ROCKLAND—For serious bibliophiles, it was like being a kid in a candy store. For Dooryard Books owner George Parks, who was giving away all of the books, ephemera, and materials his used bookstore has carried the last 23 years, the moment might have been a bit more somber.

A Facebook post on June 23 announced that Parks was offering the giveaway to anyone who walked in. The post got 1.5K shares in 24 hours.

“I’m 88,” he said. “It’s time to retire.”

Other bookshop owners might have gone the way of a reduced price sale, but Parks had another idea in mind.

“I’m giving them away to people who love books,” he said. “I’m happy. If I had to put them in the dumpster, I wouldn’t be happy.”

By June 25, many of the titles were already hauled away by people carrying boxes and bags. Parks said the first to go were town histories. Among other titles in his collection included classics, history, nautical, art, antique and  fiction.  He also had used books going back to the 1830s. Additionally below the shop, the basement area contained more paperback novels that people could browse.

Parks said he became a bibliophile in high school himself and said his favorite genre was fiction and world history. “History of the wars is something I’ve always been interested in,” he said.

Despite all books being free, Parks had a donation basket out, which was filled with money.

“I just need to cover my expenses to shut down the shop and pay someone to help me,” he said, adding he expected to close for good sometime at the end of July.

All of the bookshelves were for sale; by June 25, most of them had been already sold.

A man was overheard telling Parks, “This is like Christmas for me; it’s wonderful.”

For a book lover, the free giveaway was a mixed bag of emotions. To see all of those books being carried out meant they were getting a second life, but a melancholy feeling settled in, seeing all of the empty shelves, knowing yet another bookshop was closing for good.

Dooryard Books at 438 Main Street in Rockland will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The shop doesn’t have a website or a Facebook page, so the hours may be unpredictable. See info on Yelp.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT—With restaurants continuing to navigate seating challenges during COVID-19, one brick and mortar eatery has the perfect solution to stay operating—and the perfect location.

The Big T Snack Shack food trailer, co-owned by husband-and-wife Mark Senders and Rebecca Neves, was approved by the Rockport Select Board to set up full-time operations in Rockport Harbor this summer and fall.

The couple, who also own the Bagel Cafe in Camden, have operated The Big T Snack Shack at the Camden Snow Bowl for the past three years. But, when the coronavirus forced the closing of the Snow Bowl until August 14 and subsequently the CDC guidelines limited indoor seating for the Bagel Cafe, Senders and Neves knew they had to come up with alternative options if they wanted to stay in business.

“My original plan was to operate the food trailer here at Rockport Harbor only occasionally, and move around,” said Senders. “We were going to be part-time at the Snow Bowl, at Cellardoor Winery and do this circuit, but when this [the pandemic] all went down, I decided to stay in one spot, keep it consistent, and make it easy for people to enjoy their food outdoors, socially distant.” He looked out to the harbor. “Plus, you can’t beat the view.”

No one could have predicted that food trucks would naturally be better suited to the economic limitations of COVID-19, so it was fortuitous for Senders and Neves that they already owned one.

“I’m fortunate because a lot of my business was take-out already,” he said. “We haven’t opened indoor seating for the Bagel Cafe, so now, I can use my cafe to produce all of the fresh-baked items for this food trailer.”

Senders, who will be doing most of the baking at the cafe in the early morning hours, will rely on a small, but steady crew he’s had working for him to operate the food trailer Wednesday through Saturday, serving breakfast and lunch. He said along with his consistent menu items, he’ll rotate in specials, such as a blackened halibut sandwich, as local items are in season.

For Senders, going back to Rockport Harbor, is like going back home again.

“Earlier in my career, I worked at Rockport Marine, the Sail Loft and Shepherd’s Pie,” he said. “I really like Rockport.”

“We just want to provide a comfortable, consistent, accessible place for families and people looking for a quick bite in Rockport,” he said. “We’ll all be wearing gloves and masks and you can choose to sit six feet apart on the benches outside and enjoy your food looking out at the harbor.”

The Big T Snack Shack will be open for its first day on Thursday, June 25, at 8 a.m. To stay on top of the rotating specials on their menu visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Watch out Grubhub, a new food delivery service is in town.

Matt Burke, owner of Sweet Monkey Business, an artisan cookie company and Kate Hall, owner of GRAZE Maine, a producer of microgreens, have teamed up to offer a custom delivery service with their new website Belfast Delivers, which allows customers to shop from more than 20 local farms, food vendors, shops, and restaurants and have it brought directly to their door.

The way it works is customers can browse the website and shop for items every Wednesday. At the end of that day, Burke and Hall place all of their orders with the vendors, who then deliver the items on Thursday to their custom kitchen at The Crosby Center, where the items are packed and refrigerated. Then, with a small team in place, the organizers schedule all of their deliveries Friday to Belfast and the surrounding towns in Waldo County.

The new venture kicked off on June 17 with the choices of farm-raised meat, cheese, produce, herbs, restaurant to-go meals, and even locally made products for sale on the website.

Inspired by an online market started by the restaurant, The Lost Kitchen where Hall sold her microgreens, the co-organizers of Belfast Delivers decided this was a service people in the community needed during a pandemic.

“We both come from cities and both had access to any kind of food you wanted, but up here in Maine, the area lacks that resource,” said Hall. “There are a lot of people that can’t venture out to get what they need because of the risk of Covid-19, and at the same time, there are a lot of small businesses that are impacted by farmer’s markets and stores that have closed. We wanted to create a local delivery service that sourced from high-quality locally grown food, farms, bakeries, and other products. We’re just trying to keep everybody’s heads above water with a unique sales outlet to get through these times.”

Even though Burke and Hall still work full-time on their own businesses, they said that they plan to operate Belfast Delivers for the long term and will continue to add more vendors to their website as well as add more days for delivery.

“We have lots of ideas we’re going to explore,” said Burke.

Delivery within Belfast (and all of 04915 including Waldo and Swanville) is $8 per order. Delivery to Northport/Lincolnville (04849), Belmont/Morrill (04952), Searsport (04974), and Stockton Springs (04981) is $12 per order. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Spring/Summer 2020 is worse for the brown tail moth infestation than even the year before say pharmacists, entolomogists, and particularly the victims in the Midcoast, who are suffering from the poison-ivy-like itchy rash.

Tom Schmeelk, an entomologist with the Maine Forest Service told Maine Public, “Infestations have been getting worse since 2015.”

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggests wet vacuuming (with a HEPA filter) the caterpillars, and in a couple of weeks, the pupae. Then, hose down your field or lawn with water to keep the toxic hairs from floating up into the environment.

Wear personal protection around browntail moth areas and keep your skin covered. Take a cool shower after working in an infested area. This will help wash away any hairs on your body.

The problem, according to The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, is that the caterpillars’ tiny barbed hairs are toxic and go airborne. They can cause a skin rash and respiratory difficulties, which can last anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. The hairs can remain toxic for one to three years. And anytime you mow your lawn or a strong wind kicks up it stirs up the hairs and cause a reaction for months, even after the caterpillars become moths. The greatest risk for exposure to the toxic caterpillar hairs is between April and July.

While the infestation is itself a whole other topic for another story, Midcoast residents have been feeling the itch and have been sharing their stories on social media. There’s a lot of information out there on how to provide relief from the bumpy rash.

Home remedies provided by PenBay Pilot readers have included:

• Wipe the area with rubbing alcohol then applied calamine lotion and Benadryl extra strength gel
• Cucumber witch hazel body mist
  
• Purell
• Advil and ice packs
• Bite Balm at Fresh off The Farm
• Vick’s Vapor Rub and Witch Hazel
• Benedryl amd hydrocortisone cream: same amount. Mix with Witch Hazel
• Sarna, Benadryl cream, witch hazel and calamine...Lidocaine lotion
• 1/4 cup witch hazel, 1/2 tube hydrocortisone cream, 1/2 tube of diphenhydramine cream, 1/4 tube aspercream or Lidocaine cream. Place all in plastic spray bottle and mix. Apply twice a day

Nita Nuhaj, Pharamcist at Kennebec Pharmacy + Home Care in Rockport said: “I have to admit, this year, we are seeing a lot more inquiries for itch relief due to the brown tail moth caterpillar compared to other years. If I had to place a number, I’d say we’re getting about 40-50 per day asking about it.”

The compound Kennebec Pharmacy doesn’t have a pharmaceutical name: it is just referred to as the brown tail moth spray or lotion.

“We make a compound mainly targeted to relieve the itching symptoms of the brown tail moth caterpillar hairs,” she said. “People coming to us with a clinical case of brown tail moth symptoms are looking for instant relief.”

Meredith Downing, pharmacist of Coastal Pharmacy & Wellness, in Portland, said she is seeing approximately 10 people call a day about getting relief from the itching, ranging from mild to severe. 

“If someone has repeated exposure to the toxic hairs, the rash gets worse,” she said.  “The compounds we make here are available with a prescription. Most insurances don’t cover compound prescriptions, but the spray and lotion run about $50 to $60. They contain a steroid, an antihistamine and a topical analgesic, which numbs the itch. It lasts awhile. Most people will stick it in their refrigerator after a season and use it again next season.”

Downing added: “All of those things in the compound are also available over-the-counter strength such as tubes of hydrocortisone, Benadryl and Lanacaine, which is a little less expensive,” but as Nuhaj commented, “Not that over the counter remedies are not effective,but they probably won’t provide as much of instant relief as the compound spray.”

Downing said the spray is best for a widespread rash on the body, but the lotion is better if the rash appears on one’s face.

Thomas Edge, a pharmacist for Pen Bay Medical Center, also said the pharmacy is creating its own gel compound. “The Pharmacy at Pen Bay Medical Center will have it's own prescription-only remedy, an anti-itch gel made with a topical steroid, antihistamine, and three topical analgesics, available for $25," he said.

Both Downing and Nuhaj said they haven’t yet encountered anyone come to the pharmacy who has been respiratory issues, but that if one does experience these symptoms, the  serious and warrants a visit to a primary care physician or urgent care.

For more resources  on the brown tail moth caterpillar health concern visit: Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Like the bellows of an accordian, Maine Sport Outfitters has expanded over the years and has now contracted, essentially splitting the square footage of the storefront in half and re-opening with renovations to its Main Street, Camden, location.

“The original Maine Sport store was in this exact space maybe 25 years ago,” said Tyler Smith, Director of Property Management and Development Bayview Management. “Before that, it had been on Bay View Street in two locations in the mid-1980s, before we moved to Main Street.”

In the 1990s, after being in the Main Street location, the store had gone through an expansion.

“At one point the candy store, Candy Harbor, was next door,” said Smith. “Then Maine Sport took over both spaces and we put in an archway to connect it to the other storefront space.”

But, for the summer of 2020, and Smith said well before the COVID-19 pandemic began, plans had already been in place to reduce the store back to its original footprint.  On the other side, Conklin Mercantile now has taken up residence. 

Among the renovations to Maine Sport include the removal of granite sills to make an entrance ramp ADA-complaint.

Inside, the archway to the other side of the store has been bricked over, the floors have been refinished and a new tin ceiling has been installed.

“We put in a brand new ceiling for both Conklin Mercantile and Maine Sport, so it harkens back to the building’s original architecture and provides a little nostalgia,” said Smith.

The industrial decor inside Maine Sport Outfitters’ Camden location takes a page from a section of its Rockport location.

“We partnered with Patagonia [an outdoor clothing and gear company] and brought some of those same elements from the Rockport store to the Camden location with exposed brick and task lighting instead of fluorescent lighting,” said Smith.

Tying in a local aesthetic to highlight Maine artists, Maine Sport ran a photo contest last year and awarded the winner, Amanda Shelmerdine a prominent display of her lakefront photograph behind the register. And as part of the Poetry on Windows campaign that ran early June, writer/poet Kristen Lindquist’s oceanic poem graces the glass window.

To comply with COVID-19 regulations, Maine Sport only allows five customers into the store at a time and masks are required. For more information about Maine Sport Outfitters visit: https://mainesport.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

When May 18 rolled around,  restaurants in 12 Maine counties were allowed to open again after coronavirus restrictions eased—and while many saw this as a green light to get back to normal, it was a day of dread for those unsure if they should—or could—ever open again.

Among the health standards in the new restaurant guidelines, seating capacity has to be reduced with tables being placed six feet apart.

John Stowe, owner-chef of Rustica in Rockland, went into his restaurant one day and took out 10 tables to see what that would look like. He couldn’t also use his small bar space.

With seating now reduced at 50 percent under the new guidelines and profit margins already razor thin in a pandemic, he looked at his 14-year-old business and wondered if staying open was worth it.

“To be honest, after I saw what we’re were truly working with, I sat down in the window seat and cried,” he said.

Cautiously opening

There is no definitive list of Midcoast restaurants that have opened to dine-in service once again, but several have already opened.

“My perspective is from a solid business standpoint,” said Stowe. “How do you decide to go forward to or not? It’s come down to the financial risk, especially in my industry. The state government is asking us to re-open in very poor conditions in an industry that is decimated. Everything I’m looking at screams ‘run in the other direction.’ In Maine, restaurants make their money, June, July, and August, and I can guarantee there will not be that cash flow this summer. Where most of us will be hurting is this fall and winter.”

Stowe said he is going to wait until the second week in June to re-open.

“We want to see what’s going on nationwide and to make sure there are no additional spikes in coronavirus,” he said.

Rockland and Belfast have both explored options to open sidewalks on the streets to allow restaurants to set more tables outside. Rockland’s plan is to close a section of downtown to vehicle traffic in June, while Belfast’s plan started May 22 to allow restaurants and retailers to conduct business in outdoor public spaces.

Closed for good

For small establishments, such as The Drouthy Bear in Camden, the new restaurant guidelines have proven to be insurmountable.

Owners Andrew and Shannon Stewart told patrons on their Facebook page May 26: “One of the words we have always used to describe our little pub is ‘cozy’ and the intimate space we have created (and love) does not allow us to provide a safe environment for our patrons or staff that can adapt to our current, albeit temporary, reality. After much soul searching and consideration of the months ahead and with huge sadness we have decided that we will close permanently.”

Lisa Wardwell, owner of The Chin-ah Diner in China, also told her patrons on Facebook March 18 that the diner was permanently closing.

Wardwell had six years of running her establishment before the restrictions around tourism this summer canceled her plans to re-open. The mandate requires out-of-state visitors to self-quarantine for 14 days before venturing out to public places.

“The thing that we depend on is tourists and lake people in the summer, 100 percent,” she said. “We save all summer long to pay our bills all winter long. Not to say we didn’t have the best ‘regulars’ in the world, because we do, but there’s just not enough people in China to support the overhead on such a huge restaurant.”

Seating capacity for the diner was previously at 150 people, Wardwell said, and to operate under the guidelines, she’d have to cut that seating in half, another factor that contributed to her decision.

Wardwell said she used her savings to keep the diner open for as long as she could.  But ultimately, it was the announcement of fairs canceling for the summer that tipped the scales.

“We did a huge business on the fair weekends, but once it was announced they were closing this summer, that was it,” she said. “We knew we were done. It was crushing to make that decision, absolutely the worst. I grew up in South China; I know everybody out there. That’s my family.”

Wardwell said from a business standpoint, she didn’t think Gov. Janet Mills made the right call in terms of the 14-day quarantine for travelers to Maine.

“She should have put together a forum of five to 10 businesses and asked them questions before making that decision,” said Wardwell. “She never said, ‘I need to protect the general public and make it so that you [the restaurant industry] can survive.’ ”

Permanent adaptation to takeout

Gary Oliver, owner of Oliver’s Bistro in Camden, took a hard look at the numbers and decided opening to dine-in service would not work; they would have to operate as a takeout service all season.

“The dining room, once you take out all of the tables, only accommodates 10 people,” he said. “You can’t use the bar. If I had someone order a $6 hot dog basket and stay for an hour, I’m paying the waitresses and losing money because I’m not turning tables over.”

Oliver, a former co-owner of Mt. Battie Take Out at the base of the Camden Hills State Park, is already well-versed in the takeout model. He’s hired back a small number of cooks and staff.

“We’ll have an ice cream window and a food window both 13 feet apart,” he said. “We’ll stay with this model unless things change; if they do, of course I’ll open the restaurant open again.”

PPP loans, not so useful

All three restaurateurs said that the federal government’s solution to help small businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program loans doesn’t work for the restaurant industry.

The amount of forgiveness for a PPP loan depends on the business’s payroll costs over an eight-week period.

“It doesn’t mean eight weeks from when you re-open your business, it means eight weeks when you get the funding,” said Stowe. “So, if I don’t use it before we open, it becomes a debt —not a forgiveable loan.”

“I’ve been paying staff for four weeks now and we can’t even open, so that money’s gone,” said Oliver. “As long as business picks up, I can get through the summer.”

For Wardwell, who secured a PPP loan, she said she had to give most of it back due to her circumstances.

Right now, there’s only one thing locals can do to support the restaurant industry

“Eat local. Live your life, go out and enjoy yourself,” Wardwell said.

“Community support has been amazing,” said Stowe. “But, the reality is the pivotal moment won’t take place this summer; it’ll be after the winter where you’ll see more restaurant closures. So, if locals love their favorite restaurants, the best thing they can do is continue to go there, get gift certificates and continue to support them past the summer.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—The town of Belfast has come together to help the very artists, chefs, and creatives that give the town its vibrancy and life.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the hardest hit economically has been small business owners, many of them self-employed Maine artists seeing a 25 percent decline in revenue.

Belfast Creative Coalition is behind the latest venture to lift up these artists and restaurateurs with a new city and county-wide project called The Sky is Rising, a venture to replace the lack of crowds that typically flock to the galleries, workshops, classes, and restaurants in the summer.

“When anything needs to be designed, built, promoted, or performed, the artists are the first ones we call,” said BCC Director Larraine Brown. “They’re always beyond generous, often the first ones to donate their time and work. We put out an assessment to our arts communities. And the stories we’re getting back from artists speak of tremendous loss during this time. They work in a gig economy and also the first ones to be cut. Right now—summer— is the time when people come to Belfast to buy art, hire artists to do work, take classes to learn and that’s not happening.”

Case in point: Belfast Harbor Artisans, an Artisan Co-op on Main Street, was forced to close its doors on May 18, returning many unsold works back to the artists, which is an unfortunate blow to their livelihoods.

The Sky Is Rising held its first outdoor event Saturday, May 23, in downtown Belfast hosted by Mayor Eric Sanders with local artists, performers, musicians, dancers, singers, and actors performing all afternoon.

“This is the first in a series of events as we learn how to promote and sell art and performance online,” said Brown. “It’s building and there will be much much more this summer. We’re featuring art on our website, we’re broadcasting videos. We’re essentially saying, ‘Support us online; buy art online, buy a meal and theatre tickets online.’”

With the Belfast Fourth Friday Art Walk series— a popular venue for locals and tourists—canceled this summer, The Sky Is Rising aims to replace that.

“We’re funneling all of the proceeds back to the artists—the Belfast Creative Coalition is taking none of it—but one more thing to note, many of these artists are donating their proceeds back to the food banks for people who have food insecurity,” she said. “I have to tell you many of the artists told me to give from 20 to 100 percent they earned from a painting or a certain artwork back to their neighbors through the food banks.”

That’s how a community strengthens itself and survives—and as always, the artists are the first ones to donate.

People who want to stay informed about this new initiative can go to the BBC website, follow their Facebook page. Stay tuned to Belfast Community Television on May 25 to see Saturday’s performances from 6 to 8 p.m. or listen on Belfast Community Radio May 25 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

LINCOLNVILLE BEACH — New owners have taken over The Beach Store, a popular sandwich shop directly across from the beach. A family-run business, owners Owen, Shannon and Jonathan Weyers have added multiple grills and expanded a new menu that includes locally sourced Green Tree coffee, Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, burgers, hot dogs, subs, salads, pizza, ice cream, and even a summer favorite—fried dough.

The Weyers bought the building in January, hoping to open the first of April, until the coronavirus shifted their plans. For now, until the middle of June, they are operating as a take-out service. When they open for good, they will also be licensed to sell beer and wine. They will also be adhering to safety guidelines with limited customers within the store.

The building itself has a utilitarian history. According to Owen who researched it, the building was once an auto showroom in the 1920s, before it turned into a Grey Line bus terminal. However, he remembers it fondly as a kid who’d spend every summer in Maine.

“I was born in Camden and my family would always go down to the beach,” he said.  “It was always known that if you liked seafood, you went to McLaughlin’s, but if you didn’t like seafood, you came to The Beach Store.”

Son Jonathan Weyers could be found back behind the line expertly tossing freshly made pizza dough. Having spent nearly 10 years on the west coast in the food industry, he moved to Maine several years ago and is now behind the line, making most everything from scratch.

As with most eateries, they are unsure how business will look if tourists, who make up the majority of the location’s summer sales, will not be in abundance due to the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for out-of-state travelers.

However, there are a number of perks for locals. For one, they will be open at 7 a.m. every morning for ferry workers who want grab-and-go freshly made breakfast and lunch sandwiches, drinks, and chips before they hop on the ferry.

“We have a number of ideas to adapt to the new reality of the summer,” Owen said. “One, is that we’ll hire someone to go down to the beach and take individual orders from people and bring the food to them. That, and we’d also like to let people who are waiting in line to get on the ferry to call us with orders and we’ll bring it right to them before the ferry leaves.”

More items will soon be added to the menu, including in-house roasted chickens and “Heat and Eat” take out options in the fall.

The Beach Store is open seven days a week. See their menu for hours.  They can be reached at 207-789-5199 and on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Meat shortages across the country caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led more consumers buying locally raised beef, pork, and poultry, and that’s good news for Maine farms.

The shortage problem is not due to production, according to industry experts. The problem is that the food supply chain has broken down because processing plants have had to close down due to workers getting sick, as was the case of Tyson Foods, one of the biggest meat processors in the U.S.

Last month, Tyson had to close down a large pork processing plant in Iowa after several workers contracted COVID-19. According to the Associated Press, other processing plants that had to close down for the same reason included a Smithfield Foods pork plant in South Dakota and a JBS beef plant in Colorado.

The disruption to the meat supply caused hog farmers in the U.S. to kill and dispose of thousands of healthy pigs because they were, “outgrowing barns and occupying space needed by younger pigs.”

That fact alone should be enough to turn the stomachs of most meat consumers. Luckily, a sustainable solution has existed in Maine all along.

Sheep, goats, hogs, cattle, and poultry have always been an agricultural staple on Maine farms with the beef industry rapidly expanding and finding important new markets, according to Maine’s agricultural statistics.

“For the last 10 years we’ve been focusing on a local market and local supply, so we are insulated from what’s been happening with the national and international livestock markets,” said Ben Slayton, co-owner of Farmers’ Gate Market of Wales, Maine, a collaborative organization that bridges the gap between nearly 24 Maine, pasture-based livestock farms and consumers.

“People are reading the papers and seeing the Tyson plants shutting down and seeing the shortages but due to the coronavirus, the demand for meat has skyrocketed, whether it’s panic buying or the national pipelines not able to keep the shelves full,” he said. “We’re now getting customers we didn’t see four months ago, so there has been a crush of demand for the farm products, which is frankly long overdue, in my opinion, but we’re grateful. A lot of our customers were restaurants, and that business has dwindled off due to the global pandemic but now, the individual customers have increased.”

Value of meat more than just price

Chicken is the one product that sees the highest price differences between farm-raised and factory-raised, said Slayton. And with a cash-strapped Maine economy during COVID-19, it’s easy to see why many people choose a $1-2/lb chicken on the grocery store shelves, rather than a farm-raised chicken product at $4-6/lb.

However, the cheapest cost of chicken comes with a steep price.

“Mass-produced chicken and the kinds of cramped methods of raising them and the kinds of growth-hormones added to them are what make this product cheap,” he said. “You can look online and read about the unhealthy conditions; they’re not hidden.” [See: Facts about Industrial Meat Chicken Farming.] So the way you get to a $1-2 per pound chicken is by cutting corners; you’ve got chickens grown in cramped spaces; contract growers working in bad conditions. There are cut corners in every single facet of how that chicken comes to the market as a product. So when customers look at a pasture-raised local chicken, that’s actually the true cost of what a responsibly raised chicken is.”

“If you ask any of our customers who go from an industrially raised chicken to a pasture-raised chicken, every single one of them is blown away by the amazing taste,” he said.

The pandemic has opened the eyes of many new customers of locally raised products.

“Our business has raised tremendously,” said John Barnstein, owner of Maine-ly Poultry in Warren. “We can barely keep up with the orders we have now. I know the farm stands we sell to are selling a ton of meat and the farmer’s markets are extremely busy. I don’t know what will happen when things go back to ‘normal’ is again, but I hope that people will consider where they’re going to buy their food in the future and support local agriculture.”

One point Barnstein made further exemplifies further why buying local strengthens a weakened Maine economy.

“We process all of our chicken in Gardiner at a plant that employs 30 to 40 people, so buying local is good,” he said. “It supports everybody.”

“We’re grateful for the business we have at a time when people are really struggling,” added Barnstein.

When it comes to buying local, grass-fed animals, Mainers have a plethora of purchasing choices.

Eat Wild has a map and directory of all Maine farms that produce grass-fed meat, eggs and dairy products. 

It also has a list of all stores, restaurants farmers markets purchasing and selling grass-fed meat products.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Opening a new business is stressful enough without it being smack in the middle of a pandemic.

But, CG Bikes owner Chris Gardner and business associate, Nathaniel Baer, are taking it in stride and using the extra time to get all of the finishing touches done on the side-by-side businesses on Main Street.

Gardner had opened CG Bikes beneath the United Farmer’s Market last year and decided the time had come to put the bike shop in a visible place with more foot traffic.

“When the space on Main Street opened up, it was a big enough space to accommodate another business, and I knew that Nathaniel had some interest in starting a specialty coffee shop,” he said. “I’ve seen the bike and coffee shop model in other places around the country. There once was a Bikes ‘n Java in Rockland, but I think we’re the only one doing this in the Midcoast now. It’s a good way to create a nice, community atmosphere.”

Gardner said repairs and rentals are the biggest part of their business with a small expansion into selling more bicycles and accessories.

“We sell mostly bikes for the casual rider, and for road enthusiasts, especially gravel road bikes,” he said. “That's a pretty fast-growing industry with people looking to get off busy roads and onto dirt roads.”

The plan was originally to open March 19. Gardner said they’ve been adapting to COVID-19 precautions.

“Since we do have a food service business under the same roof, we’ve decided just do pick-ups and deliveries for now and it’s been working. We’ve done several deliveries right to people’s doors. We’re finding a way to scratch by.”

Downshift Coffee is planned for the other side of the retail space.

“I’m a long-time cyclist myself and thought it would make a great joint venture to go with CG Bikes,” said Baer. “Downshift has a few meanings; obviously the bicycle reference, but also it means to slow down, take a break, and simplify.”

“It’s definitely been a mix of emotions,” said Baer, of the delays caused by the pandemic. “I’m still very excited to launch the coffee shop. We’re thrilled with the space we’re in and being part of the joint business of the bike shop. We’ll have everything completely ready by the time the restrictions are lifted.”

Baer said that the cafe name is also the brand of the coffee that he personally roasts.

“We’ll have a house espresso roast, a rotating roast, a house drip blend, decaf, and we’ll do pour-over coffee. We’ll have a range of excellent coffee beverages all using the beans we roast ourselves.”

Stay tuned for the grand opening at: cgbikesmaine.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SOUTH THOMASTON—A new food truck opened May 8 to complement Waterman’s Beach Brewery, and fans of the old Waterman’s Beach Lobster,  will be thrilled to know that the new venue has some unique ties to the old. 

Joshua and Charmen Spearing are heading up “On A Roll,” a traditional lobster shack on wheels in the same spot where Waterman’s Beach Lobster shack originally operated for the last 30 years,

Joshua, a lobsterman who fishes out of Spruce Head, and Charmen, a former employee of Waterman Beach Lobster, are excited to finally open for the season. Their original launch had been set to open in March, until the Covid-19 crisis pushed their plans back.

“I used to babysit for Sandy and Lorri while they were working at their family-run  Waterman’s Beach Lobster for years,” said Charmen.   “I was like the Waterman Beach Road babysitter.” She joked. “My senior year in High School,  I started working my summers at the lobster shack and that continued through my college years. I loved working down there it’s such an incredibly relaxing and gorgeous spot to be.  In fact, Josh and I got married right there in the field next to the brewery. We will celebrate 25 years this summer. Coming back to run the new food truck is like coming back full circle.”

Charmen said the personalities of the customers were always her favorite part of the job, something she’s looking forward to experiencing again this spring and summer.

“We’d have the most unique, interesting people come up and talk to us,” she said. “At the same time, you’d have your regulars and the moment you saw their truck pull into the parking lot, you started getting their usual order ready before they even hit the window.”

Charmen said the location, the brewery and the built-in Waterman’s brand associated with their business is “like winning the lottery.”

The lobster shack/food truck model is what many lobstermen have had to do to cut out the middleman and make any kind of profit.

“For us, it’s exactly what we need to do with the market fluctuating so much. To be able to bring the lobsters directly from the boat and serve it to the customer is amazing.”

Charmen also said their love of the community and customers will prompt the entire family, including their lobster fishing sons and daughter to do some hands-on demos this summer.

“In the summer, we’re planning it out so that my husband and our sons and daughter will drive right up to the dock, so the customers can see how a working boat operates they’ll be able to watch them unload the catch and meet their future lobster roll. 

Like all food establishments complying with certain mandates during the pandemic, On A Roll has had to modify their take-out service with Covid-19 safety guidelines.

Note: the establishment only takes cash; an ATM is located on the premises. They will be open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11:30 am to 6:30 p.m. for the month of May. Starting June 1, they will add hours and new menu items.

For more information visit: Facebook page:  On a Roll at Waterman Beach Brewery

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Senioritis—that age-old slump that hits high school seniors in the spring of their last year of school, has historically come about when seniors felt they had college or a secure job locked in for the summer and/or college locked in for the fall—so why try any harder?

The graduating classes of 2020, unlike any other generation that has come before them, are facing a new twist on senioritis —and it comes with the five stages of grief.

Emily Boynton, Senior Class President of Oceanside High School, summed up what most seniors are going through perfectly in an essay she penned for the school newsletter titled, “A New Kind of Senioritis.”

Here’s the start of her essay: “As the school year comes to an early and unexpected end, people in our community have mixed emotions. Some fearful, some sad, and some kids may even be excited to have an extra-long summer to run around and play. But one group of people that is undeniably united in their grief due to the worldwide pandemic is the Senior Class of 2020. Seniors across the globe have been left grieving their last few months of their childhood, only to be thrust into a harsh world of uncertainty.”

Set to graduate June 9, Emily and her classmates have been remote learning at home since March 15, 2020.

“I think in the first two weeks we were told to stay home, everybody was sort of in denial, like ‘Oh, it’s only two weeks, then we’ll be back at school,’” she said. “It almost just felt like a vacation. Then, as more news started coming out and the school opening was postponed again, a lot of the seniors started to get more nervous. We began to wonder if we were going to be able to go to prom or if we were going to graduate. The anxiety kept building.”

Unable to see friends face to face, Emily and her friends have been texting and Facetiming to discuss their future.

A section of her essay pinpoints the other hidden losses that come with this pandemic.

“The weeks that followed brought with it spiraling emotions as different realities set in. Seniors now wonder if they have already seen their friends for the last time, if they will ever see their favorite teachers again, and if they will ever get a chance to walk across a stage to receive a diploma. But our grief doesn’t simply stop at graduation. We are left wondering if we will get scholarship night, Trekkers Graduation, inspiration, and an honors brunch. We wonder when we will go on our final Trekkers trip that has been hyped up for the past six years. We mourn the loss of senior performances, spring sports seasons, a senior rafting trip, a senior prank, a senior skip day, a project graduation night, and a class sleepover. We wonder if we will ever get to go to a final prom with our high school sweethearts.”

For Emily, merely expressing these feelings added to the guilt of appearing superficial, when people were dying at alarming rates due to Covid-19, businesses were failing, economies were collapsing.

The adults rule the news cycle and their fears have dominated the news since early March, but teenagers are certainly allowed to mourn their own losses in their own way.

The plans for graduation at Oceanside have not been canceled, according to Emily, who has been in communication with Principal Jesse Bartke. For now, the official word is that the ceremony has been postponed, but according to Bartke: “it will look different.”

Still, it’s unclear to many seniors exactly how that will pan out.

“With my friends, we talked a lot about the fact that we’re lacking closure,” said Emily. “All of these pieces are supposed to end our childhood and signify moving on to the next phase of our lives, but I think a lot of us were caught in this limbo. We’re feeling pretty much done with school at this point, but we haven’t graduated yet, and don’t even know what graduation even going to look like. Will it be in August? Will it be virtual? Or if it is in person, will it be limited to just my parents? Does that mean my grandparents can’t come?”

“There’s a lot of sadness,” Emily said. “We’re not going to get to experience what every other class before us has.”

Emily said anger is also present for many of her peers. “But we’re just not sure what to be angry at,” she said. “Some kids are angry because the virus has just ripped away everything we’ve been looking forward to this our entire lives. Some are mad at Gov. Janet Mills for the social distance restrictions. Personally, I have no place to direct my anger. I’m kind of angry at the world.”

Seniors are trying to find things in their life to feel better about and look forward to. A summer job and college, typically the two milestones that follow graduation, are also uncertain.

“I always work with my grandparents at a gift shop, but that business relies on tourism, so I’m not sure how that’s going to work out,” she said. “And a lot of us are facing going to college in the fall, but we don’t know how that is going to look either—will students be allowed back on campus?”

For Emily, and so many graduating high schoolers in Maine this spring and summer, the key to finding some balance will be in appreciating the little moments that make them happy.

“I’ll be happy when I can see my friends again,” she said. “But, I think we’ll all just reach this phase where we accept [that we can’t control it] and find other things in life to look forward to. In the grand scheme of life, graduation isn’t everything. In the meantime, I’ve been going outside a lot more. When my sister and I were younger, we used to walk this little trail behind in my grandparents’ house. Recently I’ve gone back to exploring that as well as the forest behind my house and it’s been kind of cool to have that time to be a child again.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

In Maine, self-employed workers have been waiting nearly six weeks for financial help through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and are the last group to receive any financial assistance during the Covid-19 crisis. According to many who attempted to navigate a confusing ReEmployME website over the weekend, frustrations were high.

Among the biggest complaints:

Many were getting kicked out of the system multiple times while attempting to file a claim Friday into Saturday;

They were getting locked out of the application due to an error in username/password;

They were unable to reach an MDOL customer service representative by telephone.

In March, the COVID-19 crisis spurred an unprecedented amount of claims filed through Maine Department of Labor (MDOL), which overwhelmed both their staff and website systems, to the point where they had to train new staff to keep up with the demand.

On Friday, May 1, MDOL announced the website was open to receive applications.

According to NewsCenterMaine.com, while 3,000 people were able to get through by noon Friday and successfully process a claim with thousands more expected to be processed over the weekend,  hundreds of comments on every MDOL Facebook post update expressed anger and frustration over the confusing intake questions, difficulty navigating the application form, unclear messaging around expired claims, a cryptic statement stating weekly benefits of $0, and an inability to get their questions answered by the telephone helpline.

Update: According to an MDOL statement on May 7, roughly 10,500 claims were filed under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in the last week.

It appeared that MDOL was listening to the complaints with updated posts over the weekend. On a May 1 post at 11:34:

“We hear you, and see your messages and comments. While we cannot reply to them all, please know we are monitoring and are aware of the frustrations some of you are experiencing, and are working to help resolve issues popping up.”

Another post at 6:17 p.m. stated: “We urge you to be patient with the system. Claims can be filed at any time, including throughout the weekend and into next week. PUA is available until December 2020. All payments will be made retroactive to the date of loss of employment. Applications are accepted 24-hours-a-day.”

Website Design Issues

From a personal standpoint, the MDOL website was far from user-friendly, and those who aren’t computer savvy will experience problems, particularly if all they have is a mobile phone to work from.

First, the website application form lacked basic instructions in the form of informational pop-ups for each intake question.

Second, the application form also seemed to be cobbled together from the general employment form, leading to confusing questions such as asking if you worked for any employer after October, 2018.

Third, if you selected an option by accident, the form would not allow you to deselect that option, prompting errors in moving forward, so you have to hit the back button to start all over again.

Fourth, due to the convoluted questions, many filers made mistakes and filed the wrong information. However, once the application was completed, there is no “edit” button.

The only recourse was to call MDOL to file an appeal, which leads back to a Catch-22 of not being able to reach a customer representative by phone.

Finally, instructions on how to confirm your email and select a Direct Deposit option were tacked on after the application was completed and required extra steps to complete.

MDOL posted on March 4, three days after unveiling the application: “ATTENTION Self-Employed: If you are self-employed and have no wages with an employer in the calendar year 2019 or 2020, you must select “NO” for Question 4. DO NOT select a state on Question 5. To deselect a state, double click on your selection to remove it.”

Already frustrated, many self-employed workers vented on the Facebook post that this information should have been provided prior to launching the application on May 1.

MDOL should have provided a step-by-step tutorial on how to navigate each page. Because they failed to do so, they have been attempting to answer common questions via Facebook posts. And, as record numbers of people reported being unable to call and get a real person on the phone, a number of Facebook groups have tried to function as a de facto resource, such as Covid-19 Small Business Group Facebook page, which took it upon themselves to try and help their fellow appliers as outlined below. 

There have been so many issues with this ham-handed roll-out of the MDOL application that Mainers already stretched beyond their reasonable capacity and desperate for a simple way to receive much-needed assistance are justifiably enraged. And they have every right to be. Are you listening MDOL?

Resources To Get Answers

Here is where to get some answers to the entire process answered: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/docs/2018/UIGuide2018.pdf

And a list of FAQs: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/docs/2020/pua2020/puafaq.pdf

CEI also has sensible step-by-step FAQs: https://www.ceimaine.org/covid-19-resources-for-businesses/unemployment/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

It’s hard to believe that Maine, once the 19th century pearl-clutcher of New England responsible for enacting Prohibition before any other state, has relaxed its alcohol mandates during the COVID-19 crisis, but here we go.

While all restaurants and bars are prohibited from conducting dine-in (and drink-in) services until June 1 and July 1, respectively, beer and wine was allowed to be sold along with a food order.

Additionally as of March 18 (updated March 24), Gov. Mills’ Order also included specific instructions for spirits-based Cocktails to Go.

Basically, it has to be created individually in its own container, not exceed 4½ ounces of spirits, and has to accompany a take-out food order.

If you’ve ever followed our Guide to Midcoast Happy Hour and its derivate What’s In That Cocktail series, you know that we citizens of the Midcoast have our favorite cocktail establishments and flavor profiles.

Here’s who is jumping on that trend and creating memorable Cocktail Kits and Cocktails To Go to get us through the sobbing wall-slide of May.

Rockland/Thomaston

Ada’s Kitchen is serving up its Negronis, Old Fashioneds, and Margaritas...and more!

Primo Restaurant is offering a Bellini Kit of Prosecco + trio of Primo syrups (rhubarb, peach, blueberry) $30 as well as individual cocktails such as a Charred Orange Negroni.

Myrtle Street Tavern is serving cocktails to go with their menu; changes nightly. Stay tuned to their Facebook Stories for details.

Eclipse Restaurant is offerings Cocktails to Go like an Eclipse-tini with their daily specials. ($8 and up).

Thomaston Café is offering nightly specials on cocktails to go. Call 354-8589.

Camden/Rockport

Nina June is offering Chip’s awful good cocktails to go...($12). Negroni, LovageGimlet, Manhattan, Bloody maria mix (you add the vodka)...($10.) Please call your order in or email ninajune24@gmail.com before 1:00 pm.

40 Paper is serving up their famous half-price cocktail kits (serves 2) such as a Grapefruit Mule, Bourbon Ade and Ranchito Verde ($6).

Belfast

The Front Street Pub is batching up a great mix of cocktails such as a watermelon margarita, just in time for Mardi Gras.

Rollie’s Bar & Grill is now offering curbside pick up and delivery including Cocktails to Go (16 oz for two people).

Related: Working list of Midcoast bars, restaurants, delivery services offering food, alcohol, groceries, products, services

Note: if you are a restaurant/bar that serves Cocktails To Go or Cocktail Kits and want to be listed here, please provide all of the details exactly as you see other listings above and make it easy to cut and paste directly into this article. Be sure to add your phone number and hotlink your Facebook page. Direct your update to news@penbaypilot.com

This list was created in March, 2020 when Gov. Mills’ Executive Orders prohibited dine-in service, which prompted eating and drinking establishments to either close or come up with more creative solutions. As part of the Governor’s proclamation, beer and wine have also been approved for take-out.  Here is a working list of all area establishments that are offering delivery, take-out and curbside pick-up. Note: As of June 1, many establishments have already opened to dine-in and outdoor seating service. Please check individual websites or Facebook pages for updates.

Delivery services

Belfast Delivers is a custom delivery service, which allows customers to shop from more than 20 local farms, food vendors, shops, and restaurants. 

Craft Delivery Service delivers food, groceries, alcohol, and prescriptions to the Camden, Rockport, Rockland and Lincolnville areas.

Loyal Biscuit Co. is doing delivery and curbside pick up.

Trilly, a new division of Trillium Caterers delivers “fancy food” and “meals & sides for two” with pick-up option or contactless delivery.

The humble Maine potato, like most agriculture products, is undergoing its own crisis within a pandemic.

According to a April 18, 2020 press release issued by U.S. Senator Susan Collins: “Maine potato farmers have lost nearly half of their business and could see advance orders for next year’s crop drop by as much as 20 percent due to COVID-19 closures and restrictions on restaurants.  To help mitigate these losses, the Maine Delegation sent a letter to USDA, urging the agency to directly purchase Maine potatoes from farmers.”

“Maine produces around 1.6 billion pounds of potatoes a year,” said Maine Potato Board’s Executive Director Donald Flannery. “About 60 percent of Maine’s production goes to food service, which is everything from fast food restaurants to cafeterias to hospitals and what has happened with the closure of commerce is that business has gone away.”

There is no way to recover or repurpose that market, according to Flannery.

“The sheer volume of those outlets is gone,” he said. “Right now, the 2019 crop is still in storage, but the economy won’t get flowing fast enough to use that crop. We’re looking at probably 200 million pounds that will not have a place to go come the first of June.”

Flannery said the lost time, effort, and labor is immeasurable.

“We’re putting twice as much as we can into food banks, but the rest of those millions of pounds will be taken out of storage and disposed of or to compost,” he said.

And he isn’t optimistic that the repercussions from the Covid-19 shut down will resolve next year.

“Financially, as far as producers go, it will affect them into the 2021-2022 crop,” he said.

Maine Potato Week started in 1918

In an ironic cyclical turn of events, Mainers were being encouraged by the state just over 100 years ago to eat more potatoes as well at this time of year.

During World War I, wheat was rationed as bread made from the wheat flour was being sent to American and Allied troops abroad. April 28, 1918 kicked off “Maine Potato Week,”  a campaign to encourage Mainers to eat potatoes instead.

Campaign slogans included: “Every potato you eat is a bullet fired point blank at a made-in-Germany peace.”

How Can We Support the Industry? Eat More Spuds and Drink Vodka

The potato is the second most-consumed food in the United States, with about one-third (34%) of its production turned into frozen foods such as french fries, tater tots, hash browns and home fries and 28% supplied to the fresh market.

The good news, according to Flannery, is that the retail side of business is still viable because people are buying Maine potatoes and bringing them home to cook.

McCain Foods USA is one of the largest frozen potato operations on the East Coast. 

Penobscot McCrum and Pineland Farms (now acquired by Post Holdings), are two manufacturers of refrigerated frozen Maine potato products, as well.

To encourage people to buy Maine brands, Flannery suggested, “When you go shopping, look at the bottom of the bag of potatoes for the ‘packed by’ label and check that it’s a Maine town.”

Cold River Vodka is a producer of handcrafted Maine potato vodka and spirits.

Chris Dowe, owner and master distiller said that the Covid-19 crisis has not affected the sourcing of potatoes because his business partner owns Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, which produces most of the culls (not tablestock) potatoes used in the vodka.

When Green Thumb runs out, they source from The County. About a million pounds are used to make the vodka per year.

“On the other hand, our sales have been affected due to restaurants and bars being shut down,” he said.

Like a lot of smaller farms, Green Thumb is also impacted by its halted sales to Sysco, a major supplier to restaurants. 

So pour a shot of potato vodka, while you toss some McCain curly fries in the air fryer. While we can’t save our Maine industries, our grocery choices and purchasing power goes a long way to supporting them.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

UNION—Sarah Hewitt, and her business partner, Graham Raymond, owners of the Victory Hemp LLC, are like all farmers struggling under the Covid-19 crisis, these days. Earlier this month, the USDA announced a federal $19 billion immediate relief program aimed at farmers and ranchers. Prior to that farmers had been cut out of the stimulus packages. Hewitt took a look at their 10-acre farm and wondered what they were going to do with it. Then she had an idea:

“We’ve been growing hemp at this property for two years and cultivate between four and seven acres at any given time,” she said. “The hemp market is kind of floundering due to the fact that it’s a new industry and trying to balance itself out. We were interested in diversifying anyway, but this [the Covid-19 crisis] made it all the more important to do so.”

Typically they’d grow hemp in mid-May through mid-October.

“We’re going ahead and planting hemp seeds anyway,” she said.

But this summer, they might be going back to old-fashioned farming.

Hewitt posted on Facebook’s Midcoast Message Board page to gauge the community’s interest in offering a part of their land for a public Victory Garden where people can get outside and yet remain an acceptable social distance from others, while getting some good garden therapy and increasing food security. 

“We wanted to engage with the community more in general,” she said of her offer.

Victory Gardens were food gardens of vegetables, fruits, and herbs planted at private residences and public parks in the United States during World War I and II.  They are making a comeback during the pandemic with seed supply companies such as W. Atlee Burpee & Co. and Johnny's Selected Seeds reporting their sales are “through the roof.”

“We notice that people’s sense of security is tied into access to food and resources so that was part of the impetus to our idea,” said Hewitt. “Seeing this experience of isolation that we’re all going through during this time has really brought to light that we do need each other.”

Maine Land Share Project

All over Maine this collaborative project seeks to connect those who wish to grow their own food (who don’t have the land) with those who have the land available to offer.

By filling out a questionnaire, they will make a match.

Visit website

 

Hewitt and Raymond have been noodling around a couple of options.

One idea is to offer a plot of their land to people who want to bring their own seeds and tools and pay a nominal fee for essentially renting the plot for the season.

“We don’t have a lot of money to pay people to tend to the farm right now at this time, so that’s one possibility, although what we’re getting for feedback is a lot of people just don’t know how to grow food from seed,” she said.

The other version is for Hewitt and Raymond to start a giant vegetable garden that people can come and work on in as a time bank in exchange for vegetables at harvest. Currently, they are calling that endeavor Heart 2 Harvest and have created a Facebook page for it as the concept evolves.

“That way people who don’t have money can put in time and effort and people who do have money are welcome to contribute to support the project,” she said. “And it will teach people how to grow and get them outside doing an activity that still stays an acceptable social distance apart.”

Another tangent to that idea would be to create some sort of CSA around the bounty. “We could get paid upfront and cover some costs of labor, tools, and seeds and at the end of the season, they’d get a share of storage crops,” she added.

Still, a third option is to grow a section of the field called a Milpa Garden, which Hewitt explained was a traditional Mezo-American practice where people would clear a portion of the forest and scatter seeds.

“It would come up as this hodgepodge of corns, beans, and squash, the ‘three sisters’ essentially, a wild forage situation.”

“Because we don’t have a lot of labor, this might be the easiest option, and whatever is leftover, we could donate to food pantries,” she said.

Right now, Hewitt’s suggestions are still in the idea phase and she’s looking for more feedback from the public. The best way to reach her is by email: victoryhempco@gmail.com

Stay tuned as we follow this story through the summer.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot@gmail.com

Taking a grassroots approach to solving economic shortfalls during Covid-19’s lockdown in April, Midcoast’s community—and those who love Maine from afar—have come together to pledge financial support to the restaurants, nonprofit organizations, inns, small and businesses that keep the local economy’s gears humming.

An idea that came out of a conversation between software developer and cofounder of the Steel House in Rockland, Nathan Davis and his friend, Paul Coster, on how to buy credit from businesses to keep them afloat has turned into a momentum. Opportunity Knox, an online platform, took shape in the first week of April.

“We just wanted to put all of the businesses who are offering gift certificates and those that need donations all in one place,” said Davis. “People make a purchase by PayPal and it’s a ‘one-stop shopping’ option to support a number of businesses with one payment.”

At the time of this article, nearly 70 essential and nonessential businesses have signed up under the umbrella of Opportunity Knox, including 18 nonprofits and 12 restaurants. There is no cost involved in signing up. In nearly three weeks, the website has generated $5,750 in pre-paid gift certificates and donations via nearly 80 transactions.

The building and marketing of the website have been entirely on a volunteer basis.

How Opportunity Knox Works

Click purple Search Options Box

By Location, or Business, choose a business and read what they need the most help with.

Decide how much you want to pay in the box above. For example, say you want to spend $100. Use the sliders under each organization’s profile to reach $50.

Each contribution ends up being either a gift certificate you can redeem later or a donation; you will receive a receipt for each to verify your purchase.

 

Vanessa Santarelli, owner of Your Maine Concierge, is handling the public outreach side of the website.

“We’re thrilled that the community has been incredibly supportive,” she said. “Certainly there’s tons of local and statewide support, but we also know from the numbers that visitors from away who love our restaurants, galleries, shops and nonprofits have also contributed to help to support the businesses they want to see open when they can come back.”

The website is encouraging organizations and businesses to self-add, along with a writeup, explaining what the business is going through and where it needs the most support.

“When you start to read what each business needs, it’s not just this generic description, it’s how they are handling the Covid-19 crisis from their perspective,” said Davis.

The community effort of Opportunity Knox has come at a time when many small businesses in Maine have felt hung out to dry. The initial federal $350 billion PayCheck Protection Program (PPP) was supposed to help small employers harmed by the Covid-19 crisis, but ran out of money in two weeks.

Maine has 142,000 small businesses. Of those, Portland Press Herald reported that nearly 17,000 Maine businesses were able to secure loans, but many more felt they were passed over in favor of larger corporations and chain restaurants who took advantage of the rules of the loan.

Even as the White House and Congress work to pass another bailout package, local businesses can’t afford to wait and hope for the best.

“We’ve gotten lots of positive feedback from the businesses who’ve signed up when they get the notice someone has bought a gift certificate or donated for future use,” said Santarelli. “Given the fact that the federal programs, while they were well-intended, were not necessarily having immediate benefits that are necessary to keep these businesses afloat. Local efforts like this are critical and we’re going to do everything we can to play a small but important role in supporting each other.”

Santarelli said that each business on the website specifies in its description whether the pledge is a donation or buys a gift certificate to the business’s goods or services.

“You can buy now, reap the benefits later,” she said. “You’ll get a receipt of your payment and the business owner will as well, so you both have an electronic copy of payment. The businesses will connect with the purchaser on further details. It’s understood by the businesses participating that once they’re open again those receipts will be able to redeemed.”

E-mail admin@opportunityknox.me for help or to offer feedback.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

When Maine schools closed in mid-March due to COVID-19, it was supposed to be temporary with schools switching to a remote learning option for only two weeks.  Gov. Mills’ stay-at-home order then extended that date until April 30.

On April 8, the deadline changed again, when Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin recommended all Maine schools cancel in-person classes for the remainder of the year and rely on online learning instead.

This might be a workable solution for many households, but only if families have an internet connection at home.

According to a 2018 U.S. Census study, 80 percent of Maine households had a broadband internet connection. That leaves some 70,000 Maine households without Internet access, according to the United States Census Bureau from a 2018 American Community Survey.

“Children without connectivity are at risk of not only being unable to complete their homework during this pandemic, but being unable to continue their overall education,” wrote Senator Angus King and colleagues in a March 23 letter to Congress. 

Maine State Librarian James Ritter said Maine was suddenly overwhelmed by the immediate need for internet access for all.

“We’ve been talking about the Digital Divide for a very long time in Maine and now we got hit with a situation, where all at once, for an extended period of time, we need to solve the problem of inadequate internet access,” said Ritter.

The state needed an immediate solution. That’s where Maine’s libraries, K-12 schools, the University of Maine System and a handful of internet providers stepped up to offer free WiFi. NetworkMaine started a “Study From Car” Initiative (see sidebar) using a wireless initiative for schools and libraries to open their wireless connection outside the building to the public, while the University of Maine opened wireless access to multiple Campus and Center parking lot locations. In the Midcoast, that includes the UMA Rockland Center (back parking lot) and the Hutchinson Center in Belfast.

"It is not just K-12 students needing Internet access,” said Jeff Letourneau, executive director of NetworkMaine.  “It is students of all ages and grade levels that find themselves struggling to complete their school year because they do not have Internet access at home. The Study From Car Initiative attempts to provide an immediate option, but Maine needs to get serious about solving its broadband problems."

Study From Car Hotspots

To find out where one is near you visit:

NetworkMaine.Net

“It’s a complete triage approach,” said Ritter. “You’re seeing companies and municipalities giving you unlimited data, turn a library parking lot into an Internet hotspot and basically taking that initiative, which is terrific. The Maine School Library Network (MSLN) is offering connectivity through more than 900 schools and libraries and in some rural communities. That’s why we have said to anyone with an MSLN connection: ‘Open up your WiFi; don’t password restrict it. Create a guest network and throw that signal out for people to be able to park in your parking lot and access the internet. While it’s not ideal for parents to try to be teaching their kids in cars—what kid wants to do homework in a car? It’s something, better than nothing.”

“There are about 600-plus schools on this MSLN network that have this high-speed connection that have, in fact, opened their WiFi so people can drive up to the school, that may not be on this map,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is get schools and libraries to self-identify on this map, so that more may join.”

Some rural libraries are the only hotspot locations for the internet connection, yet, not all are yet participating.

“Libraries in the MSLN are receiving a publicly paid-for internet connection and we know some libraries create a password, but many do not,” said Ritter. “What we’re trying to encourage them to do is contact us so we can show them how to do this. We hold weekly Zoom meetings for any interested libraries or staff who are interested in attending. This is not the time to restrict access.”

Right now, this is the best that the state can offer in terms of a temporary solution.

If your library or school wants to participate in this internet hotspot initiative, drop an email to: NOC@maine.edu or fill out this form For those older libraries that need help boosting their signals past the physical boundaries of library walls, see this helpful tip.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—An article found in the October 4, 1918 issue of Courier-Gazette reflects an eerie similarity to what Midcoast citizens are reading daily from their local newspapers in the spring of 2020. The title of that story was: “Situation in Rockland.” The subhead read: “Physicians report 250 cases of influenza, mostly mild ones—three deaths—schools, churches, theatres, etc. are ordered closed.”

In 1918, the “situation” in Rockland was happening all over the state as health commissioners were urging mayors to close public spaces to prevent the spread of what was then called “Spanish influenza” or “the grippe.”  Nurses were making gauze masks and authorities were urging the halting of all “unnecessary travel.”

It was only a matter of time before the disease infiltrated the Midcoast. On Friday, October 11, the Camden Congregational Church was converted into a hospital and on Friday, October 18, the Narragansett Hotel, long popular with train travelers, was the area’s first hotel converted into a temporary hospital, in response to the state prison in Thomaston having reported 80 cases of influenza with eight deaths.

Fast forward more than 100 hundred years later and the Covid-19 pandemic has once, again, deeply impacted the hotel industry. On April 3, Gov. Mills issued an Executive Order that “also suspends lodging operations, including hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, and short-term rentals” with the exception of Essential Business and Operations.

And once again, history repeats itself as hotels and other lodging properties adjust their business models to shelter people directly affected by a pandemic.

Greg Dugal, Director of Government Affairs of Hospitality Maine, a trade group that represents the hospitality industry, said: “A small amount of branded and independent properties are remaining open to essential workers from Presque Isle down to Scarborough, everyone from health care workers to truck drivers. Basically the Order limits who can stay in a hotel, but at the end of the day, these are the people who most need a place to stay.”

The Clarion Hotel in Portland per WGME is donating 50 rooms per night for working medical staff at Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital.

Dugal also said that the Acadia Hotel Downtown in Bar Harbor announced they are accepting essential health care workers at no cost through April 30.

In the Midcoast, only a handful of hotels are open to essential workers and other vulnerable populations directly impacted by Covid-19.

The Penobscot Bay Chamber of Commerce has a “Who’s Open” button on their website, naming eight hotels, motels and inns still open under the stipulations of the Executive Order.

There are different reasons why people still need to leave their homes and travel. Besides essential workers such as traveling health care workers and those in the transportation industry, there are vulnerable populations affected by the state’s Executive Orders, including children who need emergency placements, people at risk of domestic violence, and homeless populations. “These eight properties that we’re aware of are open and will continue to be open under the Executive Order,” said the Chamber’s  Executive Director Tom Peaco. “Properties could choose to open as quarantine facilities too if they wanted to. Some are more comfortable with that than others.”

In the middle of writing this story, one more wrinkle to the Executive Order came in the form of an April 9-10 snowstorm that blanketed the state, took out numerous trees and left some 250,000 households without power.

“As a result of that storm, we now have a lot of Central Maine Power line workers from out of state trying to get people back online with power,” said Peaco. “As they are also essential workers who need a place to stay, we now have several more properties not on that [Chamber] list who opened back up just to accommodate them. And not only that, we also have local people who are without power for a certain amount of time who need a place to stay, which is permitted under the provision of that Executive Order.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

In the larger scope of things, not being able to celebrate your birthday while social distancing isn’t as important as what is going on in the front lines. But, for most children and teens, birthdays are highly anticipated moments of their lives. For those looking forward to a birthday or a milestone celebration while the state is prohibiting group gatherings, the disappointment and frustration of not being able to have friends and family surrounding them are real. 

For Lyla Tibbetts, who turned 11 on April 1, the day before Gov. Mills  “Healthy At Home” mandate took effect, a birthday party was out of the question.

“There is a lot weighing on our minds as parents and on our children’s minds with the Covid-19 pandemic,” said her mother, Christina Tibbetts. “As we educate our children on the challenging times our world is going through and the importance of distancing, they understand to a degree, but are saddened where most of their life is a social adventure. At 10, turning 11 my daughter is at an important stage where her friendships mean so much to her. So with her birthday nearing we had discussed postponing our family gathering with immediate family to possibly the summer, as well as having a friend get together. You could see instantly her disappointment. yet she understood, due to the situation. As a mom, you think: ‘How can we show our kids you mean everything to us and are not forgotten even in our stressful times in life?’”

Thinking outside the box, Tibbets had another idea.

“I reached out last minute on Facebook, asking if friends and the community if they would like to just drive by our house, honking and waving to let my precious girl know she is celebrated and loved,” said Tibbetts. “Within moments, I had some of my coworkers reaching out to friends for my daughter’s surprise.  A neighbor down the road with two girls of her own that are friends with my kids, came first thing in the morning and decorated the end of our driveway with sidewalk chalk and ribbons, paper and flowers!”

The Camden family even recruited the Camden Fire Department in their plans, so that a fire truck was part of the parade.

“We had about 15 cars gather up the street,” said Tibbetts. “It put a very surprised look on my daughter’s face, as one by one, cars came honking down our street.  Lyla was speechless for the first time I can even think. At the end of the parade, I could see she was fighting back tears. It pulls at your heartstrings when you know how much the small acts of kindness by others makes such an impact on our lives. My daughter told me numerous times throughout our day that it was the best birthday ever.”

Here are some more creative ways to pull off a celebration while still maintaining social distance.

Alternative birthday ideas

• A Scavenger Hunt with presents set throughout the neighborhood or in a large open outdoor space.
• A half-birthday celebration scheduled six months out with a small celebration on the actual birthday and the promise of a big party on the half-birthday.
• A virtual surprise party via Facebook Live, Google Hangouts, Skype or Zoom with cake, presents and greetings from friends and family all over the country. For teens, organize on the Houseparty app.
• A social media request for birthday cards and greetings to be sent to your mailbox. This idea is modeled after a mom’s plea on social media to ask strangers to send her son cards went viral.  For those who’d prefer a no-contact way, the alternative is to ask for e-cards and iPad drawings.
• Turn your living room into a dine-in theater with a favorite take-out dish and a movie kids can watching simultaneously and comment on with friends, such as Netflix Party a Chrome extension for watching Netflix remotely.
• For tweens and teens, do a Reverse Parade and plan out a route to drive your child past friends’ houses that are decorated outside and then to a favorite outdoor spot to have a picnic.
• For young people celebrating a milestone 21st birthday, turn a garage or shed into a makeshift nightclub, as this mom did for her son.

If you have alternative ideas on how to celebrate a child’s birthday, please let Penobscot Bay Pilot know on our social media channels.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Well, it appears we have four more weekends to shelter at home and if you’re like me, stress eating and carb-loading like you’re preparing for a half marathon, it might be time to check out some of the virtual fitness sessions and free dance classes popping up all over the ‘Net. Taking a stroll in the outdoors is still allowable under the latest state order, so be sure to follow the guidelines: Advice to heed if you don’t want to see your favorite outdoor areas close down

Dancing Alone Together

Every day there is some kind of dance class all over the world that is being live-streamed while most of America is on lock-down. This is a treasure trove of online classes every day of the week (many of them free) from Beginner Hip Hop to Ballet—more than 13 forms of dance. Platforms range from Instagram Live to Zoom. FMI: dancingalonetogether.org/classes

Fitness From Your Living Room

OrangeTheory is offering daily at-home workouts using whatever weights you can improvise around the house. NYC’s leading HIIT studio, Fhitting Room is offering 30 days complimentary to their digital subscription service: Fhitting Room On Demand. Bandier, a women activewear shop, is offering  Instagram Live workouts every day at 4 p.m. EST that can be done at home.

Virtual Game Night

You’ve heard me mention Zoom multiple times in the last couple of Weekend Quarantine columns (no I don’t own stock in the company) well, it’s also a great platform to play virtual board games such as Pictionary or card games, including a virtual version of Cards Against Humanity (called Remote Insensitivity) with your friends and family. Home, alone and bored? Boardgamearena allows you to play a bunch of board games, card games, and backgammon with other players around the world for free. You can play with friends in real-time, or turn-based (you are notified when it is your turn.)

Read To Your Heart’s Content

Openlibrary.org is a vast online library for the world. Always wanted to read that 19th-century classic? Now's the time. Browse by subject and genre. Manybooks.net has 50,000 free ebook titles in every genre along with Editor’s Choices. Audible just made hundreds of free audiobook titles available free during the coronavirus shut down and while the service is geared toward kids and teens, there is also a great literary classics section and fairy and folk tales section open for adults Just visit stories.audible.com from any web browser to get started. No log-ins, credit card or passwords needed.

Quarantine Karaoke

Mainer Joe Meyers from Brewer created a public Facebook group called Quarantine Karaoke, earlier this month, where people can upload videos of themselves singing and watch others. The page has since amassed 455K followers. “The only rules,”’ he wrote on the Facebook page, “are to be kind to one another and have fun.” For many people stuck at home during their birthdays in March and April, this group is providing some much-needed joy and celebration.

My past Weekend Quarantine columns all contain resources that can be utilized all month.

Related:

Weekend Quarantine: Virtual Happy Hours, Living Room Dance Party, Social Distancing Parties

Weekend Quarantine: Virtual happy hour, Netflix-watching parties, free online museums and more

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

On March 31, Gov. Janet Mills issued an updated  “Healthy at Home” mandate to protect public health and safety in the face of COVID-19, requiring all citizens in Maine to remain at home from April 2 to April 30, with the exception of certain activities.

So what does that mean for outdoor lovers?

Gov. Mills addressed that in her directive during Wednesday,’s press briefing, allowing outdoor activity to continue, but with provisions. The official wording is: “Engaging in outdoor exercise activities, such as walking, hiking, running, or biking, but, only in compliance with the social gathering restriction in Executive Order 14 and all applicable social distancing guidance published by the U.S. and Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

The bottom line is that hiking, walking the dog, strolling, and other outdoor activities are fine and encouraged, as long as people abide by the physical distancing guidelines that are in place. That means separating and leaving six feet between yourself and other people.

This directive comes after a whiplash month of announcements and closings regarding Maine’s national parks, state parks, and beaches and local hiking areas.

On March 18, the National Park Service announced it was waiving entrance fees to state parks as a way to encourage outdoor exercise while social distancing.

Then the people came—too many—crowding beaches, state parks, and public outdoor spaces.

Nearly a week later on March 26, several of Maine’s national parks, including Acadia, the Appalachian Trail Katahdin, Woods and Water announced they were closing, instead, due to COVID-19 precautions. 

According to Jim Britt, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, “Some of our coastal state parks were at or exceeding peak season capacity.” A day later, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry closed 10 coastal parks.

With only local hiking trails now open during the social distancing order, which allows outdoor exercise, local and out-of-state citizens began flocking to the spaces they usually go to.

Only more and more came—too many.

Numerous local Facebook users complained in comments last week about too many cars appearing at Beech Hill Preserve, lined all up and down the road, on public beaches, and at other popular trails, such as Bald Mountain Preserve and the Carriage Hill Trails in Camden, as well as the Georges Highland Trailhead off Route 17. Others pointed out that because of a lack of car-pooling, more individuals are arriving alone, resulting in more cars.

Then on March 28, record volumes of visitors not heeding the parking lot limits prompted Coastal Mountains Land Trust to have to close Beech Hill Preserve temporarily. [Update: CMLT announced on April 1 that Beech Hill Preserve was re-opening with some changes.]

“We did not see this coming,” said CMLT Executive Director Ian Stewart. “Beech Hill is likely to re-open, but with a lot more signage limiting parking. If the parking lot is full, that limits how many people can safely be in one area. When you have excessive parking on the roads, that’s the issue. The key thing is, if you see a parking lot to your favorite spot is full, have a Plan B to go somewhere else. There are a lot of options around here.”

Stewart said Beech Hill Preserve is the only one of their properties to close, although Bald Mountain Preserve has shown excessive use in recent weeks and they are monitoring that. Fernald's Neck Preserve is also temporarily closed, due to mud season.

“If we have to, we may close down other areas, but we think with some education and more signage, it will change some of these practices,” said Stewart. “Not that we’re discouraging people from our properties. We understand that people want to be outside and support their desire to do so. We just want people to spread out and respect the need to keep our communities safe.”

His tips include:

• Observe social distancing even when outdoors: stay six-feet apart. “If you have to go off-trail to do this, you won’t be doing too much damage to the vegetation this time of year to step off to the side.”
• Carry in and carry out. “We’re hunkered down as much as everyone else, so we’re really relying on people to self-enforce this.”
• Plan B: “If your favorite spot is full, just go for a local walk down your own street or in your own neighborhood.”
• Recognize that others have touched the same rocks, trees, picnic tables, etc. Wash hands; sanitize appropriate surfaces, etc.

Elsewhere, the Parks and Recreation departments of local towns are issuing their own statement regarding the public use of their outdoor areas. All Kennebunk beaches have been closed as of March 28.

This story will be updated as more information comes in.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Like thousands of small businesses across Maine that have been shuttered and classified as “non-essential” businesses per Gov. Janet Mills’ coronavirus mandates, independent bookstores are finding new ways to get books—which are essential—to their customers.

“Everything changed the day non-essential businesses had to shut down,” said Barbara Klausmeyer, co-owner of Left Bank Books in Belfast. “Shortly before that, we went from half-time to half staff, so when we closed our doors, we let people know in our newsletter, that we’re still open for business as far as shipping packages, ordering from our supplier direct from home and processing books for curbside-pick up.” 

Curbside-pickup is basically a call-ahead system, whereby the book, wrapped in packaging (including a caramel treat) is left literally on the front doorstep, so there is zero face-to-face contact.

In a bookseller’s world, where face-to-face contact is the lifeblood of the business itself, these are very strange times.

Klausmeyer said they aren’t quite set up for delivery, but if a customer is unable to access a book from any of their current models, he or she should give Left Bank Books a call. 207-338-2006.

Owl & Turtle Bookshop Café owners Craig and Maggie White have also temporarily changed their business model. 

“For the last two years we’ve closed the entire month of March for vacation, so timing-wise, it gave us more of an opportunity to brainstorm, talk to other small businesses, and see how to continue doing business,” said Craig. “We’re scheduled to open April 1 for phone, email and website orders, but we can’t yet open the physical shop. We’ll also do curbside pick-up and home delivery as well as direct mailing from the distributor.”

“Maybe we should get a VW bus and fill it with books, just like the Bookmobile in the ‘70s,” said Maggie. “Small businesses have to be creative any way you slice it. We’ve found that the personal connections we’ve made in this business have really made the difference. It’s important to us that people in the community know we’re thinking of them and even if we can’t have a face-to-face conversation with them, we’ll find a way to reach them.”

Lacy Simons, owner of hello hello in Rockland, said the bookshop had closed a few days prior to the state mandate.

“We were operational with a new version of the business when the shut down occurred,” she said. “But it still felt like whiplash.”

The bookshop is doing curbside-pick up and online orders, along with care packages customized to the buyer. 

“We might have shipped two orders a week before and now we’re getting 10 to 15 orders a day,” she said. “But with only myself and one employee, it’s tough. We’re realizing this is a long-game. One of the things keeping me sane is Marco Polo, a group chat with other booksellers that I met through the ABA [American Booksellers Association].”

Currently, hello hello has launched a short-term #shoptheshelves event, which limits special orders to what they already have in stock.

Simons said, “This is probably the fifth time we’ve re-invented our book-selling model.”

With a national mandate of social distancing extending until April 30, at the time of writing this article, it is unknown if a statewide mandate will follow. If that happens, like all small businesses already in jeopardy, including Sherman’s Bookstore in Camden, which had to close unexpectedly for good, keeping an independent bookstore open will be a razor-thin judgment call.

“Nobody has a crystal ball,” said Klausmeyer. “I will say we are feeling enormously supported by this community, including summer people, who are having books shipped from us out of state, so we're hopeful we’ll be able to stay in business.”

“We will not be okay if that happens,” said Craig. “We’ll see. Over the last few years, the café, which has been a place for people to come in every day and socialize, has been more of a revenue source. And though it’s vitally important to stay open to pay the bills, both Maggie and I think it’s more important that people stay home and healthy.”

“We don’t want to be the guinea pig where we open up prematurely and new cases crop up,” added Maggie.

After our interview, Simons announced on a newsletter that she struggled with asking for help, but said in the newsletter: “I’ve looked around this quiet shop, which we’ve worked so hard to make feel like a home for so many, and felt like yelling, ‘I don’t want to give this up! I don’t want to lose this!” 

As a testimony to how much hello hello is beloved in this community, a $15,000 GoFundMe goal reached $14,000 in four days.

Here’s hoping the literary anchors in our communities can hang on just a little bit longer.

Bella Books in Belfast could not be reached for comment.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

MIDCOAST—A newly formed alliance, Maine’s Working Waterfront-Seafood Connect has been the lifeline to keep lobstermen financially afloat. The group began as a Facebook idea last week to take the freshly caught product directly to the people, selling from wharves and parking lots. The reaction from the public has been overwhelmingly positive. And its surprise success is spurring other loosely formed alliances to do the same.

On Saturday, March 28,  the roving seafood market set up camp in the Reny’s parking lot in Camden and sold out of product within two hours.

On Sunday, different lobstermen returned to Reny’s parking lot, both in Camden and in Belfast, and did the same.

The volunteer who put this all together, Ali Farrell, was on hand to witness the scene in Belfast.

“We had four trucks set up and 200 people waiting to buy lobsters and crab,” she said. “The event started at 10 a.m.; people were lined up by 9:30 a.m. and they ended up selling out their catch in 10 minutes. We had to get in another truck by noon. All together in both locations, we did over 3,000 pounds this weekend.”

In Camden, on Sunday, Owls Head lobsterman Donald Williams arrived with his two stern men with multiple crates of hard-shell lobster they hauled Saturday as well as a crate of rock crabs.

“We’re always looking for other markets and when the things we normally do aren’t working, you’ve got to use social media to sell the product,” said Williams, who began working out of the back of his truck, setting up a scale and organizing crates. Williams who lobster fishes independently said, “This time of year is low volume [in terms of catch].”

The Facebook collective that Farrell set up with Maine Working Waterfront-Seafood Connect provided Williams and a number of lobstermen, a new pipeline. 

“It really happened at both the worst and best time, because this time of year we’re not able to do much; there’s not a ton of lobsters out there, but we can at least sell what we catch,” he said.

Unlike strict lobster territories, this new seafood market is open to all and someone else might show up at Reny’s parking lot next week.

“It’s all weather dependent, but everyone is sort of covering each other,” said Farrell. “The lobstermen are all working together really well to ensure there’s enough to sell to everyone.”

“This time of year with everything going on, and with the wharf price for lobster being only $3.50 per pound, this is super helpful to our families,” said William’s sternman Linwood Sedgwick.  “I’ve got three kids. [Jesse Wilgus, William’s other sternman] also has three kids.”

The win-win for the customer is the price and the guarantee of fresh-caught products. Williams was selling lobsters priced at $6 a pound; rock crab at $1 apiece. Cutting out the middleman has allowed lobstermen to make a profit while giving a great deal to the customer. Lobster for example being sold through Hannaford supermarkets is $9.99 per pound.

The crowd of 20 or so people who formed at 10 a.m. in Camden stood the six-feet recommended length apart when making their purchases as did the crowds in Belfast.

An update to the original story states that the selling stations will utilize a drive-through system with a basket on a gaff to exchange money. Gloves and masks will be work by the sellers. Venmo will also be taken as a currency alternative. Buyers are to bring their own bags and coolers.

Marine Patrol has been present in multiple locations ensuring that the lobstermen handling the product are licensed and are exchanging the product properly.

One man standing in line in Camden planned to buy six lobsters.

“Friends of mine are lobstermen,” said Jim Richard, of Camden. “I feel bad for some of these people because their normal buying stations are closed and with Canada’s market is closed. It’s just at a point right now with big investments, fuel and bait and everything going on that at least now,  they have chance to break even. It’s great to be able to come here and contribute a bit and the product is always good.”

Farrell said the initial idea to pre-order seafood [mentioned in PenBay Pilot’s first story on the collective: A new Facebook group directly connects Maine fishermen to local buyers], went out the window. “I had hundreds of people contacting me and with a full-time job and two kids, I couldn’t handle it all,” she said. “We had to go to a first-come-first-serve model.”

The model is now moving at a fast pace, changing locations daily. To keep up on where lobstermen will be selling their catch next, stay tuned to the Maine’s Working Waterfront-Seafood Connect  Facebook page.

Related story: A new Facebook group directly connects fishermen to local buyers

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Welcome to our new normal, where everything changes on a dime. Folks are getting crafty about how they communicate now; whether it’s a virtual class in place of a face-to-face session, an outdoor event that keeps everyone one fathom apart, or a Zoom meeting where gin and tonics are on the agenda, here we go, weekend two of Weekend Quarantine!

Virtual Happy Hour

Friday, March 27 — Online

Just as I knew it would catch on, the Virtual HH is keeping a lot of people connected and buoyed up during our seclusion. Get one set up yourself with your friends on Facebook, Gchat or Zoom this weekend. Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick is hosting an online get together Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. The first 100 people can get in on their Zoom party. Happy Hour will kick off with some behind-the-scenes info on what Flight Deck, Moderation and Black Pug are doing for new beer and then open it up for Q&A.  So grab a pint and get ready to meet new people. FMI: Sign up

Gourmet Dinner at Home

Friday, March 27 through March 29 — Midcoast

The bars, restaurants, brewers, and distillers of this state have had to make whiplash changes to their business models since March 18. At Pen Bay Pilot, we were the first to start listing businesses and now have the area’s most comprehensive list of who is open for business and who is offering take out, delivery, and pick-up. This also includes where to go to buy directly from the fishermen and the farmers each week. And thanks to Maine Brewers Guild, here’s where to go to get your favorite takeout brews. Support your community all weekend and buy take out. Make your friends jealous on the Virtual Zoom Happy Hour. 

Living Room Dance Party

Friday, March 27— Online

Waterfall Arts did a Living Room Dance Party on Wednesday and now national Facebook events are popping up like this one, where you invite the DJ into your living room and dance like no one is watching (because no one is.) Organize your friends this weekend to do the same on  Zoom, grab a beverage that gives you Happy Feet, and take turns playing DJ. Or if you all have a subscription to Spotify (right now the first month is free) have someone set up a dance party playlist you can all dance to at the same time.

Killer Road Trip: Social Distancing-Approved Scavenger Hunt

Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29— Bangor

The Willie Wags is brewing up something out of this world for the weekend, putting the finishing touches on an educational, historical and fun scavenger hunt that will take a lucky few to locations around Greater Bangor to complete a (social-distancing-approved) scavenger hunt. All participants will leave with lots of laughs and some amazing selfies they took along their adventure. Pre-registration required with some rules in place. FMI: The Fine Print

Social Distancing Live Music

Saturday, March 28— Online

Penobscot Pour House in Bangor is teaming up with their regular band, Fire & Ice to make your quarantined Saturday a little more fun. They’re going live on Facebook Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. so link up and drink up and air guitar around your living room.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—It’s no secret that Maine lobstermen, like so many other small business owners, are hurting right now. Safe to say, even panicking. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, lobster prices have tumbled worldwide resulting in a slowdown of imports. Adding a further blow to the industry, with seafood distributors, exporters and restaurants closing their doors this week, lobstermen and other fishermen are finding themselves with fresh product and no one to buy it.

One local author, Ali Farrell, who is publishing a book about the lives of female lobstermen titled Pretty Rugged (due out this summer) started a special Facebook group page on March 18 called Maine’s Working Waterfront-Seafood Connect, which links up potential buyers directly to lobstermen looking to sell their catch.

“I’ve been visiting the islands to interview lobstermen for the past two years and have so many friends who are fishermen now, so I’ve been keeping up with all of them and what they’re going through,” she said. “They have lobsters in their traps, but since everything has closed down, they have no buyers and no outlets. I figured if I could act as a connector, we could get people the food they need while keeping the fishermen going.”

Farrell is a solutions-based thinker, and author of Pretty Combat: Nonsense, Shenanigans and Tactful Life Domination, a solution-based book that addresses issues of personal nature to Farrell. 

At first, Farrell coordinated between buyers and two lobstermen using her personal Facebook page and then invited a couple more lobstermen to be suppliers.

“I have a ton of friends interested in buying, so I thought I’d connect them up,” she said.

Within one day of starting that Facebook group, Farrell said she took in orders for 960 pounds of lobster from nearly 49 interested buyers. 

She had no idea how much of a local demand it would create. As a work-from-home mom with young children during the COVID-19 school closings, and an author, she realized that this entrepreneurial idea could turn into a full-time effort, so she made the Facebook group public.

“Right now I’ve got one guy in Vinalhaven and one in Harpswell,” she said. “Depending on the weather, the Vinalhaven lobsterman hopes to go hauling Tuesday and be in Rockland by Tuesday afternoon.”

The way it works is this: Farrell is monitoring the orders coming in through Facebook. The lobstermen will haul once a week and buyers can pay for their pre-ordered lobster right off the boat. There’s no middleman to cut the price and the lobster is fresh off the boat.

Starting 3/28, the process will switch to a different format: First come, first serve, farmer’s market-style. Any fisherman is welcome. Fisherman will decide what/if they are selling each week.
No Pre-Orders.

Since this story was written, another Midcoast group popped up, offering this service.

 

“Right now, lobstermen are not going to haul up traps full of lobsters if there are no buyers, so once the lobstermen have a set number of pre-orders, they’ll go out,” she said.

The current lobster deal being offered is $5 per pound with a 20-lb minimum ($100). All one needs to do is send a message through Facebook to place an order then pick up at a Rockland location (date to be determined). The buyers pay for the lobsters, which are bagged up when they arrive. 

As of March 19, the Facebook community added a pipeline to oysters—$100 for 80 oysters.

“We’re currently arranging for clams and scallops to be available as well,” she said.

Given the precautions around handling cash during the pandemic, Farrell said the lobstermen can receive payment either in cash or by Venmo.

Several fishermen have expressed their gratitude for Farrell’s work in getting them back on the water and generating an income coming in. “Everyone’s in a panic right now and if I can make an easy connection to bring buyers directly to the lobstermen, I will,” she said.

This is a model that can be used in every coastal community. Solving a major local problem with some heart and a Facebook page, Farrell represents the kind of innovation we all need during these times.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Television producer Shonda Rhimes just wrote on Twitter what a lot of parents are thinking.

Throughout March, school districts in southern, central, western and Midcoast Maine have closed for two weeks or longer as they take precautions against COVID-19.

That has left thousands of parents scrambling, not just for daycare and childcare arrangements, but has also made them homeschoolers, ready or not.  And with libraries, YMCAs and other educational organizations shutting down by the day, parents need some help and guidance. While many districts plan on using remote learning to keep the students educationally engaged, there are other resources parents can access to engage their children educationally. Thanks go to Midcoast Collective Care, a collective of people wanting to help, as they have provided many of these resources on their Facebook group page.

Free Babysitting

What are single parents supposed to do? Or the two-parent household who must work, leaving students home alone? Five Towns Babysitting Task Force has set up an online database of volunteers around Camden-Rockport who are willing to provide free daycare, along with a form to sign up families in need of free child care. FMI: Details

Free Internet

Not every household has the ability to afford WiFi, leaving students home with no access to the outside world or educational resources. Charter Communications announced on March 13 that it would provide free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. FMI: Details 

During the COVID-19 crisis period, the LTC Family of Companies (Lincolnville Telephone, Tidewater Telecom and LCI Fiber Optic Network) will provide the Internet services below for customers and residents with students at home (K-12 and college) who live in the Tidewater Telecom and Lincolnville Telephone areas. FMI: Details

Comcast is offering wifi hotspots available nationwide due to the coronavirus. To find an Xfinity WiFi Hotspot, check the hotspot location map at wifi.xfinity.com or download the Xfinity WiFi Hotspots app from the App Store or Google Play.

Free Educational Online Subscriptions

Thanks to kidsactivitiesblog.com (a fantastic online resource on its own) they’ve compiled a comprehensive list of more than 100 educational companies offering free subscriptions to their programs while schools are closed. Access them here.

Virtual Field Trips

Just because we can’t travel right now, doesn’t mean we can’t see the world. Incorporate lessons into virtual travel to places such as the Galapagos Islands, the Great Wall of China, national parks, Ancient Greece or even underwater to a coral reef in the Bahamas. FMI: Virtual Field Trips

Video Read-Alouds

Children who can no longer be read to in-person can still be read to online.  Chris Van Dusen, a local author and illustrator, announced on his Facebook page he is offering a series of live reading his children’s stories The Circus Ship and If I Built A School. Teachers at The Miller School in Waldoboro are also offering video read alouds, which you can find on their Facebook page. Additionally, here are also 100 Free Video Read Alouds to engage your children. And artist Mo Willems is doing Lunch Doodles every day teaching kids how to draw.

Hands-On Activities for Fidgety Kids

Staring at a screen for hours doesn’t work for many kids, who need to use their hands or engage in physical play to learn. Here are some easy indoor activities for young kids using everyday materials found in your house. FMI: Indoor Activities

Note: This list will be updated regularly with more resources as tips come in. Please send your tips to the address below with the subject line: “For homeschooling story”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Despite the fact that there will be no physical events or gatherings for next several weeks, fear not; we can still be social, get our culture fix and be entertained this weekend.

Virtual Coffee Klatch/Happy Hour

Brew a cup or mix up a stiff one, we’re all going to need some social interaction during our social distancing/isolation and naturally, there are already Internet communities for this sort of thing. Coffee & Chat on Facebook is a private group where you can meet new people from all over the world, but what’s really great about this group is that it’s a place for people who are experiencing anxiety or sleeplessness due to recent events. And for the “5 ‘o clock somewhere people,” here’s an article from the New York Times on how friends and co-workers are turning the virtual happy hour into the best part of their day. You can hang out online, video chat and keep the office gossip going through Slack, Facebook, Facetime or Google (G-chat).  If you end up finding one in the Midcoast, that’s open to the public, please email me.

Stroll (virtually) through 12 museums for free

Use Google Street View to wander the halls of the Guggenheim Museum’s collection and when you come to a piece you like, Google even provides info about the artwork. Google Maps lets you travel to another continent without worrying about getting home, where you can peruse The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul. Here are more museums to check out this weekend.

Netflix-watching parties

Time to binge-watch all of the movies, tv shows and documentaries you’ve been saving (here’s a list of what not to miss in March). Netflix Party is a Netflix Party is a Chrome extension for watching Netflix remotely with friends, so now you can get caught on on Schitt’s Creek and all say “Ewww David” in synch on a group chat.

Free Shows on Broadway

For seven days you can have access to Broadway HD and watch critically acclaimed Broadway shows such as Kinky Boots, Swan Lake and yes, even Cats.

Free Access to National Parks

The National Park Service has been authorized to waive all entrance fees during the coronavirus pandemic to encourage social distancing. Call ahead or check online before you go, as not all parks are open this time of year. FMI: Maine parks

Volunteering for Mainers

If you’re healthy and want to help this weekend, Mainers Together is a community-based response to coronavirus and is asking for volunteers to protect the most vulnerable friends and neighbors in your community. FMI: More info.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Did you feel anxious all weekend? Sort of like that frog in the fable who sits in tepid water that’s slowly being brought to a boil?

On Friday afternoon, during a downpour, I headed to Hannaford Supermarket in Belfast for my usual weekend shop, knowing that they would be out of toilet paper, out of hand sanitizer, etc.  All last week, my Facebook feed showed posts of local grocery stores with empty shelves where the toilet paper and paper towels used to be; I was prepared for that.

On my way to the store, I stopped first at another local shop where a customer was having a conversation with the clerk that went something like this:

Clerk: I was in Walmart yesterday and there was one pack of toilet paper left on the shelf. And we’re out! I have a young kid, so I took it, but then this woman started screaming at me, calling me selfish. I mean, was that hoarding?

Customer: That’s not hoarding! It’s one pack. And you needed it.

Clerk: I had to literally hide the toilet paper in my reusable bag so that other people wouldn’t yell at me as I hit the self- check out. It was awful.

The parking lot at Hannaford’s in Belfast was packed; no surprise. But, when I started to roam the aisles, a feeling of dread began to creep in. The canned goods shelves were nearly gone; the meat in the refrigerated cases, gone. The bread aisle, rapidly emptying. This was more than just toilet paper hoarding. Essentials were now being depleted at an alarming rate.

I knew that so many families couldn’t get to the store until Saturday or Sunday, and they would be shocked to see how little was left once they did. As a shopper, I got into a casual conversation with an employee of Hannaford, a young man in his 20s (I didn’t identify that I was a reporter, nor will I use the person’s name) who told me that he had a four-month-old child at home and couldn’t even get baby wipes or the essentials he needed because lines of people had formed at 7 a.m. that morning and the masses had cleaned out the aisles before anyone else could get there.

As of Sunday, when I returned to the store for one item, new restrictions had been put in place. Hannaford and Shaw’s have both posted COVID-19 statements that high-demand items, such as toilet paper will now have a buying limit.

There is a difference between disaster preparedness and panic buying. Many people know what supplies they need to get through a two-day blizzard. But no one knows how long COVID-19 will last. According to an article in Forbes on consumer motivations, panic buying is fueled by anxiety, exacerbated by a fear of the unknown, and buying more than one needs, e.g. hoarding, is “...a way to assert some control over the situation by taking action.”

As a Maine community (and I consider the entire 16 counties one big community), we are known for our ability to hunker down and get through crises, whether it’s a two-day ice storm or long-term power outages.

With COVID-19 restrictions, closings, and cancellations popping up by the hour all weekend, it was completely understandable that the stories coming out of the media and social media posts are contributing to this increased sense of scarcity and anxiety. (And this is precisely why I resisted writing about this subject until it became impossible not to.)

But let’s make sure this coming weekend and the weeks after, that this feeling of anxiety and scarcity doesn’t devolve into a base response, along with hoarding and the more sinister chain reaction of  in-store brawling and guns drawn that occurred around the U.S. this past weekend.

It’s not the coronavirus I’m afraid of: it’s the worst that can come out in humanity. The selfishness; the “me-first-get-out-of-my-way” mentality; the irrational stockpiling that creates shortages for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and people with children. Food shortages lead to riots all over the world. Don’t think it can’t happen here.

Here are some alternatives to panic buying and suggestions on how to support one another in our communities while we all get through this:

• Stagger out your shopping during the week; buy only one or two high-demand items at a time. Grocery stores are making every effort to re-stock as fast as possible.
  
  
• Consider ordering supplies online through Amazon, Walmart, Target and buy groceries online through Shaws or Hannaford Supermarket
  
  
• Got extra supplies? Offer it to your friends and neighbors who are in desperate need. I have one friend who posted on Facebook that she had extra toilet paper to give away. Another person mentioned she’d be giving free toilet paper to anyone who needed it through Midcoast Message Board. Right now, food pantries are in dire need of basic necessities that have been depleted, so consider donating extra food or supplies you can spare. This is the kind of community compassion and generosity Mainers are renowned for and helps to ease the anxiety of scarcity.
  
  
• Join Midcoast Collective Care on Facebook, a public group which aims to provide resources for communities, including an anonymous Coronavirus Community Assistance Form

How to support others in the community while getting your own needs met:

• Buy gift certificates to your local restaurants, cafes and bars and use them later. While people continue to self-isolate, restaurant owners and servers are facing a catastrophic drop in customers; meanwhile, over the weekend, rumbles of bars and restaurants closing in the U.S. might become a possibility in Maine. Support them where you can, buy take-out, and tip well.
  
  
• Support local farm, seafood  CSAs as well as farmer’s markets. This is a secondary hit from fall-off in the restaurant business, as a recent PenBay Pilot story attests, especially when restaurants are forced to buy less from farmers. Update: A new farm product and pick up directory has been created.
  
  
• Eat more lobster! Maine’s lobstering communities are hit hard by Coronavirus as lobster prices tumble due to the worldwide slowdown in imports. Buying locally from seafood purveyors helps keep food on their tables too. This special Facebook group page connects you directly to lobstermen looking to sell their products.

That’s all I got people. This is going to get worse before it gets better. But we will get through this by being mindful of how our anxieties drive our behavior and being thoughtful and generous.

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are still in the works for a number of local restaurants, bars and churches. Note: due to COVID-19 concerns, many establishments are changing their policies by the hour. Check the venue you plan to go to online or call ahead first.

Friday, March 13

• St. George River Café in Warren is celebrating with an open mic night, along with corned beef and Guinness as well as an Irish tune or two from 6 to 8 p.m.

• Bowen’s Tavern in Belfast is also celebrating with four beers on tap, including Smiling Irish Bastard alongside Refueler, King's Pine IPA, and Higgins Irish Red, starting at 6 p.m.

Saturday, March 14

• Start your morning off with an Irish pancake breakfast. The Freedom Congregational Chuch is hosting a public breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. with pancakes served with local maple syrup, fresh organic eggs from The Village Farm in Freedom, and authentic homemade Irish Soda bread, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, coffee, and juice. $7.00 a person (purchase at the door). FMI: Details

• Liberator Brewing Co. in Rockland is hosting its second annual St Patrick’s Day Event from 1 p.m. until close with a special release of Red Sky Irish Red Ale and Highland Lager along with a boiled dinner, Irish Soda Bread, pulled pork Irish Nachos for sale. No Cover.

• The American Legion in Thomaston is killing two birds with one stone, and hosting a classic colonial New England boiled dinner as its Maine 200 Celebration at 5 p.m. On the menu: corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, turnips, and beets using an authentic colonial-era recipe. Everyone is welcomed to celebrate and learn more about Maine’s history, the American Legion, Post 37 and the Post Auxiliary. Adults - $8.00/Children - $5.00/Families - $25.00 (2 adults and children). FMI: Details

• Lake St. George Brewing in Liberty is putting on a pre-St. Paddy’s Day party at 5 p.m. There won’t be any green beer, but the Oystermen will bring the Irish spirit with traditional Irish jigs, reels, and hornpipes and singing (mostly) Irish songs. 

• Trackside Station in Rockland is also hosting a pre-St. Paddy’s Day dance party with MLC live starting at 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 17

• The Front Street Pub is starting early with a traditional St. Paddy’s Day breakfast, served until noon with Guinness drafts and Irish whiskey specials starting at 8 a.m.

• Cancelled The First Church, UCC, (55 Spring Street, Belfast) is hosting a traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage, carrots and potatoes, vegetarian fare, beverages, and a special dessert from 5 to 7 p.m. There will be live music, as well as some sing-along Irish tunes. $10 per person and $25 per family.

• Rollie’s Bar & Grill in Belfast, always has an Irish gathering every year, whether or not they advertise it. They’ll open at 11 a.m., with drink and food specials.

Neighborhood in Belfast will be open tomorrow for St Pat’s. 6 Irish Whiskeys, locally raised Corned Beef, and more starting at 4 p.m. They’ll be offering curb-side pick up for your take-out orders. 505-0425.

• The Vintage Room in Camden is hosting an early Irish tasting of food and drink starting at 2 p.m. FMI: Menu and details

• Whale’s Tooth Pub is throwing their annual St. Patrick’s Day party with live Irish music, corned beef and cabbage starting at 5:30 p.m. It’s always packed, so call for reservations: 207-789-5200. Note: they are also allowing people to order Irish dinners to go.

 If your organization is not listed, it’s because details could be found out about it online. Please contact Kay Stephens for additional listings at news@penbaypilot.com

The one thing that has always united Mainers from the past to the present, and from every corner of the state, is food.

As a tribute to the Pine Tree State’s 200th anniversary of independence, a writer, a photographer, and a book owner are releasing the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook this summer.

Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway are the husband/wife team behind several books, including The Food Lover’s Guide to Maine and The Portland Maine Chef’s Table. They had the idea to produce a cookbook honoring the Maine Bicentennial and teamed up with Don Lindgren, owner of Rabelais Books, to compile recipes for a Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook.

“We were involved with the Portland food scene for the last 15 years and we approached the Maine Bicentennial commission to ask if anyone was creating a Bicentennial cookbook,” said Schatz. “No one was, so we took it upon ourselves to put one together. With Don, who had this great collection of historic community cookbooks that go back to the 1870s, the vision took shape as a Maine community cookbook that would include historic recipes, professional recipes, as well as family recipes and food stories from everyday people. And we always had the concept that part of the proceeds of the sale of the book would go to fight hunger in Maine.”

In the fall of 2019, the couple, along with Lindgren, began the work to collect family recipes, food stories, and photos, along with recipes drawn from the state’s historic community cookbooks.

“We wanted recipes passed down in families as well as recipes from some notable Mainers, so we have a recipe from Patrick Dempsey’s family, and one from Stephen King,” said Schatz. “We have recipes from Senators and Congress members and Governor Mills is writing the forward as well as contributing a recipe.”

Schatz said that the book aimed to be inclusive of all new Mainers as well. “We have a recipe from the Somali community in Lewiston as well as a recipe from an Iraqi immigrant.”

With the help of Maine Public as its media sponsor, the project generated more than 350 submissions from all 16 counties in the state. The organizers whittled that down to 200 recipes. With a successful Kickstarter campaign, the cookbook project garnered enough funding to print 3,500 copies of the book, due out in mid-June, 2020.

History of Community Cookbooks

With its plentiful farms, hunting, seafood, and opportunities for foraging, the state of Maine has always been a rich food community. When the European settlers arrived, community suppers became a tradition in small towns, hosted by churches and fraternal organizations as a way to share the wealth with neighbors, often in the form of a baked bean supper.

The very first cookbook compiled and published in Maine was an 1877 community cookbook titled Fish Flesh & Fowl: a Book of Recipes for Cooking by the Ladies of Portland’s State Street Parish.

“There will be a recipe in our book from the 1877 book as well,” said Schatz. “A lot of these family recipes have a historic angle to them with notes attached such as ‘This is what my grandmother made us growing up.’ And inevitably, the notes end with: ‘We’re still cooking this today. And now I make this dish with my grandchildren.’ That’s the key part of what we were looking to capture when putting this book together.”

The beauty of the project is that the shared knowledge passed down from generation to generation will continue for generations to come.

“There are so many recipes in this cookbook that came from previous community cookbooks, so perhaps someone’s grandmother made a certain dish her special family recipe, but it was someone else’s recipe that she made her ‘own,’ ” he said. “This is how food traditions both get started and how they are shared and transmitted across generations and geographic lines. What we’re hoping is that when people all over Maine begin cooking these recipes from our cookbook, it’ll become the family recipe that they can pass down.”

To learn more about the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook and to pre-order, (starting in April) visit: maine200cookbook.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WATERVILLE—The next time you watch a film shot in Maine, look closely. The state of Maine isn’t just a backdrop in most of those films—the landscape itself is often what’s known as a “third character” as it often mirrors the film’s mood.

Running up to the Maine Bicentennial, “Maine in the Movies” began March 5 and will continue to March 15, featuring 35 films across all genres that were set in or influenced by Maine. Thanks to the efforts of the Maine Film Center as well as 19 other arts and education organizations and independent cinemas, the 11-day festival is hitting 17 cities across the state.

Most people associate Maine films with book or story adaptations from Stephen King and Richard Russo, but the depth and breadth of films range from small-town life in a blue-collar mill town to feature-length animations to rom-coms set in Portland as well as eerie, cliffside and remote island productions that capitalize on Maine’s spooky reputation.

“Maine is a state of mind and imagination whose enigma and beauty have, from the very beginning, inspired writers, visual artists, and their natural descendants, filmmakers,” said Mike Perreault, MFC executive director, in a news release.

Jean and the Match-Maker (1910) is a short, silent film with a black-and-white border collie named Jean as its breakout star, who manages to be the matchmaker to two shy brothers. The most recent film in the “Maine in the Movies” series, The Lighthouse, (2019) is a psychological horror starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson as two lighthouse keepers who start to lose their sanity when a storm strands them on the remote island where they are stationed.  Maine-based writer Sarah Orne Jewett served as a significant point of reference for the dialects used in the film, which was actually shot in Nova Scotia.

Perhaps the best-known film is the novella by Stephen King adapted to film, The Shawshank Redemption, a commentary on criminal justice. Even though the movie depicted Maine as its primary setting, the prison in the film was actually the old Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. Who can forget that dream-like pastoral hayfield at the end of the novella where Red follows clues that Andy Dufrene left him to an oak tree in Buxton, Maine, that Andy describes as “like something out of a Robert Frost poem”? Ironically, the oak tree and farm where the scene was filmed was not in Maine, but near Lucas, OH.

While hayfields and trees can look alike anywhere, there is no mistaking the Maine coast, a lobster fishing community, or the distinct accent of a Mainer whose family goes back generations.

The Midcoast has enjoyed a number of times as a third character in films. In The Bedroom, a 2001 indie crime film, was shot in multiple towns in the Midcoast, and beyond. Camden’s Village Green even made it into two movies: Peyton Place (1957) and Thinner (1996) while Lincolnville and Rockport made appearances in Man Without A Face.

And just about everybody in the Midcoast knows where to direct a tourist who’s looking for “that lighthouse that Forrest Gump ran up.” In fact, the Marshall Point Lighthouse is so popular from the eponymous film that a U.K. man re-enacted the famed run in 2017, as reported by Pen Bay Pilot.

Here is a list of all the locations where Maine-set films were actually shot.

For more information on Maine In The Movies, visit: The Maine Film Center

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

UNION—Zachary Fowler was the winner of “History’s” Alone Season 3 exactly three years ago, which we covered in series of stories.

Since then, Fowler has taken his half-million-dollar winnings and parlayed it into a sustainable YouTube video and production enterprise called Fowler’s Makery and Mischief through a video series such as the “30-Day Survival Challenge,” “Trick Shot Tuesday,”  and “87 Days.”

One of his recent bouts of mischief caught on camera was to strap a GoPro to a lobster he’d just caught in a trap 30 minutes earlier. [See the video]

Fowler said he was inspired to put the GoPro on a lobster because other YouTube creators have put GoPros on turtles and fish to observe their behavior. Being from Maine, the lobster was his natural choice. As he’d recently gotten his five-trap recreational lobster license, he wanted to see what was happening underwater. So he headed down to Rockport Harbor and put his boat in the water.

“I made a special harness for him,” he said. “There was a special GoPro bracket that I melted down and molded, so it could fit on the lobster’s back comfortably with a little cushion and zip ties. I put a buoyancy device on top of that so the equipment wouldn’t weigh him down. We had a milk jug on the surface, so we were able to put him down there on the ocean floor and follow him.

About 30 feet from where he dropped the lobster, Fowler then lowered down a baited trap.

“The surprising thing was he was able to move around and crawl through the seaweed with no problem.  He made it all the way over to it, then you see on camera his antennae touching the trap, where he kind of jumps back, and is like: ‘Nope, not going in there.’”

Most of Fowler’s outdoor videos are instructional, although the footage he took that day was more for fun than for scientific reasons.

“Lobster traps are more like feeding stations and if you watch them on underwater cameras, lobsters are constantly going in and out of them, contrary to what people think is a ‘trap,’” he said.

When he retrieved the lobster, he removed the GoPro from it.

“Then I let him go for his efforts,” said Fowler. “We’ll eat other ones.”

The video has already racked up more than 6.8 million views on YouTube.

After using the money from Alone to build up a YouTube channel he’d already been creating, the young entrepreneur from Union has since built a website and a following of millions of viewers.

“After a year, that money allowed me to make a full-time living with one employee, and now the business sustains itself and we’re up to about four employees,” he said.

Fowler said income comes from his website, which sells products he’s made from his adventures on Alone, YouTube ad income, as well as producing others’ online content.

He’s become an outdoor survival personality through YouTube, garnering hundreds of thousands to millions of views per video.

He said he’s had multiple offers from television production companies to re-appear on TV; but Fowler has turned most of them down.

“I’m doing so well with this business and controlling my own edits to shots that I don’t really see the point,” he said. “Although if there was a chance to go back to [History Channel’s] Alone for an all-star show, I’d be into that.”

For now, the star of the video is one lucky (and trap-savvy) lobster.

To follow Fowler’s videos visit his vlog: Makery & Mischief

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—A well-regarded swap shop at the Rockland solid waste facility nicknamed “Wink’s Place” abruptly closed in early January, 2020, but City Manager Tom Luttrell sees the situation as temporary.

The swap shop, named after David “Wink” Winchenbach, a former gatehouse attendant of the transfer station, started in 2004 as a way for local residents to drop off reusable household items such as clothes, appliances, and other items that the community found uses for. It also served as a sort of a free GoodWill for neighbors and families who were in need.

For many it was a treasure trove.

“I’ve talked to people who said they’ve found old pictures and old wooden boats that had value for them,” said Luttrell.

In January, an incident involving an individual who wouldn’t leave prompted the police to issue a trespass order. That incident was the last straw for the unmonitored shop, which, according to Luttrell, had other issues.

“We had that one complaint with a citizen who was behaving aggressively, but looking into that issue further with my staff, it became clear that the reason we had to close Wink’s Place wasn’t just about this complaint,” he said. “We have heard and our research has shown, that this wasn’t an isolated incident; that there have been other issues of aggressive behavior, and arguments over items. We’ve also had other incidents where people were not following the rules and dumping their household trash in the swap shop.”

There is now a padlock on the door and citizens who have frequented Wink’s have spoken out about the closure on social media and letters to the editor, emphasizing its merits as a resource to the community.

“We’re not trying to close Wink’s down for good,” said Luttrell. “My public services director is researching other swap shops and how they operate and we’re finding the successful ones are only open if there are volunteers to oversee it and to make sure everyone is following the rules.”

Luttrell said the city hopes to re-open Wink’s Place this spring. “There’s a group called Renew Rockland [a group that works toward sustainable communities] and we’re reaching out to see if they want to get involved in the shop,” he said. “We’re looking into it to see if there is any interest in supplying some volunteers to open it back up.”

Luttrell said he has heard the community feedback.

“We just want to let people know that we’re listening to them and know how important Wink’s is to the community,” he said. “It’s nothing we want to penalize the community for the actions of a handful of people. We’re looking at remedies to open it but we need better oversight from people dumping their trash; we’re diligently working toward a resolution and hopefully we can get that solved by the time the warm weather arrives.”

Follow this ongoing story by liking the Rockland Transfer Station’s Facebook group.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Oceanside’s Art Club President Jose Perreira wants people to know that art isn’t just a class at school. It is a necessary form of communication.

Perreira, a senior, founded the Art Club with his instructors, Lily Hyde and Jared Cowan when he was a sophomore.

The students in the Art Club are holding their first exhibition at Rock City Coffee with an opening reception, Friday, March 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. Proceeds from the exhibition, as well as an online fundraiser auction, are going toward a planned trip to New York City to broaden students’ art education by visiting galleries and museums.

“We got all of the artists from our club together and then opened the submission process to all students and then sort of went through this juried process,” said Perreira. “We probably had about 100 submissions and we decided what was the best of the best and chose 30 pieces and framed them.”

Most of the work is paintings, mixed media, and photography. One of the perks of being in Art Club is that some of the pieces in the show come from Club members themselves. Perreira has two portraits in the show; one for the fundraiser, and one, whose proceeds he will donate to Maine Immigration Refugee Services (MIRS).

“My art reflects elements of MIRS, so that’s why I want to support them,” he said.

That intent ties into what art really means to the students of Oceanside.

“Art can be a great tool for communicating social messages or any form of change,” said Perreira. “For me, I’ve always been interested in the intersection of media and the arts and how it’s used by us and on us in modern times. While I don’t know what’s in my future as an artist, what I’ve learned from this club and running this club is a real passion for communicating through art. Last year, I did a painting that was inspired by my grandfather, who was a Holocaust survivor. He came to the U.S. as a refugee at age 20. If it sold, I was going to donate the proceeds to a local charity here in Maine. I realized by doing something like that, art has a lot of potential, because its use goes far beyond the buyer and can help other people.”

Hyde added, “My goal as a teacher is to create a lifelong appreciation for the arts for these students, so they will always feel comfortable being able to walk into a museum, to talk about art with others. And being able to be passionate about making art even if you don’t consider yourself ‘an artist.’”

New York City Bound

“We budgeted for 15 students and teachers to travel down to New York City for two nights, but right now, the goal is a bit out of our reach,” said Hyde. With the goal in placee, but not necessarily the funding, the Art Club researched alternative ways to make the trip happen. “We talked about maybe instead of staying in a hotel, staying at Columbia University, and to check out their school and their art program while we’re there,” said Hyde.

Perreira said that last year, the Art Club was able to visit Boston and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

But, this year, the student’s sights are set on New York City. 

“Most people I know in Art Club have never been to New York City; most have never been out of Maine,” he said. “I’ve been there many times; my mom’s from there. It’s such a thriving metropolis, that people in our Club will be encouraged to see that there aren’t just working artists in Rockland, there are also tons of them in New York City.” 

The Art Club’s goals would be to visit multiple museums and major art galleries, as well as art schools such as the Fashion Institute of Technology and the School of Visual Arts.

The Rock City Coffee exhibition will be up indefinitely and many students whose work is in the show will be present at the opening reception for any questions and conversation.

Beyond the opening night, the Art Club is hosting a two-week online auction starting March 6 and closing March 20. Local artists, businesses, and organizations have donated gift certificates and original works of art for the online auction. For more information, or to be added to our email auction list, contact lhyde@rsu13.org 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

It was the break up heard ‘round the country.

On July 26, 1819, Maine formally told Massachusetts: “It’s just not working out...” and began the formal process to become the nation’s 23rd state. The Maine Bicentennial, officially being celebrated March 15, 2020, is just around the corner with dozens of events taking place all over Maine to celebrate the state’s 200th year of statehood.

Before the territories were even called “Maine,” indigenous tribes lived throughout the region prior to European settlers filtering in around the first half of the 17th century.  Maine began as a separate colony in the 1620s, but by 1651, became absorbed by Massachusetts. In 1785, after the Revolutionary War, Mainers began petitioning to be an independent state. 

Maine always had its share of separatists—people who wanted to be free of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Their argument for leaving mostly centered around less political representation and inequitable taxation. Many Mainers felt the state, on its own, could govern itself inexpensively. Between 1814 and 1819, after the War of 1812 when Massachusetts failed to protect Maine, pressure rose to gain independence from Massachusetts. In 1819, voters overwhelmingly supported separation.

The Massachusetts General Court passed legislation to separate the District of Maine from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but that action hinged on receiving approval from Congress. A struggle ensued regarding the balance of power in Congress, and Maine was given the choice — allow slavery in Missouri and become a state, or withhold extending slavery and remain with Massachusetts. The choice made, on March 15, 1820, and Maine became its own state as part of the Missouri Compromise.

Maine 200 leads the celebrations

Maine 200 is the official host of the celebration of Maine’s Bicentennial with signature events, programs, workshops, artistic and musical performances held all over the state.

“We’re looking at a full calendar the month of March, but we actually started Maine Bicentennial celebrations on July 30, 2019, which was as close as we could come to the actual date of the vote that propelled Maine to statehood, which was July 26, 1820,” said Dave Cheever, vice chairman, Maine Bicentennial Commission.

The state’s capital, Augusta, will be the site of major celebrations on March 15, 2020, on Statehood Day, including speeches, music, cake, and unveiling of the United States Postal Service Bicentennial Postage Stamp. Note: As of Feb. 12, this event has been postponed due to COVID-19 precautions.

Beyond the events in March, the commission wanted to extend the Bicentennial theme to every community in Maine that wishes to honor it in its own way.

“A big New England tradition is to host bean suppers, casserole dinners, and potluck suppers, so we’ve put the Bicentennial bunting on these local celebrations,” he said. “We’re asking people to not only come to feed themselves, but to also come and feed others by bringing a non-perishable food item. We can then re-stock the shelves of the local food pantries.”

A list of statewide suppers in March can be found here.

Maine’s Original Citizens

Cheever said beyond the month of March, Maine 200 is waiting until August of this year to launch the next phase of an important legacy project that began July, 2019.

“What we want to do is bring new citizens to Maine,” he said, “They are citizens familiar to Maine, but silent citizens.”

He was referring to the Eastern white pine tree. Maine is known as the “Pine Tree State” and the Eastern white pine is the official tree of the State of Maine. The commission pinpointed four communities that would be willing to plant juvenile Eastern white pines in a grove with a commemorative Maine Bicentennial marker.

“These communities vowed to take care of these pine groves for the next 100 years,” he said. “What made Maine such a valuable place to the English, French, and Dutch, were the 130-foot-tall eastern white pines. Those became masts for ships that could make transatlantic crossings. Because they were so valuable, they were widely harvested going from the coast inland and around 5,000 trees were taken down. In fact, in Maine, there are still old trees still standing that were marked for the King’s masts.” See that history here. “And because the Eastern white pine was seen as an adaptive resource, it has continued to serve Maine right on through—from ship-building to construction to paper-making.”

To learn more about Maine’s history and the myriad of events local to you, visit: https://www.maine200.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

From fantastic, flying worlds to portraits of Donald Trump and Danny DeVito, the children and teen participants of Waterfall Arts’ Young Artists Takeover exhibition offers a glimpse into what motivates them to paint, draw, sculpt and collage.

For the fourth year, Waterfall Arts’ Clifford Gallery has held this showcase featuring the creative work from artists in a half dozen area schools, ranging from preschool to high school. Waterfall Arts presented its Bridge Alumni Award to Joseph Potter, a photographer and senior at Belfast Area High School who went through the Bridge Afterschool Art Program as a sixth-grader.

His work is located just outside the Bridge door and his bio states: “Most of my work takes place in the outdoors. My goal with photography is to explore the capabilities of the camera from close-up to 11,00 feet in the sky.”

The artwork on display offers a range, from dark to humorous, from splashy, primary finger paintings to fine pen and ink. Some of it was assigned; some of it came from the young artist’s creative inspiration. From homeschooled students to those attending public school, each piece in this year’s Takeover offers a glimpse into nature, social justice, animals and even the cult of celebrity.

March 5 is Arts Advocacy Day; a day to appreciate how the Arts are impacting children’s and teenager’s lives and to emphasize to Congress and schools nationwide the value and impact of art education for students.

This following photo gallery below is a sample of one of the hundreds of pieces on display. Each piece is labeled. The ages and grades of some of the artists will be surprising, upon first glance.

The artwork hangs until March 29. The gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information visit: waterfallarts.org

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA—Currently exhibiting at Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta, Heidi Geist has a few mixed media paintings and detailed pen and ink drawings hanging on the wall.

But, if you open the glass door of the nearby beer cooler, more of her artwork is available, on the beer label of the Boothbay Craft Brewery “Thirsty Botanist” cans.

The artwork on the beer label is splashy with primary colors featuring a gardener hidden behind lush vines and floral designs. “I live in this dystopian dream world in my head,” she said of her aesthetic.

Geist, who lives Newcastle, has worked in restaurants and a beer and wine shop for much of her career and has done custom artwork in those industries. Her integration in Portland’s music and beer scene also led to more commissions.

“I’ve been doing beer-related work for about five years,” she said. “It started in Maine and then I began doing a ton of beer labels for breweries around the country.”

She said most of her custom label art has been for Bissell Brothers.

This past fall, Geist finished her “48 Beer Project,” which was a tour of 48 states in order to draw beer labels for one brewery in each state. First, it took her about seven months to plan, set up appointments with various brewers around the U.S. and get sponsorships along the way. She also had to retrofit a pink bus to be her traveling home, but once she got underway August of 2018, she ended up traveling to each state, setting up in a brewing company’s parking lot and going to work.

“The idea was to be in each state five days to a week and hang out with multiple breweries,” she said. “I’d pick one out of each state, and spend time with their staff and customers, feel out the scene, and then go back to my bus, which was retrofitted with a little studio, and start working on their individual beer label. Then, move on to the next brewery and so on.”

“It was more than making beer labels-it was a cultural exploration of the beer industry,” she said.

The beer industry is more than just beer,” she said. “There are subcultures within that—a lot of creative people involved. The musicians, the artists, the beer makers themselves, the food truck purveyors. I wanted to do something more meaningful with the trip, connect to the people in this industry and tell their stories.”

Allagash Brewery ended up being the Maine brewery she collaborated with for the 48 Beer Project with a hand-drawn label with the beer label “Odyssey.”

It took a year of traveling before she got off the road and back into an apartment. Today, she is hitting the reset button and taking a bit of a break from beer labels, while she works another job full-time.

“It’s been quite a transition getting off the road and off this project,” she said. “I still do a few commissions here and there.”

To see her labels visit Great Beer Adventure

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

OWLS HEAD—In the modern world, all types of bicycles—fat bikes, 10-speeds, mountain bikes, ebikes —aren’t just for transportation, they’re also for sport and fun.

But back in the 1800s, they were the predecessor to the automobile, and in some Maine towns, the only way people who didn’t own a horse could get around.

Owls Head Transportation Museum Curator, Rob Verbsky said a recent donation helped spur the creation of their new Bicycles (1868 to 1935) exhibit.

“We received two vintage bicycles from a bike shop that was going out of business in Massachusetts,” he said. Not wanting the bicycles to be thrown out, the owners contacted OHTM to see if the museum could find a home from them.

“One of the bicycles was an1800s tandem bike that we still don’t know that much about yet,” he said, of the gift. “What we do know is that this was a bicycle made for communication. You had to literally pedal in sync at the same pace or you would crash. That’s how you know your relationship was working.”

With the Maine Bicentennial coming up, Verbsky began researching exhibit possibilities around transportation. Beyond the donated tandem bicycle to OHTM, he took a look at the stock of vintage bicycles that had been donated to the Museum over the years and found the connection he was looking for.

“I’m not from Maine, but when I came to [OHTM] two years ago, I started thinking about the year 2020 and researched the bicentennial of Maine to find out what was important to people back then,” he said. “Bicycles are pretty important to Maine’s history, as they were the first attempt in replacing the horse. Horses required a lot of care, but the bicycle was an opportunity for independence and to start learning the kind technical, mechanical skills that were going to be necessary for the emergence of the automobile.”

For the genders, the bicycle was more accessible to men wearing pants, which allowed more freedom of movement than to women and their many layers of petticoats and skirts.

Take the high wheeler, for example. Also known as The Penny Farthing, this style of bicycle had a very large front wheel and a small rear wheel. As ungainly as it looked and as precarious as it was to get on,  it was meant to go very fast—nearly 17 miles an hour.

However, the unwieldy bicycle was built for the male physique and style of clothing.

“Women could not ride this bicycle: it was impossible,” said Verbsky. “The only way you could get on it is to get a rolling start. And women had these long skirts to contend with.”

By the late-1800s, bicycle designers began to consider the female physique into their designs. “It required the invention of the safety bicycle in the late-1800s for women to even have a chance to ride it,” said Verbsky. “Because social commentators at the time only allowed women to ride horses in a dress, the same protocol applied to bicycles.”

For women, bicycles were made smaller with a step-through frame —the sloped top tube.

“The dropped frame was so women could get onto a bicycle while still appearing ‘decent,” he said. “If you go to any store today, you see a women’s-style bike with the dropped frame and a men’s bike with the top tube going straight across. It is exactly the same design as it was from the late 1800s.”

The Velocipede Boneshaker was a cranked pedal bicycle invented around the same time as the high wheeler.

“This was one of the most dangerous ways to ride,” said Verbsky. “You could feel every bump and obstacle in the road. They finally figured out if you attached the pedals to a gear instead of to the wheel, you could get the same power transfer."

The World War II-era saw more changes for bicycle design.

“Bicycles in this era were beginning to gain a reputation for enjoyment and entertainment, particularly for children,” he said. “A lot of features were reminiscent of cars and prepared children for getting used to riding in automobiles.”

To see the various styles of bicycles and the history of each bicycle visit OHTM’s Bicycle Exhibit or visit the museum. The exhibit is currently on display with no end date listed.

For more information, visit: Owls Head Transportation Museum

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA—Currently exhibiting at Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta, Heidi Geist has a few mixed media paintings and detailed pen and ink drawings hanging on the wall.

But, if you open the glass door of the nearby beer cooler, more of her artwork is available, on the beer label of the Boothbay Craft Brewery “Thirsty Botanist” cans.

The artwork on the beer label is splashy with primary colors featuring a gardener hidden behind lush vines and floral designs. “I live in this dystopian dream world in my head,” she said of her aesthetic.

Geist, who lives Newcastle, has worked in restaurants and a beer and wine shop for much of her career and has done custom artwork in those industries. Her integration in Portland’s music and beer scene also led to more commissions.

“I’ve been doing beer-related work for about five years,” she said. “It started in Maine and then I began doing a ton of beer labels for breweries around the country.”

She said most of her custom label art has been for Bissell Brothers.

This past fall, Geist finished her “48 Beer Project,” which was a tour of 48 states in order to draw beer labels for one brewery in each state. First, it took her about seven months to plan, set up appointments with various brewers around the U.S. and get sponsorships along the way. She also had to retrofit a pink bus to be her traveling home, but once she got underway August of 2018, she ended up traveling to each state, setting up in a brewing company’s parking lot and going to work.

“The idea was to be in each state five days to a week and hang out with multiple breweries,” she said. “I’d pick one out of each state, and spend time with their staff and customers, feel out the scene, and then go back to my bus, which was retrofitted with a little studio, and start working on their individual beer label. Then, move on to the next brewery and so on.”

“It was more than making beer labels-it was a cultural exploration of the beer industry,” she said.

The beer industry is more than just beer,” she said. “There are subcultures within that—a lot of creative people involved. The musicians, the artists, the beer makers themselves, the food truck purveyors. I wanted to do something more meaningful with the trip, connect to the people in this industry and tell their stories.”

Allagash Brewery ended up being the Maine brewery she collaborated with for the 48 Beer Project with a hand-drawn label with the beer label “Odyssey.”

It took a year of traveling before she got off the road and back into an apartment. Today, she is hitting the reset button and taking a bit of a break from beer labels, while she works another job full-time.

“It’s been quite a transition getting off the road and off this project,” she said. “I still do a few commissions here and there.”

To see her labels visit Great Beer Adventure

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—We first encountered Rachel Jones at a beer-drinking knitting group called “Unraveled” several years ago in a story, “Women who like to knit with a brewski.”

Since then, the fiber artist from Owls Head has taken over an annex studio at Lincoln Street Center in Rockland with her successful shop making and selling unique hand-dyed yarns called On The Round.

Taking one’s hobby and turning it into a lucrative business is a common dream for Americans, but most aren’t ready to go full time with that goal. For many, the pursuit becomes part-time, which is commonly known as the “side business” or “side hustle.”

According to a 2019 study, more than 60 percent of those surveyed wanted to start a side business doing what they loved to do in their spare time, but only 37 percent actually did so. And of those who started the side business, more than half put their energy into it after normal working hours, often on the weekends.

For Jones, the dream started in college, right after her dad died.

“I’ve been a knitter since I was seven, but in my second year of college after my dad passed away, it was an incredibly stressful time, so I jumped back into knitting because I was trying to keep it together,” she said. “It was something to do that put me in a flow state; my mind was busy, my hands were busy and I wasn’t thinking of anything other than being able to focus and chill.”

Her favorite style of knitting was called “in the round,” which knits in a circular pattern, a meditative practice for her.

All through college, she’d knit at parties and give her hats, scarves and fingerless gloves to friends, or sell them randomly at small shows.

First, she starts with super wash Merino wool yarn that is specially treated to pick up colors.	She cooks the yarn in layers of dye, controlling the process using the techniques she learned in college for painting, so that the yarn comes out in solid or speckled multi-colors.	Each batch of cooked yarn produces enough for three rings of yarn. After the yarn is cooled, it is dried, it is then twisted up into skeins and tagged with labels.

While she was getting working on a degree in art education at the University of Maine, Jones, like most students, wasn’t sure what her career path would be after college. When it came time to student teach, she told her advisor: “I want to find a way to knit for a living.”

“I didn’t know what that looked like,” she admitted. “It wasn’t a ‘thing’ in 2004.”

Little did she know a seller’s platform built specifically for the side business called Etsy, would launch in about a year online. But, at that time, Jones had no role models for her dream career—just drive.

It wasn’t until she took a college apprenticeship with a fiber artist in Orono that the light bulb went on. The woman she worked with, Jodi Clayton, made felt scarves out of her home and turned that into her wholesale business, One Lupine Fiber Art. While apprenticing with Clayton, who’d by then, moved her business out of her home and into a studio in Bangor, Jones was picking up all of the other components of building a business: how to construct a dye station in an old gutted building and turn it into a working studio, how to dye wool, the day-to-day operations, how to sell retail and wholesale, and more.

After graduating, Jones continued to work for Clayton. Before she knew it, Jones was forming her own ideas for what she wanted to do with her life.

“I realized along the way I am a machine when it comes to production,” she said. “I have an operations brain.”

She runs six pans on six burners for her dye kitchen about four or five days a week.	Her hands are usually stained with the dyes she’s working with but comes off easily.

After having her first child, Jones began to establish her own business plan. “Selling finished knitting is really hard; it’s really time-consuming, so instead I started to make these felt bangles out of trash felt from Jodi’s shop,” she said. “A friend told me about Etsy, and so I started a small online shop and sold something the very first day. It was great.”

The power of the Internet was just becoming apparent to makers and crafters like Jones in the early 2000s. For the next six years, she began hand-dying yarn and selling it on Etsy, utilizing all of the social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—that amplified her business. With the rich colors of dyed yarns, the platforms were ideal for sharing engaging photos as well as photos of her process.

In 2015, she left the Etsy platform, unhappy with the percentage that was being extracted from each sale and put all of her effort into selling through her own website.

“It took effort but was the best decision I ever made,” she said. “Oftentimes, people are scared or resistant to change, but I never was. I throw myself into these situations.”

It was a smart move; she was selling just as well, but now she had a new problem: her business was outgrowing her kitchen space.

“I had wool and yarn everywhere; I was setting up and breaking down the kitchen every night with only two burners,” she said. “I was doing big shows and homeschooling three kids; working all night. It was a lot.”

She moved the production into a new studio for a short while, but the location and space wasn’t ideal. When Lincoln Street Center’s annex came up for rent two years ago, the location was perfect, the plumbing was ideal for her dye kitchen and the space was big enough for inventory.

Now in her second year in the Lincoln Street Center studio, Jones’s business has never been stronger. She ships about 10 to 20 packages of yarn a day, all over the country. “I physically work here about five days a week, but I’m also putting in a lot of time at home on social media and orders,” she said. “I do about 90 percent of my business off my phone.”

For Jones, the hobby is a full-fledged viable business.

“I can fully support my family on this business right now,” she said.

Jones holds several open house evenings at her studio several times a year so people can come in, peruse the yarn, ask questions and get ideas on what they’d like to make. the next studio-wide Lincoln Street Center open house will be on March 29 at 5 p.m.

“People come into the studio and see things I’ve made, then get ideas for what they want to make.”

Jones holds studio open houses several times a year and people are welcome to stop by the studio by chance or by appointment to browse the yarn side of the shop.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—A small camp that started in the 1960s in the Catskills by families of children with cerebral palsy is generating the biggest buzz after the 107-minute documentary opened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in January.

For some 40 years, Camp Jened has been a place of welcoming acceptance and fun for disabled teenagers and adults. Jim LeBrecht was one of its teenaged campers in the 1970s and the experience so transformed his life, he made a documentary about it with Emmy-winning documentary producer and co-director, Nicole Newnham in 2019 titled Crip Camp.

Just when everyone is feeling the confines of deep winter, the Camden International Film Festival is bringing the outdoors and sunshine to Camden Opera House with Crip Camp as its opener for the three-day mini winter festival called “Cabin Fever.”

CIFF Founder Ben Fowlie wanted to get his hands on this film and in a local theater as soon as possible after it was scooped up by Barack and Michelle Obama for their Netflix-based production company Higher Ground.

“As more films are being acquired by online platforms, their windows for public screenings are getting smaller. We saw the writing on the wall and our Cabin Fever Fest was a way for us to address that,” said Fowlie. “Our goal with Cabin Fever is to bring films that people are going to be talking about next January to this community, and give our audiences a sneak peek before they appear in any of the major cities like Boston or New York.”

“Crip Camp won the coveted audience award at Sundance and for good reason. It’s just a really powerful film,” he said. “It’s been described as the birth of a movement doc. The experiences camp attendees had -- experiences around becoming an adult, about finding love and experimenting is what draws you in. And watching them transform into the groundbreaking activists is astronomically moving."

A review in Variety Magazine sums up the overall feeling of the film touching on why the title might seem politically incorrect to outsiders, but is actually a code word for inclusivity. According to reviewer, Peter DeBruge, “...the movie succeeds in enlightening without ever coming across as an ‘eat your spinach’ civics lesson, beginning inside a utopian bubble where people without disabilities are the minority, then broadening the scope to include the more closed-minded outside world to which the campers return — an intimidating obstacle course they collectively helped to reinvent.”

Fowlie said there are numerous Maine connections to Crip Camp.

“The film was edited by Mary Lampson, who is an incredibly accomplished editor living in central Maine. Shane Hofeldt, the assistant editor, also lives in Camden and went to Maine Media Workshops. Ben Levine shot some of the original black and white footage in the film. He's now based in Rockland. [See related story: Creating Social Change From Maine To Mexico.] They’ll all be there for the Q & A afterward.”

Beyond the three days of film screenings, Cabin Fever promises live music, special parties and its signature virtual reality exhibitions called Storyforms, which will be held on the third floor of Camden Opera House, Saturday, Feb. 29 from 12 to 7 p.m.

“With Storyforms, people can come in and have eight to 10 different individual experiences with VR headsets,” said Fowlie. “If you want to kayak around Greenland, this will be your chance to do it."

“For us, it's all about bringing community together to experience the power of storytelling,” he said.

To see the schedule and get tickets visit: Cabin Fever.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—If the Midcoast has a Theatre District, it’s most definitely centered in Belfast.

The Belfast Maskers are an organization for the performing arts that’s been in operation since 1987. In July, 2018, they made the old Church at 17 Court Street their new home. And like any working not-for-profit, improvements have been continual, dependent on the support of the community and grantors.

On Friday, Feb. 21, the doors opened to the public for a tour of the newly developed theater—The Basil Burwell Community Theater, nicknamed “The Bazz” —an intimate jewel box theater with raked seating for up to 100 people.

Visitors were invited into a vibrantly painted lobby, and stairwell created by local artist, Krista Odom of Alpha Libra.

The Belfast Maskers have come full circle in the community in terms of their new home. In the mid-1990s, they had a city-owned building down by the waterfront and operated from that until the building fell into disrepair and the organization had to leave in 2011. After, that they became a wandering troupe of performers, staging their shows in a variety of venues until the old church came up for sale. At one point, the downstairs apartment was owned by a couple who periodically rented the upstairs performance space. But after the last tenant left, the building sat dormant for about 10 years. In the last year and a half, the Belfast Maskers have transformed the downstairs apartment area into several useful rooms, such as a dressing room, a hair, and makeup room, a fully functioning kitchen and a living room/community space. The theater has been built upstairs in this historic building.

“Essentially the downstairs is ‘The Green Room,’ said Sasha Kutsy, President of the Board of Directors. “Also, it’s a place where all of our community events take place. For example, we have a group of teen fiddlers and guitar players that meet on Mondays; we have an improv group that meets here and other groups as well.”

The purpose of the Open House was not only to showcase all of the improvements to the building and performance space, but to let the overall community in to see what potential it has for them.

“It’s a way to invite people who maybe haven’t been to a show before and see what the space is all about and let them know it’s accessible and economical to rent out either the theater or the downstairs community space,” said Artistic Director Meg Nickerson.

The Belfast Maskers currently produce five shows per year staged at the new Basil Burwell Community Theater. The rest of the year, the organization is open to other traveling theater groups, performance groups, or any group that wants to rent the space for creative endeavors or meetings.

“We’re working really hard to create this resource for the community of musicians, performers, artists to use it,” said Kutsy. “We’ve had so many improvements, we want people to see how that could benefit them.”

“We have rented the downstairs space to groups that have work meetings here and fun things like dances, classes, celebrations and movie nights,” said Nickerson. “It’s a place for seniors, children, and everyone in between. It’s also the place to see some amazing, live theater.”

“With The Crosby Center down the street, Belfast really now has a ‘Theatre District,’” said Kutsy. “What works very well is that we’re both different performance spaces. The Crosby Center seats 350-plus people, so that’s appropriate for some productions. And for some productions that are smaller and only want 100 people in the audience, this is the more intimate space with great sightlines from every seat.”

Currently, the organization is busy rehearsing and building sets for the upcoming play As You Like It, re-imagined in 1960s Woodstock March 12 to 22. For more information about the theater itself visit: Belfast Maskers

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday this year, which is naturally the night to go out. So whether you’re going out with your better half, best bud, or the whole family, here’s a virtual tour of all that’s happening in the Midcoast and beyond for a memorable Cheap Dates night.

Rockland/Thomaston

If Valentine’s Day for you is all about the food and you’re looking for a high quality Cheap Date, you might want to check out Midcoast School of Technology’s high school-run Osprey Café on Friday from 12 to 1 p.m. See my recent story on this little known gem. Friday’s menu is New England comfort food for just $10 per person. Clam fritters. Yankee Pot roast. Lobster bisque. Yum. Just be aware, it will be packed! See the menu.

Early in the evening, Rockland Public Library is hosting a “Your Library Loves You” Open House from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The free event will have hot food and soups, drinks, and desserts. Juggler Steve Athearn will be showing you how it’s done while artist Susan Beebe will lead an art activity for kids. Music will be provided by jazz duo Bill Barnes and Dave Briggs in the Reading Room. And if you have a Rockland Public Library card, put your name for door prizes, which will include an iPad and gift cards for local businesses. And hey, as long as you’re at the library (even if you possess a card from another library, feel free to check out a book or DVD.) Details.

For the literary and theatre lovers, The Watts Hall Community Players are looking at love through the lens of a play titled “Love Letters” by A. R. Gurney. This imaginative two-person play is the story of two lifelong friends who read aloud their letters, cards and notes sent and received over decades. Tickets are $5.00 per person will be sold at the door only. Doors open at 7 p.m. $30 for singles, $55 for couples. Details.

Rock Harbor Brewery is getting creative with a wood pallet “Love Art” paint party from 6 to 8 p.m. for singles and couples to paint and create art out of wood pallets. Tickets.

Camden

Penobscot Bay YMCA is throwing an all-ages Valentine’s Day dance from 6 to 8 p.m. Everyone is invited: little kids, grandparents, parents and non-parents. Enjoy a live DJ, plus complimentary refreshments, courtesy of Quarry Hill. Everybody welcome! No need to register. For more information, call 301-6116. Details.

Liberty

Restaurants everywhere are, of course, going big for this night, but there is a  pop up worth mentioning. 51 Main in Liberty is pairing up with Stone’s Throw Catering for a happy hour cocktails and snack special from 4 to 8 p.m. reservations taken between 4 - 8 p.m. Click for Menu For reservations, call 207-691-2821 or email stonesthrowcatering@gmail.com

Belfast

A mellow cider tasting might by on the V Day menu if you go to Perennial Cider Bar & Farm Kitchen from 6 to 9 p.m. to listen to the beauty of sound and string with guitarist Aaron Lefebvre.

Ease into the evening with a special Winter Dance Party with super energy funk, soul, rock ‘n roll band, The Right Track at The Crosby Center (96 Church Street) from 7 to 10 p.m.  Courtesy of a number of Belfast eateries, there will be pizza, sweet treats and even a photo booth. Details.

Then if you really want to shake that tail feather, head on over the Belfast American Legion (143 Church Street) for a Bottomed Out Funk Dance Party going from 9 to 11 p.m. The band will present some funk classics as well as some lesser known tasty funk numbers, with some blues and reggae thrown in. Suggested donation $5 and up. Details

And for more events going on not mentioned here, check out: Three local gifts to give your BFF for Galentine’s Day

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—For years, the Mid-Coast School of Technology’s students in Culinary Arts and Baking/Pastry programs have been putting on a World Café, a hands-on, real life execution of their culinary skills for the public in the form of publicly offered breakfasts and lunches. This winter into spring, they have continued this tradition, but with a few changes.

Whereas in the old building, they had a converted classroom serving as their dining area, MCST’s newly built school features a 118-seat café called Osprey Nest, anchored by two enormous classroom-kitchens, one for culinary arts, and one for baking. On the café side, the roomy restaurant’s oversized windows allow in plenty of light. Anchoring the walls are carving, serving and dessert stations.

What’s also different is the service. As we’ve previously covered in a stories on the World Cafe, the themed a la carte menus were offered four days a week for $5. Now, consolidating their time, the school only offers the World Café each Thursday and Friday from 12 to 1 p.m.

And instead of individually served plates, Café patrons can partake of a buffet of about 10 entrees, side dishes and salads. The price also includes dessert, and beverage all made the Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry students.

“We wanted to switch from a la carte to buffet because it gives students more control over the menu and they can cook more dishes within that cuisine,” said Baking and Pastry instructor Shelby Stevens. “This way it’s not as stressful.”

So far, it’s been a good change for the students. “They’re able to pull off quite a bit and step up to the challenges,” said Stevens. “They love the new kitchens and café and are really excited to be working with new equipment and the new space. As far as our programs, I know both of my classes have doubled and I think Charles Butler’s [Culinary Arts instructor] have as well.”

The World Café has been a loose-kept secret for a long time, but now, it’ll be even harder to get in.

“We had nearly 95 people all within an hour last week,” said Stevens. “The students are doing great. They’re not only making the food, but they’re out there, as serving staff, and they’re proud of what they’re serving.”

Lee Fox, a MCST employee who was manning the host station, mentioned that with all of their real-life cooking and serving experiences, many area restaurants turn to MCST in search of employees. “They call us because they know our students have just as much training as someone who has been in the restaurant industry for years,” said Fox.

“I know a employee of Primo came in for lunch last week and told us if any of our students wanted to apply for a job to come on over,” said Stevens.

First time visitor Mark Tootill of S. Thomaston paid his $10 at the host stand. “The food was fantastic,” he said.  “There were a lot of dishes I didn’t know, but they were very good.

Last week was supposed to be Southern Week, but due to the weather, the school closed both days. “We knew the snow storms might impact our serving days, so we held back on doing most of the prep work,” said Stevens. “We’ll just move onto the next culinary week, which is New England cuisine.”

Here is a glimpse of their ever-evolving weekly menus. To see what’s on the buffet menu for each week, visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Coming up Friday, February 14, is either the world’s most romantic holiday or a stressful reminder of one’s relationship status. Actress/comedian Amy Poehler first coined the term “Galentine’s Day” in a 2010 Parks and Recreation episode as a way to celebrate one’s girlfriends, so here’s a way to cheer the great ladies in your life with these three locally made or crafted gifts. 

Products

Handmade Pop Up Shop

United Farmer’s Market of Maine

The back story: On February 14, go to Belfast and pop in The United Farmer's Market of Maine(18 Spring Street, Belfast) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  More than 15 vendors will be open to sell their unique hand-crafted wares, some specially made for that day:  artisan jewelry, gifts, gourmet sweets and treats, custom flowers, soaps, books, and perhaps even some hand-made valentines.

Vendors: Aimee Leclerc Designs (Elegant and Rustic Jewelry); Ancestral French Soaps (organic specialty olive oil soaps); Beading Spirits (Healing Copper Jewelry); Beyond the Sea (Specialty books); Chocolate Pan (Artisan chocolates);  CupKate’s (Cup cakes and sweets); Dan Bennett Jewelry (Hand Forged Jewelry); Heléna Melone (Painted Silks);  Maine Cheesecake Co.  (Truffles and Gluten-free Cheesecakes); Many Hands Farm (Rose Products); Midsummer Night’s Meadow Farm (Fine Woolens and Charcuterie); The Scone Goddess (scones); The Smallest Gap (Photographs); Snow Hill Studios (Ceramics); Sonhado (Organic Lavender and Flax Eye Pillows); Sweet Monkey Business (Cookies); Willow Moon Florist (Custom arrangements and bouquets.)

In their words: “Galentine’s Day is an opportunity for women to celebrate friendship and one another, while supporting local businesswomen and entrepreneurs," said Jenn Brown, of Willow Moon Florists, one of the organizers.

Price/where to find it: Varied.  United Farmer’s Market of Maine

Farm & Forest Fashion Show

Belfast American Legion Hall

The back story: The Farm & Forest Fiber Flannel Runway Fashion show is a celebration of the working people, land and water of Midcoast Maine. The show will open with someone offering a land and water blessing and sharing about the history of Wabanaki people on this land.

“There will be a giant snail moving across the runway verrrrry slowly with a sign reading "Slow Fashion" ... when the snail reaches the other side, the show will be over. There will be people wearing flannel shirts and pajamas dancing, farmers, artists, crafters and fisherfolk carrying tools of their trades, folks in deerskin, an Evergreen Queen, giant vegetables, local knitted woolens, bark, shells, seaweed.”

The event goes from 4 to 11 p.m. with both a contra dance and a funk party at the end.

In their words: “The fashion show is going to be a fun, creative, multi-generational experience that celebrates the land and water of Maine and the working people,” said organizer Chelsea Cartwright, who helped put together the event with co-organizer Corallina Breuer. “You can go with a partner or go by yourself. With contra dances you dance with everybody so it’s a nice way to shake off the February blahs. And it takes the pressure out of of meeting people;  focus is really on community and love.”

Price/Where To Find It: $5-$50 sliding scale. Fashion Show

One Special Night Out

Cold Chocolate

Camden Opera House

The back story: On February 14, the acoustic duo Cold Chocolate is set to play The Blue Café on the third floor of the Camden Opera House. The band has been described as a, “genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk, and bluegrass to create unique a sound all their own.” This Boston group regularly performs at venues and music festivals up and down the East Coast, fusing bluegrass and roots with a dash of funk. Playing guitar, upright bass, percussion, and three-part harmony, come get energized with this rocking trio. Show starts at 7 p.m. Learn more about them.

In their own words: “As for the band name itself, Guitarist Ethan Robbins told us: “It has to do with my brothers and I visiting my grandfather growing up, and how he'd always have frozen Milky Ways in his freezer for us on arrival. It became a tradition and something we looked forward to all year.  There’s nothing’s sweeter than a night of Cold Chocolate on Valentine's Day. Except, maybe, eating actual chocolate left in the freezer overnight. But why not do both? See us at the Blue Café on Feb. 14!”

Price/where to find it: Free! (Donations accepted) but no reservations required. Camden Opera House

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—The sound of construction can be heard in and around the two buildings that comprise Marshall Wharf Brewing and Three Tides these days. It’s business as usual for builder Daniel Waldron, co-owner of Whitecap Builders; but he isn’t just working on the buildings. He and his wife, Kathleen Dunckel, recently purchased the brewery building and property prior to a public auction on January 29. They also purchased the brewery business and Three Tides business.

As a former employee of Three Tides and Marshall Wharf Brewing, Waldron couldn’t get the brewery off his mind. It had abruptly closed in April 2019 after floods over the previous winter had caused severe damage, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News.

“I started seriously considering buying it last June,” said Waldron. As it got closer and closer to the auction, we kept thinking, ‘how can we make this happen?’”

As a builder, Waldron eyed the buildings with a certain perspective that comes with the territory.

“I fell in love with that brewery building when I was working here,” he said. “It was an old grainery and has been standing here on the Belfast waterfront since the late 1800s and the upper levels of the building have never been touched.”

Rising tides, storm surge and climate change made the brewery extremely vulnerable to flooding, a calamity which destroyed a substantial amount of the hard work done by original owners David and Sarah Carlson. According to BDN, a one-two punch in the winter and spring of 2019 in the form of floods wiped out their stainless steel tanks that contained finished beer and then took out more smaller tanks two months later.

To be viable as a brewery in the long run, Waldron said the entire building needs to be jacked up approximately eight feet from the current first floor elevation.

“It’s been there so long it’s sinking,” he said. “Currently, the first floor of the building is 38 inches below the sea wall. We just need to get it jacked up on piers, out of the ocean’s way.”

“We do this every day,” he said, of the construction. “For me, the immediate challenge is getting the brewery and restaurant back up and running again.”

Waldron, who has been in the restaurant business 20 years as a supplement to his construction work, served as a Three Tides bartender. Dunckel is a professor at Unity College. With three children, the couple is spending every available moment to bring back the beloved brewery and bar to the way people remember it.

At the time of this interview the couple had a verbal agreement to lease the Three Tides property from the current owner with intent to purchase it in the future.

As for Three Tides, Waldron doesn’t need to do anything drastic.

“The kitchen needs some new equipment a potential expansion, but we’re planning on leaving it mostly the way it was,” he said.

The couple said they are working toward a spring re-opening while they work on planning, engineering and a slew of city, state and federal permitting applications for the major rehabilitation of the brewery building.

“We’ve got protections in place for flooding right now,” he said. “We’ll operate out of both spaces, until all the permits are in place and then the brewery will need to shut down again and brew offsite, so we can jack the building up.”

The Belfast community has expressed an outpouring of excitement toward the re-opening.

“David and Sarah were super supportive and the community has been off the hook since we posted the plans on Facebook,” said Waldron. “Other restaurants and brewers, such as Danny McGovern,  have also reached out and given us their support.”

Jared Mahrunic, MW’s head brewer, is returning to restart the brewery. One of the biggest questions the couple is getting is: “Will the same beers come back?”

The answer is yes.

“Everything will still be branded Marshall Wharf and all of the beers that people love will be coming back,” said Waldron. “We’re honing in on what Marshall Wharf already does well.”

He said: “We’re not quite sure what capacity we’ll offer food yet It’ll be light fare, tapas to start.”

As for entertainment, Marshall Wharf Brewing has always served as an anchor for the major Belfast music festivals and harbor parties.

“I think that’s definitely on the horizon,” said Dunckel.

“We’ve already been contacted by bands and my take on that is that it’ll be a soft, subtle start as we get going,” said Waldron. “But the music side has always been a big thing for us. If we revive anything for now, it’ll probably be the Marshall Wharf beer and mussel festival in October, depending on how much beer we have available then.”

Basically, Belfast is getting the same brewery they’ve always loved back.

“Coming here after work in July or August and grabbing a pint and seeing the people you work with, people in your community and tourists hanging out, enjoying the sun down in the Three Tides beer garden on the harbor — this place has always felt like an old English pub,” said Waldron. “That’s how it’s going to be again.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—With low temperatures after a freezing ice storm the night before, the U.S. National Toboggan Championships officially kicked off Saturday, February 8 and the more seasoned costumed toboggan teams combined warmth with pageantry this year. (Note: wigs always add that extra level of insulation and you can’t go wrong with a full body costume that hides extra long john layers).

The chute was closed for on Friday due to the rainy/icy weather, but Saturday’s sunny, frigid temperatures brought out all of the teams, ice shacks, tailgate parties and spectators. Camden’s “Mardi Gras on Ice” was once again, underway.

With a maximum number of 400 toboggan teams, this year was sold out, which made for plenty of downtime on the ice, while hundreds waited in line with toboggans for their chance to race. Up top, five food vendors kept the crowds fed while The Sea Dog Brewing Company provided a warm Beer Tent with cold brews for people to socialize.

Tobogganville

What can we say about all the ice shanties, Eskimo Fishing Shelters, heated trailers and makeshift fire pits that dotted Hosmer Pond? It’s a locals’ hang out and always has been, but it’s a celebratory event where all spectators are welcome to come up, say hello, maybe even get a bite to eat and an adult beverage to share. Anyone in a ridiculous costume is that much more welcome.

Two bands livened up the scene with a high school steel drums band right in front of the infamous Big Kahoonas trailer (see embedded video). While the kids were banging the sticks in front, the teams were banging the Stupid Stick in back.

Reprising a tradition J.D. Orlando Construction Co. started 10 years ago, and co-sponsored by Meklin Excavation, a combination of well-known local musicians took a small stage by the boat landing to rock the Pond with a number of classic rock hits. Musicians Noah Plotkin and Jason Dean were on drums; Glenn Dubois on bass, and Emmett Lalor and Joel Watson played guitar. While their fingers were battling the frigid temps, they had the crowd warmed up by dancing.

Check out our gallery for more twice-as-ice photos of a spectacular day in Camden, Maine.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Every year, Colburn Shoe Store, on Main Street in Belfast, has a February sale on shoes. This year, owner Colby Horne, a fifth generation owner of the oldest shoe store in America, had a great idea.

After watching a segment on Channel 2 about a woman in Maine who sells cheesecake out of her garage bakery on the honor system, Horne took a look around at all the inventory that he knew wasn’t going to sell and decided to emulate the woman’s goodwill by giving shoes away on the honor system.

“After our sale, it’s always a pretty good barometer to me what’s going to sell and what’s going to sit in storage,” he said. “Instead of these shoes sitting on the shelf and not have a purpose, why don’t we give them a purpose? They’re no good sitting here—let’s get them out the door.”

On Tuesday, February 4,  Horne made an announcement on Colburn’s Facebook page that they were going to set up a “Pay What You Can” rack in the basement as a donation station for men’s, women’s and children’s shoes with no expectation of payment. 

“Leave nothing or leave $100, it’s up to you” read the post. 

The post and the gesture have generated a flurry of media attention as well as a flood of positive feedback from the Belfast community.

“It’s been overwhelming, the amount of people who’ve texted me or stopped by,” he said. “I had an email from one of one of my old high school teachers and another teacher came by and gave me $50 to put toward it. It’s very heartwarming.”

The gesture comes straight from the heart.

“I’ve lived here 26 years of the 36 years I’ve been in Maine and I know there is a need for folks in the area to get something on their feet that’s better than they have, especially for kids,” he said. “Kids definitely need to be taken care of; they don’t have the ability to do it themselves. As business owners in the area, we all have extra stuff that’s just sitting in inventory. For the most part, you’ve already paid for it. This is not supposed to be a moneymaking venture—that’s what the rest of the store is for. This is just a small portion of the store to help people who needs help.”

Within the last 48 hours he’s had a number of customers come through and choose shoes from the rack. Of the 25 pairs of shoes that have been put out for donation, more than half the inventory has been taken.

“I haven’t counted the donation box,” he said. “That’s a big portion of it. I don’t want it to be embarrassing for anyone. I want a safe, no-judgment place for people to come if they need shoes for themselves or their kids. If you have a couple bucks, cool. If you don’t...that’s fine.”

Horne said this initiative is now going to be year-round.

“We’re going to be our best to sustain it and have shoes all year long,” he said.  “The need for footwear is year-round and we’ll do the best with our vendors to keep some never-worn shoes on that rack.”

Horne said that some people have asked if they can donate some lightly-used shoes to the initiative, but he wants to keep the inventory brand new. “I want people to walk away with quality new shoes,” he said.

Those looking to donate lightly used shoes can seek out resources in Maine through Waldo County Technical Center’s Clothing Closet.

To stay tuned to Colburn Shoe Co. and the initiative visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com