s a Pro-Tip: Tickets go on sale 15 minutes prior to each screening, so camp out, and get there early if you really want to see something as screenings tend to sell out. Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis and are dependent upon availability. 

Opening Night

Thursday night, CIFF kicks off with screenings of They'll Love Me When I'm Dead in Camden and Rockport. The film is the latest film from Academy Award-winner Morgan Neville and is the provocative story of legendary director Orson Welles during the final fifteen years of his life. Q&A with director Morgan Neville to follow. Local phenoms The Toughcats play the Camden Opera House at 7 p.m. to start off the night. Make sure to line up early; screenings are sure to sell out. As always, All Access passholders enter first.

Storyforms

What is a storyform? This is something fairly new to the CIFF format from last year and not something you typically see in a small town. So what you do is, you go to the Storyforms Barn at 8 Winter Street in Rockland across from CMCA. On the walls will be interactive screens, sort of a cross between an art installation and a cool, museum experience involving augmented reality and VR (Virtual Reality headsets). There are 20 different installations to interact with. With each topic the screens will unfold multiple stories in real time, so you’re getting multiple perspectives to the storytelling experience. You just have to see it.  Due to the growing popularity of VR installations in the Storyforms program at last year’s festival, there will be a Storyforms Day Pass available in 2018. These day passes will be available for Friday or Sunday only of CIFF.

Shorts

Shorts are my absolute favorite form of documentary filmmaking; they are like the Twitter of the film world in that you have yo get your point and capture your audience in a very short time period. These microbursts of culture and people’s stories from all over the world are a must-see and they are free and open to the public. The Shorts Categories are around two hours and consist of about 5-6 films broken up into five themes. (Water, Fire Air, Metal and Earth) There’s also a category of Dirigo Shorts, ($10 pass) which are Maine-made documentaries. For my money, this is the one to definitely check out and support Maine filmmakers. Just look at the synopses of: Alan Magee: art is not a solace, Not A Citizen, Hit ME, I like it! Underwater Rockland and Yojani: A Cuba Skate Story among others. All Maine viewpoints that will take you right out of the Midcoast and into wondrous worlds. These Short program are like an individual screening and cost $10 per screening.

The Parties

CIFF usually throws one heck of a bash and this is worth it. Friday night at the Bicknell Building in Rockland starts at 10 p.m. for Western Mass fever-pop duo HOME BODY, DJ Dayglow (Pink Noise, Boston) and local hero DJ Milkweed. You don’t have to be a passholder, but it costs $30 general admission. Drinks included. You definitely want to buy online. No tickets will be sold at the door. We’re told that if you do hold a pass, you’ll also be able to get a ride from their new shuttle this year, which can take you back to Camden at various points of the night.

That’s it; check out the schedule all weekend and you can look up the backstory of the individual films on the site. Or read more on Pen Bay Pilot. Get out of your head for a couple of hours and into someone else’s.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com