Bangor Metro Magazine October 2012 by Melanie Brooks

The Power of the Tide Lubec is leading the world in harnessing tidal power Energy is the family business for

Bob Foster A Piece of Maine:

Bar Harbor An international destination in our back yard Sit down with the chef at Presque Isleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

The Crowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest InsIDE: Local sports Savvy seniors Food File $5.95

October 2012

cancer How Mainers Are Fighting Back

AUBURN - BANGOR - BRUNSWICK - SOUTH PORTLAND - WATERVILLE - MANCHESTER, NH. 800-439-3297

E xc l u s i ve l y at D ay ’s J ewe l e r s Lo c at i o n s in Maine and New Hampshire.

ARE R EGISTE RE D TRADE MARKS OF THE DE BEERS GROUP OF COMPANIES.

Forevermark is part of the De Beers group of companies.

D i s c o v e r F o r e v e r m a r k® d i a m o n d s i n e x c e p t i o n a l d e s i g n s a t w w w. d a y s j e w e l e r s . c o m

L e s s t h a n o n e p e rc e n t o f t h e wo r l d ’s d i a m o n d s c a n b e F o reve r m a r k ®.

O u r p ro m i s e t h a t t h i s d i a m o n d i s a s u n i q u e a s t h e o n e f o r w h o m i t i s i n t e n d e d .

october 2012

contents

features An Evolving family business / 12 As the head of R.H. Foster Energy, Bob Foster keeps his family’s business going after 50 years. Rehab through exercise / 14 One woman at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital is helping heal cancer patients through exercise. conquering Cancer / 20 Our region has one of the highest rates of cancer in the country. Read about how our communities are working towards finding a cure. power from the sea / 28 Tidal power has been a hot topic for years in the Cobscook Bay area. Now we are finally harnessing the power. A Piece of Maine: bar harbor / 36 Bar Harbor is the most happening spot on Mount Desert Island. Find out why people from here and away love it so much. 2012 Energy Guide / 44 We asked leaders who represent wind power, oil heat, and electricity to give us the low-down on their energy industries. clean food cooking / 64 Emilie Brand Manhart shows us that kids can love healthy, wholesome food.

Alden Philbrook and daughter, Lily, running the 5K in the 2012 Champion the Cure Challenge. Philbrook’s other daughter, Johannah, age 8, ran most of the 5K and is pictured on our cover.

The Crow’s Nest / 68 Chef Joe Gervais tells us why Presque Isle’s The Crow’s Nest was voted Best New Restaurant in Aroostook County in Bangor Metro’s 2012 Best Restaurants contest.

Photos: (top & Inset cover) thomas morelli; (Right) melanie brooks; (far right) courtesy of orpc

2 / Bangor Metro October 2012

UMaine hockey player, Joey Diamond at the Frozen Fenway game

Photos:: (top) steve Babineau; (right) kate crabtree

in every issue

columns

TaLk of the Towns / 6 Elephants, salsa, and a momentus hike— three Maine stories to make you smile.

Metro fitness / 18 Make a weight loss plan now before cold winter weather threatens to derail your progress.

Biz Buzz & sightings / 8 People and places on the move. What’s Happening / 54 Plan a fun-filled October. Metro sports / 62 UMaine hockey and Bangor Youth Football.

woods & waters / 74 No one said bird hunting would be easy. last word / 80 Columnist Chris Quimby has an adventurous plan—is he nuts?

Perspectives / 72 Magnus Stark’s photographs blur the line between art and industry.

savvy seniors / 75 Are you a caregiver? How to know for sure. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 3

editor’s note

t’s early in the morning on September 5th. I’m sitting on the couch in my pajamas writing this editorial letter on my husband’s laptop. The magazine goes to press early next week and for the first time in four years, I won’t be in the office to help put it all together. But there is a very good reason I won’t be there—and his name is Ian Brooks Perry. I have been on maternity leave since my son was born on August 1st. Right now, Ian is settling into his bassinet in the corner of the living room. His coos and grunts fade away and he goes back to sleep—for now. In anticipation of my maternity leave I have been working on our fall issues for months. As the editor, I have responsibilities I have not been able to give up while staying home with my new little one. Getting any work done at home with a newborn is difficult to say the least. I’m not quite sure why I thought it would be easy—new mom naivety I suppose. Not being entrenched in finishing an issue of Bangor Metro is new and difficult for me. Usually I work side by side with our art director, Sandy Flewelling, and our advertising director, Christine Parker, in making sure the magazine is put together to perfection. And while it’s hard and strange for me not to be there to finish off this issue, I know these two women will do a superb job in my absence. What helps is that the topics covered in this issue have been planned well ahead of time. In fact, most of the feature stories for our 2013 issues have already been decided upon. We plan out our editorial calendar so far ahead of time for two very good reasons: to help our advertisers plan their marketing strategies and to be sure we have enough time to cover a story and get photos during the correct season. Here’s an example: we are planning on writing a story about urban gardening in our April 2013 issue. We can’t wait until February to get started on this story because the gardens we will be featuring will be under a foot or so of snow. We have been taking photos for this story— and others—this summer. Planning ahead not only saves us time, it’s necessary to make sure we have photos for our stories! After four years at Bangor Metro, we’ve gotten our production schedule down to a science. Ian has introduced a whole new schedule into my life, and I’m trying hard to embrace it. I’d like to thank the team at Bangor Metro for pushing forward without me at the helm of the editorial department. I’d also like to thank my husband for understanding that I have needed some time these past five weeks to focus on the magazine, and allowing me the space and solitude to do so. I am a very lucky woman to have such supportive coworkers, friends, and family in my life. The Bangor Metro Region

Melanie Brooks, editor

4 / Bangor Metro October 2012

263 State Street, Suite 1 Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: 207-941-1300 x121 Fax: 207-942-1613

www.bangormetro.com

PUBLISHER

Metro Publishing, llc EDITOR

Melanie Brooks melanie@bangormetro.com SALES DIRECTOR

Christine Parker christine@bangormetro.com AD SALES CONSULTANTs

Laurie Cates laurie@bangormetro.com Laura Manzo laura@bangormetro.com Khristina Landers khristina@bangormetro.com ART DIRECTOR

Sandy Flewelling production Assistant

Mary Webber Copyeditor

Sara Speidel CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Tom Avila, Brad Eden, Henry Garfield Naomi Graychase, Joy Hollowell Carol Higgins Taylor, Jane Margesson Chris Quimby, Wendy Watkins Contributing PHOTOGRAPHers

Kate Crabtree, Brad Eden, Tim Flewelling Jeffrey Hains, Thomas Morelli Sha-Lam Photography, Magnus Stark Scott Wardwell, SUBSCRIPTIONS

Sue Blake sue@bangormetro.com 10 issues $24.95 Bangor Metro is published by Metro Publishing, LLC. Inquiries and suggestions are welcome and encouraged. Letters to the editor, story suggestions, and other reader input will be subject to Bangor Metro’s unrestricted right to edit and publish in the magazine or on the web. Please address written correspondence to 263 State Street, Suite 1, Bangor, ME 04401. For advertising questions, please call Christine Parker, Sales Director, at 207-4045158. Bangor Metro is mailed at standard rates in Bangor, Maine. Newsstand Cover Date: August 2012. Vol. 8, No. 5, copyright 2012, issue No. 71. Advertisers and event sponsors or their agents are responsible for copyrights and accuracy of all material they submit. ADDRESS CHANGES: To ensure delivery, subscribers must notify the magazine of address changes one month in advance of cover date. Opinions expressed do not represent editorial positions of Bangor Metro. Nothing in this issue may be copied or reprinted without written permission from the publisher. Bangor Metro is published 10 times annually. To subscribe, call 941-1300 ext. 121 or visit www.bangormetro.com. Cover photo: Thomas Morelli

issues just

.95

the Save $34 off ice newsstand pr

subscribe today

263 State Street, Suite 1 Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: 207.941.1300

Term

cover price

save

pay only

1 Year (10 issues)

$59.50

58%

$24.95

Double my order! Lock in the best price for 2 years and pay just $34.95 now. Call 941-1300 x121 to place your order or mail this form to: Bangor Metro 263 State Street, Suite 1 Bangor, Maine 04401

Please print clearly! Name _______________________________________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________________________________ City___________________________________________________ State_________ Zip_ ___________ Phone________________________________________________ Promo Code_________________ Email address_ ______________________________________________________________________

p Pay by check.

Credit card number __________________________________________________________________ Expiration date ___________________________ CCID Code (3 digits on back of card) _____________ Name on card _______________________________________________________________________ Authorized signature ________________________________________________________________

Description

Value

10 issues of Bangor Metro—only $2.50 per issue

p $24.95

20 issues of Bangor Metro—only $1.75 per issue

p $34.95

Eastern, Midcoast, and Northern Maine’s premier magazine for events, news, business, sports, and entertainment

INCLUDED

Editorial Features: • Regional Lifestyle and Business News • Health & Fitness • Sports & Outdoors • Senior Topics • Events Calendar • Local Restaurants • Local Photographers

INCLUDED

Add a gift subscription for only $15.00* Name _________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________

p $15.00

City, State, ZIP_________________________________________ *Gift subscriptions are only available with purchase of your subscription.

Remember to visit www.bangormetro.com for: • Feature Stories Online • Digital Magazine with Hotlinked Ads • Local Vendors • Event Listings Total

$ _________

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 5

talk of the towns

Hiking Warriors Mt. Katahdin: Hiking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail in just over four months is a feat not many people can accomplish, but two U.S. Marine Corps veterans did just that—and raised money along the way. “I’d always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail,” says former U.S. Marine Corps Captain Sean Gobin, who hails from Rhode Island. “Mark [Silvers] and I both served in Afghanistan and, since we were getting out of the Marines in the spring and starting grad school in the fall, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.” When Gobin approached his friend with the idea, Mark wasn’t interested—at least at first. “I had been thinking that I wanted to do something for all the wounded service members that I had seen going home, so, I said I’d do it if we could make it a fundraiser,” says Silvers, a Virginia native who is also a 6 / Bangor Metro October 2012

former Marine Corps Captain. “Sean immediately agreed to that. Then the real work started.” That “real work” resulted in Warrior Hike, a 2,184mile hike that began on March 14 in Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest and ended on July 31, 2012 at the summit of Mt. Katahdin. Along the way, Silvers and Gobin raised funds for a grant program that will help wounded vets with covering the costs of purchasing adaptive vehicles. “We’re at about $45,000 right now, and we’re still taking donations,” Silvers says. “We’re going to start issuing our grants over the next few months, and we’ve already received some interest to do it again next year. This time, we’ll be joined by wounded veterans who want to hike the trail.” To learn more about Warrior Hike and to make a donation visit www.warriorhike.com. —Tom Avila

Salsa Surprise Blue Hill: When Sisters Salsa launched in 1995, it was the spicy brainchild of a mother home-schooling her children. Some 17 years later, it’s not a mom but a Big Papi who’s drawing attention to this Blue Hill-based business.

A native of the Dominican Republic, David Ortiz loves the flavors of Latin cooking. After sampling Sisters Salsa at a local Hannaford Grocery Store near his home in Boston, Ortiz became a fan. Luckily, Sisters Salsa was as passionate about Big Papi as he was about their salsa. A recent deal has Sisters Salsa supplying salsa to Red Sox player David Ortiz’s Big Papi’s Kitchen product line, which has owner Jim Buddington planning big for the company’s future. For a small company that makes its salsa one batch at a time, that increase in sales is dramatic. The success is leading to an expansion of the company’s manufacturing center to keep up with demand, which will include new machinery that will help Buddington and his team produce in a day what they now do in a week. “It’s a significant transformation,” Buddington says. The growth means great things for Sisters Salsa, Blue Hill, and the region, Buddington adds. “It will mean revenue flow into the state of Maine and it will create jobs.” The new 20,000-square-foot facility is set to open in 2013. Sales of Sisters Salsa have jumped 200% in the third quarter of 2012, and Buddington believes sales will double again when his new facility is up and running. —Tom Avila

photos: (Right) Courtesy of Hope elephants

Hopeful Elephants Hope: Your first reaction to the two newest residents of Hope, Maine might be one of bewildered surprise. Elephants? In Maine? But, according to Dr. Jim Laurita, veterinarian and former circus elephant trainer, elephants are no strangers to cold weather. “I was one of the handlers at the Bronx Zoo, and we had elephants who had to be made to come inside in the winter,” he says. Laurita and his brother Tom are the cofounders of Hope Elephants—a unique nonprofit rehabilitation and educational facility for retired elephants. Through this program, the Lauritas’ hope is to inspire visitors to act upon their experience and find their own path to participate in wildlife conservation. Their first two residents, Rosie and Opal, will settle into their new digs, a beautiful new, environmentally-efficient barn, in 2013. The pair will receive the kind of high-end physical therapy that, while not unheard of for animals like horses, is not commonly administered to elephants, and they’ll be meeting some of their new Maine neighbors. “Once Rosie and Opal get to Maine and settle in, we’ll be offering curriculum-driven educational programs for school groups,” Laurita says. “We’ll help get visitors involved in the idea that they can be part of a worldwide elephant conservation project, even from here in Maine.” —Tom Avila

Dr. Jim Laurita and Rosie

Opal

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 7

biz buzz On the Move SUE BERNARD has been

appointed to the position of director of development and college relations at Northern Maine Community College. Previously, Bernard spent 10 years as the communications director for the Diocese of Portland. www.nmcc.edu ALLISON LIBBY of Cushing has joined Allen Insurance and Financial as an employee benefits associate in the company’s Insured Benefits Division. Libby brings 32 years of experience in the insurance industry in the midcoast to her position. www.alleninsuranceandfinancial.com

director of financial aid at Washington County Community College, has been hired as the director of finance. www.emcc.edu bob froberg has joined

the management team at OTT Communications. Froberg has over 33 years of experience and previously worked as the vice president of sales at FairPoint Communications. www.ottcommunications.com SHANNON PINER, FNP-C, has joined the

medical staff of Penobscot Community Health Care’s Extended Care Services. Piner’s practice centers on all aspects of high-quality geriatric medical care in the nursing home setting. www.pchc.com TODD STEELMAN has been named

DOROTHY HAVEY of

Lincolnville has been hired as the director of finance and administration at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. Havey has over 20 years of experience with Maine nonprofits and most recently served as the executive director of Our Town Belfast. www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org The Arata Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has welcomed ROB FREESE to their Bangor office as a relationship manager. Freese was previously the vice president and investment officer at Peoples United Bank. Originally from Newport, Freese now lives in Brewer with his wife and son. www.morganstanley.com/fa/ thearatagroup Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor has hired two new employees. JODY BOYD, who previously worked as the human resources director with the Eastern Area Agency on Aging, is EMCC’s new director of human resources and training manager. ERIC MACDONALD, the former

8 / Bangor Metro October 2012

associate head coach of the University of Maine women’s basketball team. Steelman has over 19 years of teaching and coaching experience—10 of those as an associate and assistant coach at the Division I level. He previously worked as the associate head coach at Ball State University. www.goblackbears.com KAY NASH, PA-C, has joined the medical

staff at Penobscot Community Health Care’s Helen Hunt Health Center in Old Town. Nash has over 10 years of experience and previously worked in Washington State before joining PCHC. www.pchc.com JILL BECHTOLD was promoted to communications supervisor for the Bangor Police Department. Bechtold previously worked as a dispatcher in the department’s communications center and as an emergency medical technician. www.bangormaine.gov LESLIE WOMBACHER has been selected

as the new executive director of the Bucksport Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. Wombacher is a member of the Friends of Fork Knox Board of Directors and leads networking activities for Maine Women in Biz. www.bucksportchamber.org GAIL KELLY, two-time Brewer mayor,

has joined the board of directors for Penobscot Community Health Care.

Kelly is currently a member of the Bangor Area Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, a board member of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce, and a board member of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater New England Chapter. www.pchc.com Eastern Maine Development Corporation has added two new faces to their organization. JERRY HAYMAN has been hired as the chief financial officer, and CRYSTAL ELLIS and KOLE MCBREAIRTY have joined EMDC’s accounting and finance department as a staff accountant and junior accountant respectively. MELODY WEEKS has transitioned from the role of program manager for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to the role of program manager for Maine’s Procurement and Technical Assistance Center. SEAMUS HIGGINS, who has been with EMDC for nine years, has taken over Weeks’ role as program manager. www.emdc.org RACHEL THRIFT, DDS, has joined

Penobscot Community Health Care’s Dental Clinic as a pediatric dentist. She is a member of the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. www.pchc.com The Maine Community Foundation has added three members to its board of directors—ANNA ELEANOR ROOSEVELT of Embden, PETER MILLS of Cornville, and KAREN W. STANLEY of Castine. Roosevelt is the CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, Mills is the recently appointed executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority, and Stanley is the chairman of Camden National Bank. www.mainecf.org TONY CAMERON is the new executive director at the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce. Cameron was previously the director of marketing and membership sales at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Bar Harbor Rotary Club and serves as the group’s public relations chairman. www.ellsworthchamber.org

Penobscot Community Health Care has a new dentist on staff at their Dental Center in Bangor. JON CURTIS DAILEY,

DDS, has over 30 years of experience in dentistry and is a retired Colonel from the U.S. Army Dental Corps, where he served for 26 years. www.pchc.com

Awards WARDWELL CONTRACTING, a

Bucksport-based division of Lane Construction Corp., recently received Lane’s “Safest Location” banner for no time lost due to workplace injuries since May 2002. www.laneconstruct.com Maine Coast Memorial Hospital infection preventionist BARBARA MACPIKE was awarded the 2012 Exemplary Infection Prevention and Control Professional award from the Maine Hospital Association. MacPike’s Hand Hygiene Campaign won her the award, and the program has been adopted at hospitals across the state. www.mainehospital.org NICHOLE JAMISON from Washington County was recently honored with the 2012 Nathan Cohen Award, which honors a person or organization that exhibits enthusiasm, dedication, and resourcefulness in providing services to the community. Jamison is the manager of the Washington County CareerCenter and has worked for the Department of Labor for two decades. www.nmdc.org PENNY CARTER and NICHOLE NORWOOD from Bar Harbor Bank and

Trust have been honored with the 2012 Agnes Salisbury Customer Service Award, the bank’s highest employee honor. The award recognizes service in a number of areas including teamwork, assuming extra responsibilities, and going above the call of duty. Carter is vice president of retail and residential lending, and Norwood is a project specialist in applications support. www.bhbt.com TERRAHAUS, North America’s first

Passive-House student dormitory located on the campus of Unity College, has received the 2012 EcoHome Grand Award. This annual award is given to examples of design solutions that provide sustainable shelter in a wide range of styles, locations, and costs. The

dorm was designed and built by G•O Logic of Belfast, Maine. www.unity.edu Landscape architect SAM COPLON was recently elected a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Fellowship is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and recognizes the works, leadership, management, knowledge, and service of landscape architects. Coplon is the founding principal of Coplon Associates Landscape Architecture and Planning in Bar Harbor. www.coplonassociates.com COMMUNITY HEALTH AND COUNSELING SERVICES (CHCS) has been

awarded accreditation under the Community Health Accreditation Program, Inc.’s (CHAP) Home Health and Hospice Standard of Excellence. The CHAP accreditation demonstrates that CHCS meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards. www.chcs-me.org

Grants The MOUNT DESERT ISLAND BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY (MDIBL) is the recipient of an anonymous $1 million gift for an endowed fellowship to support its science education programs. The gift establishes the James Slater Murphy, M.D. Fellowship that will provide funding for outstanding high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students enrolled in one of MDIBL’s research training programs. www.mdibl.org Two area transportation projects have received federal transit grants in our area. The AROOSTOOK REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM received $735,160 to put toward vehicle replacement and a maintenance building roof replacement. WALDO COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERS received $180,000 for new small

buses to provide seniors, the disabled, and other transit-dependent riders on-demand services. www.aroostooktransportation.org www.waldocap.org

Nine hospital departments will benefit from these funds including anesthesia, cardiopulmonary, emergency department, laboratory, medical/surgical unit, obstetrics, post-anesthesia care unit, and rehabilitation. In addition, the Mary Down Center will receive a portion of the funds in memory of Trustee Richard D. Stanley. www.mainehospital.org The MACHIAS VALLEY AIRPORT has received $100,000 in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. The money will be used for the rehabilitation of the airport’s runway. www.machiaschamber.org The National Guard Bureau will provide $40 million in funding to Limestone’s Maine Military Authority for Humvee maintenance, which will allow MMA to rehire 26 workers who were laid off last year and produce over 700 additional vehicles for the National Guard Bureau through May 2013. www.mainemilitaryauthority.com Several Maine projects will receive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program. The DEXTER UTILITY DISTRICT will receive a $420,000 grant to make critical upgrades to its wastewater treatment facility; INDIAN TOWNSHIP HEALTH CLINIC will use $34,100 in grant money to obtain a new electronic medical health records system; the PLEASANT POINT PASSAMAQUODDY RESERVATION will repair the roof of their

administrative building with a $33,750 grant; the GREATER EASTPORT ECUMENICAL CHURCHES ASSOCIATION will receive $30,000 to help

purchase necessary equipment for the Labor of Love Food Pantry; and THE PATRIARCH’S CLUB in Harmony will use their $30,250 Economic Impact Initiative Grant toward an exhibition building to showcase educational and cultural displays at the Harmony Free Fair. www.rurdev.usda.gov

MAINE COAST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

has received $106,636 from Maine Coast Healthcare Foundation to fund new medical equipment and capital projects. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 9

sight ings

1 2 4

3 1: Steve and Rhonda Jones at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce after hours event at the Lucerne Inn. 2: Rose White and Matt Mann at the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce after hours event at the Lucerne Inn. 3: Michele, Sundance, and Emma Campbell at the Champion the Cure Challenge in Bangor.

10 / Bangor Metro October 2012

6 4: Drew Lyman, Taylor Allen, Bob Johnstone, Susan Howland, Phil Bennett, John K. Hanson, and Jamie Bloomquist pose for a photo at the Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors show in Rockland. 5: Scott Wilkerson and his son Nicholas enjoy the American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront.

Photos: #3 and #9 by Thomas Morelli; #4 by Jeff Scher

7 6: David Alling and Jenness Robbins at the social gathering that followed the annual meeting of the United Mid-Coast Charities. 7: Jan Taft, Mark Miscone, and Marty Marten at the United Mid-Coast Charitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; annual meeting.

6 C:L A:6H: DC AJMJGN

Varney Buick is offering a new lease on luxuryâ&#x20AC;ŚRight now, all Buicks are eligible for a special 24-month lease that includes: s 2 years of scheduled maintenance* s 2 years of Onstar Directions & Connections s 2 years of SiriusXM Satellite Radio

All included in one low payment

8 260 HOGAN ROAD, BANGOR q 1.800.288.3071

*Vehicle Maintenance: Scheduled maintenance included for 24 month or 24,000 miles (whichever comes first.) Experience Buick includes a range of maintenance services that are typical in the first two years. The program includes scheduled oil changes, oil filter changes, tire rotations, and chassis lubrication.

9 8: Brian the human blueberry passes out samples of the blueberry smoothies the United Cerebral Palsy of Maine group was making at the American Folk Festival. 9: George Hale athe the Champion the Cure Challenge in Brewer.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 11

An Evolving

Family Business

The Foster family has been involved in keeping homes in Maine warm for over 50 years. By Naomi Graychase

12 / Bangor Metro October 2012

f you have stopped at Snow’s Corner in Orrington for a sandwich or gassed up at the Mobil station on Broadway in Bangor or on Main Street in Machias—or at any of the 24 Foster’s or On the Run convenience stores in the state of Maine that are operated by R.H. Foster Energy, then you have been a customer of Robert W. Foster—and to Foster, this practically makes you family. “A lot of our customers are our friends and native Mainers and relatives,” Foster says. “We are pretty connected to our customer base. You’d be surprised how many of our customers know us personally.” Foster likes to know his customers— which is both a curse and a blessing at times, according to the CEO. “The price of heating oil is four bucks and, you know, it’s tough,” Foster says. “But it also helps motivate us to find solutions for them.” Best known for its home heating oil delivery service, R.H. Foster Energy began in 1959 as a simple family business founded by Foster’s father, the eponymous Robert H. Foster, who passed away last year. Foster Fuels, as the business was called back then, was operated out of the Fosters’ home and, in the early days, had just one 1500-gallon oil delivery truck. To keep the family afloat, Foster’s father ventured into other businesses, including blueberries. In 1984, the senior Foster founded Maine Wild Blueberries, a blueberry processing plant in Machias. “Growing up, my father was in the heating oil business, and he was in a lot of other unrelated businesses, to just make a living in Washington County,” says Foster, who did the hard work of raking in the blueberry fields as a kid. “I raked blueberries as a young person, but was pretty rapidly recruited to work with the trucks, and managing crews and the blueberry lands.” In 1979, the company became R.H. Foster, Inc., and in 1999, 40 years after it began, the company partnered with Maine Mobil Services to form R.H. Foster Energy, LLC. Over those first few decades, Foster’s father grew the business substantially—eventually selling off Maine Wild Blueberries in 1997—and now, under Foster’s stewardship, the business has continued to expand, both in energy services and in other areas, including convenience stores and food service. A state-wide energy company, it currently employs more than 350 people and serves customers from Caribou to Cape

Elizabeth at its gas stations, convenience stores, and through its home heating oil and wholesale transport delivery service, which supplies dozens of dealers with gasoline, distillate products, and propane. In an era and an industry where businesses must adapt to stay afloat, Foster has risen to the challenge—and enjoyed it. “[The business] has changed significantly since the beginning,” says Foster. “When you add on the compliance and regulation factors in this business, it’s immense. And now, we have a lot more employees in the mix, so it goes from entrepreneurial to a business challenge. The business is constantly evolving. I’m proud of the organization that we’ve built over the years, the team that we have. I’m proud that we’ve been in business for over 50 years and are still actively growing and competing in this world. We have watched a lot of competitors come and go, as they go through the evolution process. I’m proud of the people we have working for us and the job that we do.” Foster, a graduate of Machias High School, left the University of Maine at Orono just three credits shy of graduating with a business management degree. “I never really saw a degree as a requirement, to be perfectly honest with you,” says Foster with a laugh. And, it turns out, he was right. His dream was to work with his father in the heating oil business. “I always kind of knew what I wanted to do as a kid. I wanted to work for my father and work in the oil business and it didn’t really matter if we had one truck or 50.” For his own four children, though, Foster would like there to be options. “I’d like to think that someday this business would be an opportunity for our kids. I’m not sure that it really will. Hopefully, they will take an interest. But I’m pushing them to work somewhere else for a while, so they’ll have options, choices in life. That’s something I didn’t really want—choices— but it probably would’ve been nice to have them,” he says. As he looks to the future, Foster offers this advice to young Mainers who dream of putting their family name on a business of their own: “I’d say you gotta love what you do, because it’s a long life. Sometimes there are ups and downs in owning your own business; it would be tough to get through it, if you didn’t love it.”

Photo: courtesy of R.H. Foster energy

movers & shakers

Lowering Winter’s Carbon Footprint.

Today, we are advancing equipment technology, Maine winters have always had a carbon footprint developing ultra low sulfur fuels, promoting — something we all agree needs to be smaller. Shrinking that footprint is something Maine’s energy domestic, renewable biofuels, and supporting conservation efforts that marketers have been a part Having lowered its own carbon will help us reduce of for years. footprint 40% in 30 years, OilHeat emissions even more In fact, with increased sets its sights on another 30%. with each passing year. efficiency and cleaner fuel A warm home in winter is not an option. But choosing formulas, we’ve already reduced the oil heated home’s carbon footprint 40% over the last 30 years. a heating source that fits your concern for the environment is. That’s the “intelligent warmth” of But we are not stopping there. Oilheat.

www.MaineEnergyMarketers.com

metro health

Christine Kilpeck and Beth Wagstaff

Exercise Blue Hill Memorial Hospital is helping cancer patients exercise their way through their treatment. Not only can it decrease side effects, it also boosts self-esteem. By tom avila

14 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Photos: melanie Brooks

Rehab through

he story of Christine Kilpeck’s breast cancer diagnosis is not the typical story we’ve become accustomed to hearing from countless other afflicted women. “I have an invasive form of breast cancer that is difficult to diagnose at times because it doesn’t form a tumor,” Kilpeck explains. A test taken during an annual physical for a pre-existing condition revealed that her liver enzymes were extremely high. It was this statistic, rather than the discovery of a lump, which alerted her doctor to the fact that something wasn’t right. “The cancer had metastasized into my liver. I actually had a rash, and that was how they realized the origin

of my cancer, which is so important in determining the course of treatment. “My upper body was really most affected from the chemo treatments. My shoulder bones felt like chicken bones,” she says. “I just had no strength. My husband Bob would have me try to lift five pounds and I couldn’t do it.” An active woman in her early 60s, Kilpeck wasn’t content simply to accept the physical limitations her cancer diagnosis was putting on her life. “It was my oncology nurse who told me about Beth’s program,” she says. “I’ve been participating for three weeks now and I’m already finding that the simple exercises she’s given me are making a huge, huge difference.” Beth Wagstaff, an occupational therapist at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, is the founder of the hospital’s new breast cancer rehabilitation program. Kilpeck was, in fact, the program’s first participant. “Traditionally, when a patient has surgery or chemo, it could take upwards of a year before they would enter into an exercise program,” says Wagstaff. “What we’re finding is that not only can we introduce exercise sooner—maybe even during their treatment—it can decrease side effects and allow them to maintain range of motion and activity tolerance. It can make dealing with recovery easier and let them get back to their normal daily activities quicker.” The physical side effects of treatment can change your posture and how you hold your body, particularly after surgery where a patient may lose a breast or muscle and tissue, Wagstaff says. “Treatment changes how you hold yourself and, for women in particular, it can threaten your self-esteem. The rehabilitation therapy gives them back a lot of control over how they present themselves to the public and to their families. It’s about regaining control.” The recovery of that sense of control can play a critical role for patients who are going through treatments that can be as intense mentally as physically. “The exercises are something a patient can gear toward how they’re feeling that day,” Wagstaff says. “They can back off if they need to, or they can really push themselves.” For patients in the rehabilitation program, Wagstaff specifically promotes the Pink Ribbon Program, a Pilates-based exercise regimen that begins with simple breathing techniques and stretches and

Blue Hill Memorial Hospital offers patients an intimate setting for care.

“I’ve been participating for three weeks now and I’m already finding that the simple exercises she’s given me are making a huge, huge difference.” —Christine Kilpeck then progresses to more advanced muscle building with resistive bands. Other techniques she employs include myofascial release, where gentle, sustained pressure is applied to connective tissue restrictions

to eliminate pain and restore motion, and scar massage to break down tough fibers, stimulate growth and increase the pliability of skin following surgery and reconstruction. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 15

Christine and Bob Kilpeck

“You can’t get the kind of attention we can give here just anywhere.” —Amy Houghton

16 / Bangor Metro October 2012

“I often instruct people in exercises for pre-surgery or to augment their current routine to help prepare them for the effects of their specific operation,” Wagstaff says. All of the techniques Wagstaff uses are to decrease pain, numbness, and fatigue, as well as to combat muscle atrophy and improve postural alignment, range of motion, and flexibility. “Breast cancer can affect every aspect of your life,” says Wagstaff. “Someone might come in and say, ‘I don’t care if I can ever walk a mile, but I want to be able

to put my shirt on.’ I want patients to feel that they can get what they need.” Wagstaff is quick to note that other hospitals have employed methods like those being used in the rehab program, introducing exercise and occupational therapy sooner in a patient’s course of treatment. But, it could be that Blue Hill Memorial is offering patients something other facilities might not be able to offer—intimacy. Amy Houghton is Blue Hill’s Manager of Diagnostic Imaging. “I was doing a mammogram today, and I asked the patient if she lived here in Blue Hill. She said, ‘No, I live in Bucksport, but I love coming here as opposed to the bigger hospitals.’” Many hospitals have state-of-theart digital mammogram machines like they do at Blue Hill Memorial, but it’s the simple things that keep patients coming back, Houghton explains. “We schedule each mammogram appointment for 30 minutes, even though the actual procedure doesn’t take that amount of time,” she says. “We made the conscious decision to keep the unrushed feeling for our patients. You can’t get the kind of attention we can give here just anywhere.” “It’s personal,” agrees Sandy Smallidge, nurse manager of Blue Hill’s oncology department. “The patients see the same people all the time so they can create a relationship. They know each other by first name and probably know everybody’s mothers and fathers. We can take the time to be with our patients, and if there are issues that need to be taken care of we can do it in a timely way. If they need other services that we can’t provide, we’ll find a way to get them. And we have many things to offer that they might not know we have, like the new rehab program.” Blue Hill Memorial’s approach has certainly made an impression on Kilpeck, whose excitement is notable when she talks about her own experience. “From the cleaning people to food services to the nurses, doctors, therapists, the people in x-ray, Beth, the people in reception—I don’t want to leave anyone out,” Kilpeck says. “I feel safe there. I feel like my questions are answered and I’m treated like a human being. My husband feels the same way. We’ve had to go through a lot—dealing with the diagnosis, dealing with all that goes along with it. The people at Blue Hill managed to turn a very bad situation into a positive experience.”

Photo: melanie brooks

metro health

Add contacts. Real contacts, that is. Email, texts and tweets are great, but thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no better way to solidify a business relationship than face-to-face. So pick up that smart phone and do a smart thing: go to FlyBangor.com, book online, and this time - send yourself. Scan for BGR Online Booking

Nonstops, connecting flights, competitive fares and friendly customer service.

Bgr_Metro_SendYourself.indd 1

)DEAL ,OCATION ,UXURIOUS 'UEST 2OOMS /NSITE 2ESTAURANT %LEGANT 'RAND "ALLROOM $ELICIOUS #ATERING 3ERVICES AND -ORE

8/9/11 10:54 AM

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything, right where you need it.â&#x20AC;?

(ASKELL 2OAD s "ANGOR -% s s WWW BANGOR HGI COM

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 17

metro fitness

Working on

ant to get a reaction from the people around you? Start talking about food, nutrition, or diet, and watch what happens. Many people are ardent proponents of whatever way of eating or cooking they happen to follow—and have formed their own opinions. We watch TV shows about food, especially competitive cooking, even as we prepare and eat fewer and fewer meals at home. We buy magazines filled with recipes that we rarely cook. Popular online sites teem with pictures of decadent treats, sandwiched between motivational pictures of fit-looking people. We are surrounded by food and, also, mixed messages. It makes sense that eating-related topics grab our attention because food is one of our basic requirements for life. Without it, we’re pretty much out of luck. But over time, our society’s relationship with food has changed. The reality is that many of us are eating too much of it, or we might not be eating the right foods for our bodies. Over 60% of Mainers are overweight or obese. Living life on the heavy side has become “normal.” So eating like a “normal” person can net you an overweight body. Many of my personal training clients initially start training with me to lose weight, which can be an incredibly rewarding part of my job. Being able to help people transform their bodies and their confidence levels is pretty amazing business. But what’s frustrating is trying to help them understand what they have to do to make that weight loss happen. It’s awesome when people join gyms to make their bodies stronger and fitter 18 / Bangor Metro October 2012

with a solid workout plan. However, another reality is the fact it doesn’t matter if you spend two hours a day in the gym. To lose weight, you also have to change your diet (in a nutshell, eat fewer calories than you burn). Even as much as I personally work out, I have to watch my food intake or I gain weight, or fail to lose any pounds I might want to trim. Is it fair? No. Is it fun? Not always, but it’s really not that bad. And it’s reality, and it’s also normal. It’s challenging to put both pieces of the weight-loss puzzle together—it requires getting out of one’s comfort zone. The physical challenge is obvious—with the workouts and with the changes that come when you change your diet. As you lose weight, your body obviously changes size, but you also have to get used to new tastes and new eating patterns, which can take physical and biological adjustment. The emotional comfort zone, for many of us, can be the most challenging area to blast through. And that’s where the food thing comes in. Many of us use foods to help soothe us when we’ve had a bad day, or congratulate ourselves for an accomplishment. Or we eat because we’re bored, or it’s just what we do when we wind down at night in front of the TV or with a good book. We’re heading into the season when many of us seek comfort—calorie-laden comfort foods and bulky sweaters that can hide the results of any extra food indulgences we might be enjoying. Don’t let those bulky clothes become an excuse for creating a bulky body this winter. There is no magic food or diet to help you lose weight. There obviously are things that you can do to make the dieting easier

and more productive, but we all have different experiences. What worked for your neighbor or coworker might not work for you (and remember that, when they start telling you how your diet is “wrong” and how you have to do what they did). What works for you is what works for you. Some no-nonsense tips for losing weight: • Keep a food journal and track your calories (this is the only real way to guarantee you’ll lose weight). There are lots of great free sites and apps to help you with this (I like www.my fitnesspal.com a lot). • Eat food with as few ingredients as possible, and you should be able to pronounce and identify all the ingredients—in other words, limit processed foods. • Cut back on sugar to cut cravings and improve health. • Drink plenty of water—nothing kicks off cravings worse than being dehydrated. • Work out to beat stress, maintain and build muscle, and burn off those calories and fat. • If you get hungry, start a new project that keeps your hands and mind busy. If all else fails, to go to bed early. • And maybe most important of all, avoid the big food debates about what you should or shouldn’t be eating, and stay off those websites with the pictures of decadent treats. Wendy Watkins is a personal trainer and lifestyle coach at Bangor-Brewer Athletic Club in Brewer.

Photo: photodisc/thinkstock.com

Weight Loss

YOUR WINDOW OF OPP ORTUNITY ....to see what a difference new Marvin windows will make in your home. Hammond Lumber Company offers quality, such as the French Casement window from Marvin. Available in crank or push out operation and designed with no center post, Marvin French Casement windows provide you with wide open views of the outdoors.

Transform your home with Marvin Windows and Doors from Hammond Lumber Company.

TOLL FREE

1.866.HAMMOND

www.hammondlumber.com Auburn • Bangor • Belgrade • Boothbay Harbor • Brunswick • Damariscotta Fairfield • Farmington • Greenville • Pemaquid • Portland • Skowhegan

Marvin Windows and Doors are built in America, and are only available from independent, local retailers.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 19 EntrepreneurAwardsAd1210.indd 1

9/6/12 1:02:37 PM

feature story

Conquering Cancer

One Step at a Faced with a grim diagnosis, Mainers are stepping up to the challenge of beating cancer and paying it forward at the same time. By Joy Hollowell

20 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Photo: scott wardwell

Time T

here is no cure. The words sounded strange in Kim White’s head. Still groggy from surgery, the Carmel woman wondered if her doctor was talking to another patient. We can make you comfortable. They must have mixed up my chart with someone else, White thought to herself. She’d felt a lump in her breast, but a mam-

mogram just a month earlier had come back negative. Still uneasy about the lump, the 44-year-old mother of five had traveled to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for a second opinion. Now, a doctor was about to deliver the results of her biopsy, a moment that will forever be frozen in time. You have Stage 4 cancer. “I was devastated,” White says, shaking her head at the memory. “I mean, Oh my God, how do you deal with something like that?” Doctors told White the tumor in her breast was small, less than an inch, and

it was in her milk ducts so a mammogram might not show it. To make matters worse, White learned her cancer had already spread to five lymph nodes as well as her liver, spine, and pelvic area. “I think I cried the whole way home from Boston to Maine,” admits White. For the next nine months, cancer took center court in White’s life. She underwent a lumpectomy, as well as heavy doses of chemotherapy. “Six weeks on, two weeks off,” explains White. The treatment took its toll on her, both physically and mentally. “It was rough,” she says. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 21

feature story

The “Queen of Kapow”, Stacey Palmer of Rockland, wears the names of her loved ones affected by cancer in the 2012 Champion the Cure Challenge. 22 / Bangor Metro October 2012

“Cancer is hundreds of different diseases, really. What all of these diseases seem to have in common is unchecked growth of cells.” —Dr. William Castrucci

Photos: (Opposite) Thomas Morelli; (Right) © Duncan Smith/Thinkstock.com

White’s story isn’t all that unusual. The incidence of cancer in Maine is among the highest in the country. Our older population and high obesity rates are the major factors. “The biggest contributor, however, is tobacco use,” says Dr. Molly Schwenn, director of the Maine Cancer Registry, adding it can be linked with at least 10 cancers: lung, bladder, mouth/throat, laryngeal (larynx), esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, kidney, and cervical cancers, as well as one type of leukemia (acute myeloid leukemia). “Cancer is hundreds of different diseases, really,” says Dr. William Castrucci, an oncologist at the Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Brewer. “What all of these diseases seem to have in common is unchecked growth of cells. They just keep growing, and eventually [these cells] start crowding out all the normal cells.” Castrucci says something inside our

body triggers the cells to go into overdrive. In some cases, such as cervical cancer, that trigger is a virus. In other cases, it can be nicotine, the sun, chemicals like asbestos, or even a mutated gene. “It’s basically something getting into the cell, flipping a molecular switch, and altering something in the DNA,” says Castrucci. “All it takes is one cell. And that cell grows into two, then into four, then into eight, and we’re off to the races.”

Fighting Back It was an unassuming mole—a small spot on his chest—that had Mike Trafton worried. Concerned it could be cancer, the Corinth man had kept a careful watch on the area. “And one day, it changed on me,” he said. Trafton, a social studies teacher at Central Middle School, found out it was melanoma.

Just three months earlier, Trafton had signed up for the Penobscot Relay for Life in honor of one of his students. She’d just been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. “I was already in the process of putting a team together for her when it hit me too,” Trafton says. “I mean, it really did become personal at that point.” Relay for Life is a national program that benefits the American Cancer Society. There are 23 Relays that take place in Maine, and team members fund-raise throughout the year. The weekend of the event, they agree to walk around a track for 18 to 24 hours straight—rain or shine. “Each team is supposed to have someone on the track at all times,” says Carol Beagan, registration chair for Penobscot Relay for Life, which takes place in May. Teams camp out inside the fieldhouse at the University of Maine, and awards are handed out for the best-decorated campsites. Live music, food, and “theme laps” help pass the time. “This year our theme was Hollywood because Hollywood Slots was so helpful to us,” says Beagan. “We had team members dressing up as movie stars, Disney characters, anything that had to do with Hollywood.” Beagan has been with Penobscot Relay for Life since its inception 19 years

Microscopic image of kidney carcinoma

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 23

Top: Hundreds of walkers make their way through the gate at Bangor’s Champion the Cure Challenge. Middle: A view of Old Town’s Relay for Life at the University of Maine. Bottom: Deb Neuman, Lily Fryer and Jenifer Lloyd at the 2012 Champion the Cure Challenge.

24 / Bangor Metro October 2012

ago. “I had breast cancer in 1987,” she says. “Back then, there wasn’t much fund-raising going on [for cancer research].” The first year Beagan got involved, there were 11 teams. This past relay boasted 86. “A lot of our money stays in the state,” Beagan says. “The Jackson Lab [in Bar Harbor] has two or three large projects that we’re funding.” Money from this fund-raiser is also deposited into the Road to Recovery program, which provides free rides for cancer patients to and from treatment. “The premise of Relay for Life is that cancer never sleeps, so one night a year, neither do we,” says Melissa Cushman, community executive for development at the American Cancer Society and an organizer of this year’s Relay for Life of Midcoast Maine. Now in its tenth year, the event takes place at Camden Hills Regional High School. Two hundred fifty people walked the track this past June, raising at least $41,500. “The energy at Relay is hard to describe. It’s electric and contagious and vibrant,” Cushman says. “Some of the best conversations happen in the wee hours of the morning, when you meet someone

walking the late shift and start to talk.” This is Trafton’s 12th year participating in the Penobscot Relay for Life. “Probably three years ago was our best year,” he says. “That was the year my father died from liver cancer. I had two teams, about 25 people on each of them. We raised close to $10,000.” As for his own health, Trafton underwent several surgeries to remove all of the melanoma on his chest. “Everything came back clean by January of 2001, knock on wood, and I’ve had good doctor’s visits every since,” he says.

Staying Local “Every [cancer] patient should be able to stay home when they receive treatment,” says Jenifer Lloyd, philanthropy project manager at Eastern Maine Healthcare Charities. “They should not have to be told, ‘Well, it’s out there, just get in your car and head south for four hours.’” Lloyd lives by that mantra, literally. Seven years ago, the Bangor woman was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer, an extremely aggressive form of the disease.

Photos: (top and bottom) by Thomas Morelli; (middle) Dan cashman

feature story

Lloyd had a lumpectomy along with eight rounds of chemotherapy and 35 days of radiation. “I am very candid and honest when I share my story,” Lloyd says. “For the first several months of my treatment, I was not ready to do battle with cancer. I was desperately afraid.” But over time, Lloyd says, that fear turned into fuel. “I have a passion to be part of a movement for change, to do what I can to help people that are going through this journey,” she says. That’s why Lloyd signed on to help run the Champion the Cure Challenge. Now in its third year, the event has raised more than $600,000 for Eastern Maine Medical Center’s CancerCare of Maine. “It’s not specific to one type of cancer,” explains Lloyd. “It’s for all ages, and the money stays here. When people start to learn about Eastern Maine Medical Center’s CancerCare of Maine and really what is going on there, I think it’s very easy for them to want to be a part of it.” There is a 1K run/walk for kids, as well as a 5K walk and run for all ages. Folks can also sign up for 25-, 50-, and 100-mile bike rides and a 50-mile motorcycle ride to Bar Harbor and back. “There are smiles all over the place,” says Gwen Cushing, a volunteer for Champion the Cure and a two-year breast cancer survivor. “We’re not talking about our disease that day. We’re talking about, ‘Wow, look at all the people that have come out to give back to their community.’” The event takes place in August, right at CancerCare’s home—the Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Brewer. “By allowing folks to come there for something that’s celebratory, I think it’s profoundly healing and it allows them to now identify with that safe place in a positive way,” says Lloyd, whose own cancer is now non-detectable. It seems that no matter which way you turn, there is someone you know who has had cancer touch their lives in some way. Denise Hodsdon of Brewer discovered her breast cancer during a routine mammogram. “It wasn’t anything that anyone could feel,” she says. Hodsdon underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction in August of 2008. That was also the year she decided to return to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to help with their annual fund-raising walk. “My sister and I were the registration

Mini Split Systems

s fall approaches, it’s time to once again to revisit those home improvement and energy efficiency projects that the shining sun of summer may have postponed. One of the areas we’ve been talking a lot about in recent months with customers has been the cost savings and efficiency advantages of utilizing space heating options in the home. Whether you are trying to heat a cold area of your home or to save overall energy, there are several reasons you might choose to use a space heater. If you turn your central heating system down a few degrees and supplement with a space heater, you will use less fuel and may save money. Recently we’ve seen a tremendous amount of interest and activity surrounding Mini Splits. These ductless units comprised of an outdoor condenser and an indoor air handler. The air handler feeds the new air into a room while exchanging it with existing air. Because of the condensing nature by which the heat and cooling is created, the unit only uses energy to exchange the air through the home, resulting in conserved energy. Some of the advantages of ductless Mini Split systems are they are small in size and flexible for zoning, heating, and cooling individual rooms. A Mini Split may be a good choice when extending or installing ductwork may not be feasible or desirable. They come in various sizes, which will be determined by how much heating or cooling is required for the area. Since each Mini Split has its own thermostat,

you only need to heat or cool that area when someone is there, saving energy and money! Ductless Mini Split systems are often easier to install than other types of space heating systems. For example, the hook-up between the outdoor and indoor units generally requires only a small hole through a wall. Since Mini Splits have no ducts, they avoid the energy losses associated with the ductwork of central forced air systems. Duct losses can account for more than 30% of energy consumption for space heating or cooling, especially if the ducts are in an unconditioned space such as an attic. In comparison to other add-on systems, Mini Splits offer more flexibility in interior design options such as wall mounting. Some models also offer a remote control to make it easier to turn the system on and off. Mini Split systems can also help to keep your home safer since there is only a small hole in the wall. Through the wall and window mounted room air conditioners can provide an easy entrance for intruders. Regardless of the size of the area you’re looking to serve with a space heater, there is a growing market of options to serve your needs. It’s best to consult with an energy expert to see what may work best for your home and your budget. The proper mix of efficiency options can lead to significant savings when it comes to heating your home once winter is finally here. Bob Foster is President of R. H. Foster Energy www.RHFoster.com

More than you’d expect from your energy company. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 25

co-chairs from 2003 to 2007, but then we resigned to pursue other interests,” says Hodsdon. The day of her second diagnostic mammogram, Hodsdon went to see her sister. “We both cried, embraced, and then she picked up the phone and called our executive director to tell her we were coming back.” The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure occurs in Portland and Bangor each September. In Bangor, the certified 5K starts along the waterfront and loops through downtown as well as area neighborhoods. “Since we began in 1997, the Maine affiliate has invested more than $2.6 million dollars in our state for education, screening, and treatment programs, as well as more than $650,000 for research,” says Hodsdon, co-chair of the Bangor Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. At last report, nearly $500,000 has come back to Maine in the form of re26 / Bangor Metro October 2012

search grants from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Grants Program. For Hodsdon, the experiences and support she’s gained from the event have been priceless. “I always knew how special the race was as a registration co-chair, but coming back as a survivor, standing up there on that stage and seeing more than 5,000 faces out there, some crying, some laughing....” Hodsdon pauses to gain her composure. “As a volunteer, it does your heart good to know that you’re helping others. As a survivor and a volunteer, you look at it as, these people are here helping us.” Kim White knew she needed help after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. “I think I cried every day, those first few months,” she said. “I just couldn’t stop crying.” But then she decided to make a choice. Rather than let the disease control her,

she was going to take charge. “I finally just looked in the mirror one day and said, ‘You have got to stop this, you have too much to live for.’” Soon afterwards, she contacted the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. “I wanted to share my story, get it out there, and give back.” Next year, White, will co-chair the Bangor race. “I always feared that word,” says White. “The C word.” But now, that fear has turned to a new word, and it’s prominently displayed on her Maine Breast Cancer Awareness plate. FIGHT. “I just take things day by day,” White says, who has been told she has no active cancer at this point. “There’s always a cloud over your head, by all means, when you’re diagnosed with cancer. It’s always there. But you can’t let it take over, you’ve got to fight it.”

Photo: scott wardwell

People of all ages walk to raise money for cancer research.

Brewer â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re anything but business as usual Â²'SPN B CBTJD DVU UP NJDSPEFSNBCSBTJPO 0QUJPOT 4BMPO BOE %BZ 4QB PGGFST CPUI BO BMMVSJOH BUNPTQIFSF BOE B MFWFM PG DVTUPNFS TFSWJDF UIBUXJMM FYDFFE ZPVS FYQFDUBUJPOT NVDI MJLF UIF $JUZ PG #SFXFS +VTU BT #SFXFS JT B DJUZ UIBU JOWFTUT JO JUT DPNNVOJUZ BOE JOGSBTUSVDUVSF XF JOWFTU JO PVS DMJFOUT XJUI XBSN IPTQJUBMJUZ BUUFOUJPO UP EFUBJM BOE B VOJRVF QFSTPOBCMF TFUUJOH Â²"T B MPOH UJNF MPDBM CVTJOFTT PXOFS JO #SFXFS * DBO TBZ XJUI DPOÂ¾EFODF UIBU CSJOHJOH ZPVS CVTJOFTT UP #SFXFS XJMM USVMZ HJWF ZPVS CVTJOFTT HSFBU Â²0QUJPOT Â³ Â².CWTKG #PFTGYU 1YPGT

Laurie Andrews, Owner

Contact Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;arcy Main-Boyington, Supplied Original Economic Development Director 989-7500 dmain-boyington@brewermaine.gov www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 27

feature story

Power from the

Sea

Thanks to the unique geographic landscape of Cobscook Bay, Maine is leading the nation in harnessing the power of the tides. By Henry Garfield

28 / Bangor Metro October 2012

hat if the moon didn’t exist? According to Author John Gribben, we should thank our lucky stars that it’s there. His 2011 book Alone in the Universe: Why Our Planet is Unique posits that our technological civilization, let alone intelligent life on Earth, would not have arisen without the presence of the moon, which was likely created by an improbable cosmic collision during the formation of the solar system. The people at Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) certainly appreciate it. Without the moon, there would be no tides pouring in and out of Cobscook Bay between Eastport and Lubec twice a day. The region’s unique geography, combined with the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, creates some of the world’s most powerful tides. This past summer, after years of study and testing, ORPC lowered Maine’s

Photo: Jeffrey Hains

first commercial, grid-connected electricity-generating tidal power device into the sea. Called a “turbine generator unit” or TGU, the ORPC TidGen™ device is comprised of four turbines and a generator (two turbines mounted on either side of a generator), which are mounted on a chassis and secured to the sea floor by a bottom support frame. According to Susy Kist, ORPC’s manager of marketing and communications, it’s the largest ocean energy device deployed in the United States to date and the first project of its type in all of the Americas. Local residents appreciate it, too. ORPC president and chief executive officer Chris Sauer estimates the project has so far pumped $18 million into the state economy and created the equivalent of 100 jobs. More that $5 million has been invested directly into Washington County, where ORPC employs about 40 contractors and maintains an office with

five locally-hired full-time staff. Average tidal fluctuation around the world is about three feet. Tides in easternmost Washington County can be more than seven times that. The large tides are one of the area’s great natural resources. Several million tons of water flow in and out of the narrow entrance to Cobscook Bay every tidal cycle, and the dream of tapping into the kinetic energy of all that moving water to generate electricity dates back centuries. Tide mills, which use the force of the tides to power machinery, were used in Europe during the Middle Ages and proliferated in eastern Maine from colonial times through the 19th century. The area’s high tides are due to a combination of fortuitous factors. Cobscook Bay sits near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, a long, funnel-shaped body of water that is also quite deep. Together with the Gulf of Maine, bounded on the south by Cape Cod, the geography of the

bay causes the water to oscillate, like water sloshing back and forth in a bathtub. The size of the tub determines the period of oscillation. In the case of the Gulf of Maine, this period is about 12 and a half hours. Because the moon moves part way around the earth each day, this is also the period between high tides. Thus the period of oscillation in the gulf is in perfect resonance with the tides flooding in from the Atlantic Ocean, and the two forces amplify each other. While the southern end of the gulf is rounded and open, the Bay of Fundy is funnel-shaped and closed, forcing the surge of water into a smaller and smaller area. The tidal range at the head of the bay, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, can be more than 40 feet—the highest tides in the world. But what drives a tidal turbine generator unit and creates electricity is not the range of the tide but the velocity of the current. That’s why a narrow entrance to a large body of water, coupled with www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 29

substantial tides, which force the water through the opening, is ideal. Cobscook Bay fits the bill. The technology for turning tidal current into electrical current is far from simple. In the early 20th century, an engineer named Dexter P. Cooper proposed building dams at the entrances of Cobscook and Passamaquoddy Bays to generate electricity. He had a powerful political supporter in Franklin D. Roosevelt, who owned a home on nearby Campobello Island in Canada. Roosevelt championed the cause of Downeast tidal power before and during his presidency. In 1935, with the help of $7 million in federal funds, work was begun on two dams across Cobscook Bay, but the project was abandoned in the face of political opposition. 30 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Fast-forward three-quarters of a century, to the search for clean and sustainable sources of energy and the proliferation of wind turbines in Maine and elsewhere. Unlike wind, the tides are regular and predictable. Also unlike wind, the turbines themselves are invisible, unless you’re 50 feet below the surface of the sea. Founded in 2004 and based in Portland, ORPC is a privately-held, international industry leader in the development of tidal, river, and deep-water ocean current power generation technology. Its Cobscook Bay project is the first gridconnected tidal energy system in the United States to be built under a Federal Regulatory Commission license, and the largest ocean energy device ever to be de-

ployed in the country. Actual installation of ORPC’s TidGen™ turbine generator unit began in March of this year, when the base was lowered into approximately 80 feet of water (at low tide) between Goose Island and Seward Neck in Lubec. But years of work went into locating the site and securing the necessary permits. “Site assessment is an incredibly complex undertaking,” ORPC’s Chris Sauer says. “You can’t just go out and look at a site and tell whether or not it’s going to be good. You need a flat bottom, at a depth of plus or minus a hundred feet—60 feet is the absolute minimum—and you need a tidal cycle where the incoming and outgoing flow is more or less equal. You also want proximity to the grid and a community that’s receptive.”

Photo: ©Tim Flewelling/Fine Line Graphics

feature story

how it works

The turbine generator units (TGUs) work on the same principle as a wind turbine, with rotating foils naturally pushed at slow speeds by the tidal currents that power a central permanent magnet generator. But because it is installed underwater, and water is more than 800 times denser than air, these TGUs provide significantly more power than wind turbines at relatively low water-current speeds. A buried cable runs from the turbine to shore, where there is a small control and monitoring station.

illustration: Courtesy of ORPC

Cobscook Bay

The project is the result of years of research and development, including test runs of two prototype units between 2007 and 2011, which showed that the generation of electricity from Cobscook Bay’s tidal currents was both feasible and practical. To get an accurate picture of the current at a selected study site, ORPC uses a device called an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), a sonar-like tool that creates an ongoing record of the current at a range of depths. “It sits on the bottom and sends a ping up, and the ping comes back,” Sauer says. “It measures speed and direction at one-meter intervals, and generates a 3-D computer model.” The ADCP is deployed on the bottom for 29 days, or the duration of a full moon cycle.

More than a dozen 29-day tests were conducted at various locations to determine the best spot for the TidGen™ device. The base and chassis of ORPC’s TidGen™ device are made of steel, coated for protection against the corrosive saltwater environment. The entire device, including the turbine generator unit, is 98 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 15 feet high, and weighs 46.5 tons. It is held in place by ten pilings driven 50 to 80 feet into the ocean floor to the bedrock beneath. Deploying it in the right spot was a mission nearly as exacting as the recent landing of the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars. “We put the bottom support frame literally within inches of where we wanted it,” Sauer says. The currents that ultimately will drive the TGU and supply the energy also complicated the installation. All the work must be done at low slack water, a period of about 40 minutes, which occurs twice a day and not always in daylight. Gerald Morrison, owner of Morrison Manufacturing and a lifelong resident of the area, oversaw the driving of the pilings. The son of a fisherman, Morrison grew up in Perry and has

piloted oil tankers and built fish weirs. His company, which specializes in marine fabrication, has merged with CPM Constructors of Freeport to form Perry Marine & Construction, of which Morrison is vice president. The new company has worked closely with ORPC to assemble and install the components of the project, and has purchased property in Eastport with deep-water access, which now serves as a base of operations for storage, assembly and construction. “It’s a similar process to driving weir stakes, only these go much deeper,” Morrison says. “There are ten collars on the base support frame. We drive the pilings through the collars and then cut them off with an underwater torch.” He says it took his crews about 15 tides, working during slack-water times only, to complete the installation. The turbines for the TidGen™ unit itself are made of composite materials and fabricated in Rhode Island. New York Times reporter Jess Bidgood described it as “an eggbeater lying on its side.” It’s a fanciful, if not entirely accurate, analogy. Sauer says the physics involved are simiwww.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 31

Top: Former Governor John Baldacci, ORPC President and CEO Christopher Sauer, and Former Governor Angus King at a ceremony to acknowledge the first grid-connected, commercialscale tidal turbine in the US. Middle: ORPC’s TidGen™ turbine generator unit (TGU) being readied and deployed at the company’s permitted site in Cobscook Bay, Maine in August of 2012. Bottom: ORPC’s general contractor, Perry Marine & Construction, and ORPC team members pose for photo following successful deployment.

32 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Photos: (top) Jeffrey Hains; (Bottom three) courtesy of ORPC

feature story

lar to what gives an airplane wing its lift. This design was developed by ORPC, in partnership with scientists and engineers working for the U.S. Navy. “There’s only one moving part,” Sauer says. He notes that other tidal turbine designs that more closely resemble underwater windmills proved inadequate in tests to withstand the stresses of Cob-

Wall Mounted

Savings

“We’ve never had a fish impact or any issues with marine mammals.” —Christopher Sauer scook Bay’s tidal currents. “The biggest cause of failure in wind turbines is the gearbox, and our system has no gearbox,” he says. All lubrication is provided by water; there is “no possibility of emissions of any kind.” The turning of the turbines drives an 8.5-ton underwater sealed magnetic generator, which is connected to an onshore power station by three underwater cables—one for power and two for electronic data. One data cable transmits information on the system’s performance; the other transmits environmental monitoring data. The total cable length is 4,150 feet from the TidGen™ device to an onshore station 400 feet from the mean high-tide line. Laying of the cable was completed in July. Fully installed, the base, chassis, and TGU rise 30 feet off the ocean floor, leaving more than 50 feet of clearance at low tide. The area is marked by a series of buoys, so that draggers can easily avoid it, though Sauer said the site is rarely used for any sort of fishing activity. Interference with marine life seems to be minimal as well. Small fish can go right through the turbine, which turns at 3035 rotations per minute, and larger fish, sensing the disturbance in the regular current, simply avoid it. “We’ve never had a fish impact or any issues with marine mammals,” Sauer says. Though tidal currents are predictable, they aren’t steady. The strongest flow occurs at mid-tide, and peaks at 5.8 knots,

Now offering energy efficient Fujitsu mini-split heating and cooling systems. Keeping your family warm and comfortable while saving you up to 50% on your annual energy costs.

Call your local R.H. Foster Energy office today to see which model is right for you!

HAMPDEN ENERGY OFFICE

ELLSWORTH ENERGY OFFICE

81 Mecaw Road | 1-800-443-3835

372 High Street | 1-866-599-3835

MACHIAS ENERGY OFFICE 32 Old County Road | 1-800-696-6008

ith Talk W n O s U

www.RHFoster.com www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 33

S E N I O R H E A LT H FA I R October 25 r 9am-2pm

4QFDUBDVMBS &WFOUT $FOUFS r 0O TJUF QBSLJOH POMZ 4QFDJBM &WFOUT .FEJDBSF QBSU % FOSPMMNFOU 'BMMT 3JTL "TTFTTNFOUT 1FOPCTDPU $PVOUZ 5SJBE %SVH %SPQ 0Ä&#x17D; and much more! For more information, contact: &BTUFSO "SFB "HFODZ PO "HJOH &TTFY 4USFFU r #BOHPS r XXX &""" PSH

David and Julie Barker, Innkeepers 21 Schoppee Dairy Road, Machias 255-4648 Â¤ schoppeefarm.com

34 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week 111 Main Street, Machias 255-8423 Â¤ helensrestaurantmachias.com

or just under six miles per hour. At this speed, the TidGenâ&#x201E;˘ device generates approximately 180 kilowatts, or enough electricity to power 25 homes for a year. The stronger the current, the more effective the device becomes, thanks to the laws of hydrodynamics: stress, or resistance, increases with the square of the speed of the current, but the energy in the water increases with the cube of the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speed. Thus, a small increase in the current translates into a large increase in the output of electricity, with a comparatively smaller increase in stress. The TidGenâ&#x201E;˘ device will begin feeding power to the grid this fall. The next step in the process will be the installation of two additional devices to create a 3-unit array capable of producing three times the power, in the fall of 2013. Ultimate plans call for generating up to five megawatts of power, enough to supply electricity to 1,200 to 1,500 homes and businesses. Sauer hopes that this project will demonstrate the viability of generating electricity from water currents without the use of dams, which disrupt the environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re developing expertise and capabilities that are exportable,â&#x20AC;? he says. ORPC has formed a strategic partnership with Fundy Tidal, Inc., a Canadian power company, to develop a similar project in Nova Scotia near Digby Gut, on the other side of the Bay of Fundy. The company has a larger project under development in Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cook Inlet, which is similarly blessed with large tides. In addition to the TidGenâ&#x201E;˘ technology, ORPC has designed powergeneration units for rivers (RivGenâ&#x201E;˘) and deep ocean currents (OCGenâ&#x201E;˘). The company is active in Florida, exploring the huge potential of power generation in the Gulf Stream, 15 miles off Fort Lauderdale. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our technology is absolutely suitable,â&#x20AC;? Sauer says. In Maine, the project has already paid handsome dividends. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a shot in the arm for my company,â&#x20AC;? Morrison says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a lot of work for harbor pilots and for divers in and around Eastport and Lubec. Everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benefittingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the motel keepers, store owners, everyone. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all waiting to see how this first one turns out, but so far, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been great. Everything has come together in a positive way.â&#x20AC;?

7th Annual Foliage, Food & Wine Festival

Blue Hill Peninsula & Deer Isle Thursday, Oct. 4th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sunday, Oct. 14th, 2012 For 12 days the Blue Hill Peninsula is celebrating its 7th Annual Foliage Food & Wine Festival. Individual events, offered by our business community, will be held throughout the Peninsula and on Deer Isle. For more information, visit www.bluehillpeninsula.org or www.deerisle.com ue h Bl

Hill

Your place on the Island for raingear, hats, totes, gifts and clothing for all ages.

5 py 2 p a H

Compass Point offers a fine selection of listings, from modest building lots to spectacular oceanfront estates. We service all the villages and towns on the Blue Hill Peninsula, the Greater Hancock County area, outlying islands, and points Downeast. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re buying or selling, just give one of our professional brokers a call. 5BE (PPEBMF t +BNJF .BD/BJS t "OO .D(SBX t 4BOEJF 4JMWFS 4V[BOOF %FDSPX t -PSSBJOF %VĂľZ t $PSJOOF 3JDDJBSEJ

75 Main Street, Blue Hill t 207-374-5300 t

N AN

S ER

FAX 207-374-8836

0QFO EBJMZ +VOFo0DUPCFS t BNo QN .BJO 4U t 4UPOJOHUPO t XXX JTMBOEBQQSPBDIFT DPN

t www.compasspointrealestate.com

BURNT COVE MARKET -Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2021;Â&#x2021;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2C6;nÂŁ

2 1972-201ng

Host of the 7th Annual Foliage Food & Wine Festivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Taste of the Peninsulaâ&#x20AC;?

Celebrati 40 Years

The New Galley

iiĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x192;Â?iĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x17D;{nÂ&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;Â&#x2122;nn

Saturday, October 6th ~ Mums, asters, & spring-flowering bulbs ~ ~ Fall annuals, perennials, trees & shrubs ~ ~ Baked goods & local organic produce ~ ~ Quality pet food & supplies ~ ~ Unique gift items ~ Landscape services ~

Vern Seile & Sandra Seile, Proprietors

-Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2021;Â&#x2021;xxĂ&#x2021;Ă¤

MAINESCAPE

GardenCenter

Open 7 days a week ~ Family owned since 1977 4PVUI 4USFFU #MVF )JMM t www.mainescape.com

-Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2021;Â&#x2021;xÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x2021;

WWW.BURNTCOVE.COM

a piece of maine: bar harbor

The Crown Jewel of

Mount Desert Island

he sun is still well below the horizon when the bus pulls into the park-and-ride lot at the intersection of Odlin Road and Interstate 395 in Bangor, though only Jupiter and Venus and a few of the brighter stars remain visible in the brightening sky. About a dozen people emerge from their cars and board the bus; the driver seems to recognize them all. They are regulars,

36 / Bangor Metro October 2012

after all, headed to work at the Jackson Lab in Bar Harbor. But this is not a private bus—it’s run by Downeast Transportation, a publicly-funded entity, and it’s open to the public, at a cost of just $6 for a round trip between Bangor and Bar Harbor. It’s the best public transportation deal in Maine, one that nobody seems to know about. You have to get up awfully early to catch it—the bus leaves the Odlin Road lot

Photo: istockphoto/thinkstock.com

The state slogan, “Maine, the Way Life Should Be,” could very well have been written about Bar Harbor. For generations, visitors from away have travelled to this little harbor town to relax and rejuvenate. Its proximity to Acadia National Park doesn’t hurt, either. By Henry Garfield

at 5:15 a.m. every weekday, year-round. It arrives at the Village Green in Bar Harbor at 6:40. The tourist shops won’t open for hours, but it’s a good time of day to get breakfast at one of the two restaurants that cater to locals and to converse with some of the people who keep the engine of this famous resort town running. Though the popular image of Bar Harbor is a tourist mecca full of crowds and traffic, it should come as no surprise that the town has embraced public transportation. Despite the glitz and kitsch, Bar Harbor may be one of Maine’s most environmentally-conscious communities.

Photos: courtesy of Richard R. Shaw

History Long before the Bar Harbor area had tourists, it had summer residents. For thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Wabanaki people migrated seasonally from their inland homes to hunt and fish along Mount Desert Island’s shores. The first documented European visit was by the Portuguese sailor Estevan Gomez, in the service of Spain, who charted the area in 1525. According to famed historian Samuel Eliot Morison, a summer resident of Mount Desert, the island first appeared on a European map in 1529. A copy of this map was likely in the hands of Frenchman Samuel de Champlain, the explorer most closely associated with the island, when he coasted Maine in 1604. Arriving from the east, Champlain, according to Morison, spotted smoke from an encampment at Otter Creek, steered for it, and ran his ship aground on a ledge off Otter Cliffs, which today is marked by a bell buoy. He repaired his vessel, noted in his log that the island was “cleft into seven or eight mountains, all in a line.” He named it “l’Isle des Montsdéserts,” or “island of bare mountains.” The first French missionaries followed barely a decade later, and for the ensuing century and a half the area was contested between the French and the British. Though the Brits prevailed, the French left their names on many Bar Harbor landmarks, most notably the Sieur de Monts Spring, named after the French nobleman who was appointed governor of New France and was Champlain’s patron. Not until the end of the French and Indian Wars in the 1760s was the island securely under British control, and at the end of the American Revolution it, along

Top: Bar Harbor was dotted with a few hotels, houses and churches, as shown in this 1880 picture. In the background are the Porcupine Islands in Frenchman Bay. Middle: The winding 3.5-mile Cadillac Mountain Road is paved today, but little else has changed since this souvenir view was taken around 1940. Bottom: A crowd of local people and summer visitors enjoys a Bar Harbor concert by the Bangor and Chandler's community bands in the summer of 1910. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 37

a piece of maine: bar harbor

At its peak in 1885, Bar Harbor’s summer Indian village at the foot of Holland Avenue was home to some 250 Wabanaki.

38 / Bangor Metro October 2012

with the rest of Maine, joined the new nation as part of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The island remained mostly rural and agrarian until the 1840s, when artists from the Hudson River Valley, drawn by the area’s natural beauty, began visiting in the summer. Among the first was Thomas Cole, who stayed at a farm near Schooner Head. His paintings and rapturous descriptions of the area drew other artists, and word spread to their patrons and well-heeled members of East Coast urban society. The future of Bar Harbor, then known as Eden, was set. In the Abbe Museum, across the street from the Village Green, is an exhibit entitled “Indians and Rusticators,” which will be up until the end of the year. The exhibit tells the fascinating story of the interactions between the new arrivals and the original summer visitors, the Wabanaki, between 1840 and 1920. At its peak in 1885, Bar Harbor’s summer Indian village at the foot of Holland Avenue was home to some 250 Wabanaki. The interactive exhibit at the Abbe Museum tells the story from the Native Ameri-

can point of view. “Part of the Abbe’s goal is to use objects to tell the story, but to always include the contemporary voices of the Wabanaki,” says Hannah Whalen, the museum’s development director. The exhibit won a National Leadership in History award from the American Association for State and Local History. The museum has been at its present location, in the old YMCA building, since 2001. It’s several times the size of the old museum, which is still open seasonally at Sieur de Monts Spring, where it opened in 1928. According to Whalen, it’s the last remaining trailside museum in the United States. The downtown museum is open most of the year, though it has reduced hours in the winter and takes a hiatus in January. At first, rusticators were boarded at the homes of local residents, the first bed and breakfasts. In 1855, local businessman Tobias Roberts built the first hotel, the Agamont House, and the first wharf. More hotels soon followed. By 1880, there were 30 hotels in Bar Harbor, and reservations sometimes had to be made two years in advance. The post-Civil War

Photo: istockphoto/thinkstock.com

A view of Bar Harbor from a downtown pier.

era also saw the construction of the first summer â&#x20AC;&#x153;cottages,â&#x20AC;? lavish private homes owned by wealthy summer residents. The seeds of Acadia National Park were sown by Boston natives George Dorr and Charles Elliott, followed by John D. Rockefeller Jr., who initiated the construction of the series of carriage roads still used by hikers and bicyclists today. Rockefeller, whose family fortune came from Standard Oil, was prescient in his ambivalence toward the automobile and its effect on the environment. The parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s carriage roads were an early attempt at an alternative. Cars were not allowed on the island until 1913, and up until the 1930s, most visitors arrived by steamship, landing in either Bar Harbor or Southwest Harbor, after traveling from Boston via Rockland and Stonington. Bar Harborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hotel and cottage era came to an abrupt end in October 1947, when a devastating fire swept across the eastern half of the island, taking out many of the grand homes and hotels.

Mice and Marine Mammals Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at opposite ends of town, but together, they help anchor the year-round economy of a town that has a reputation for rolling up its sidewalks in the winter. One is a world-famous biological research facility, the other a unique institution of higher learning. The Jackson Lab and College of the Atlantic give Bar Harbor more gravitas than the average tourist community. The Jackson Lab was founded a few months before the stock market crash of 1929 by Clarence Cook Little, the scion of a wealthy Boston family. Little would go on to become president of the University of Maine at the age of 33 and president of the University of Michigan at 35. He was committed to the study of the genetic basis of cancer, using mice for research. Today the Lab is Hancock Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest employer, with more than 1,200 people working on the 43-acre campus. Among them are some 200 PhDs, physicians, and veterinarians from more than 25 countries. The Jackson Lab is also headquarters for JAXÂŽ Mice & Services, which annually provides more than 2.7 million laboratory mice to more than 19,000 biomedical, pharmaceutical, and industrial researchers throughout the world. College of the Atlantic opened in the

Â&#x2030; ;Ă&#x2026;7H;DÂŤJĂ&#x2026;<7D9OÂ&#x2026;Ă&#x2026;@KIJĂ&#x2026;JH7:?J?ED7BBOĂ&#x2026;J7IJ;<KBÂ&#x2039;Â&#x2C6; H;DJEDĂ&#x2026; H?:=;Ă&#x2026; E8IJ;HĂ&#x2026; EKD:Â&#x2026;Ă&#x2026; D9Ă&#x192;Ă&#x2026; has provided the freshest Maine lobsters, crabmeat, clams and mussels for over 50 years. No linen table cloths or fancy glasses, just good, old fashioned lobster fare. s Open Memorial Day to Columbus Day s Closed on Sundays! s At the bridge onto Mt. Desert Island s Mail order available year-round

rstxĂ&#x2026; 7HĂ&#x2026; 7H8EHĂ&#x2026; E7:Ă&#x2026;Ă&#x2020;Ă&#x2026; H;DJEDÂ&#x2026;Ă&#x2026; 7?D;Ă&#x2026;Ă&#x2020;Ă&#x2026;s{xĂ&#x201E;wwxĂ&#x201E;szxx MMMÂ JH;DJED8H?:=;BE8IJ;HÂ 9EC www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 39

a piece of maine: bar harbor fall of 1972, with 32 students. Though the school’s enrollment has swelled to somewhere around 325, with proportional increases in faculty and staff, the unity of purpose remains. There are no departments. The faculty meets as a single unit, and the college still offers only one undergraduate degree, in human ecology. It’s been that way from the beginning. Bill Carpenter, a published poet and novelist, was one of four original faculty members. “Luckily, Ed Kaelber, our first president, had the foresight to include the humanities and the arts,” Carpenter says. “Human ecology embraces both the arts and the sciences. Art and literature are just as valid a way to understand the environment as scientific research. They go hand in hand.” The college took root on a strip of shorefront just north of the village. Some of the buildings had been used by a seminary, and thus COA inherited a library, a meeting hall, and rooms that could be used for classes. Today the college encompasses 35 shorefront acres. Allied Whale, COA’s marine mammal research program, is involved in field projects near Mount Desert Island and beyond. Biologists and students often work in many other areas of the world on collaborative projects with both American and foreign institutions. In 2000, College of the Atlantic began welcoming an increasing number of international students, thanks to the school’s participation in the Davis United World College Scholars Program. COA, along with Colby, Middlebury, Princeton, and Wellesley, was a participant in a pilot program that gave scholarships to prep school graduates from all over the world. The program has since expanded to include more than 80 U.S. colleges, and COA currently has an international student contingent that is 16% of the student body, representing 38 countries.

Several of the seasonal gift shops supply “husband benches” on the sidewalk for husbands to wait while their wives shop.

40 / Bangor Metro October 2012

At 7:00 a.m., Tom Burton is cooking breakfast at Main Street Market and Grill on lower Main Street, on the way out of town toward the Jackson Lab. He’s a former member of the town council and a current member of the school board, as well as a former co-owner of the business where he now works. It’s been a fixture in the same location since 1917, and remains open all year. Burton has lived in Bar Har-

Photo: melanie brooks

Bar Harbor Today

bor since 1980; his wife was born here. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eager to talk about the new fivestory West Street Hotel, which opened this past July. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the latest development project spearheaded by Tom Walsh, an octogenarian businessman whose company owns the Bar Harbor Club and several other businesses along the waterfront. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sent a lot of ripples through the community,â&#x20AC;? Burton says. Construction of the $12 billion luxury hotel was controversial. It was initially rejected by the municipal planning board because of its height and the lack of sufficient long-term residential space, but that rejection was later overturned by the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeals board. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no question that it dominates the waterfront. But Walshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company also refurbished the pier from which popular whale watching and sightseeing boats leave the harbor. One of the best places to watch the activity in the harbor is from Bar Island, which can be reached at low tide on foot via a sand bar just steps from the famous Bar Harbor Club, which Walsh bought and restored several years ago. The island is part of Acadia National Park and remains in a largely wild state, with a few trails and minimal signage. The island provides a nature experience close to the middle of town. You have to be mindful of the tide, howeverâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get off the island four hours before high tide, you will be stranded there until the tide goes out again. As the stores open on a typical summer morning, the overall impression is of bicycles and tee shirts. You can rent a bicycle at several locations, and during the day, bicycles compete for street space with automobiles motorcycles, and buses. Bicycling is popular on the carriage roads in the park, which are unpaved and closed to motorized vehicles. At the intersection of Cottage and Main Streets is Shermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book Store, the oldest book store in Maine. The store opened in 1886 and is still going strong, with the largest collection of Maine books youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find anywhere, as well as a wide assortment of gifts, stationery, and knickknacks. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the few Main Street businesses to stay open all year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hypothetically, we only close three days a year: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s,â&#x20AC;? says store manager Deborah Vickers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve stayed strong by diversifying. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something here for everyone.â&#x20AC;? Several of the seasonal gift shops sup-

ply â&#x20AC;&#x153;husband benchesâ&#x20AC;? on the sidewalk for husbands to wait while their wives shop. An interesting twist on this concept is provided by The Man Store, which sells beer, cigars, poker accessories, and sports memorabilia. Their â&#x20AC;&#x153;benchâ&#x20AC;? is an overstuffed leather chair in front of a wide-screen TV. Also worth mentioning is Mount Desert Ice Cream, where President Obama and family famously stopped for a cone on their visit in 2010. The president had the coconut flavor. With all this activity, you might think that Bar Harbor would be overrun with traffic. Yet the streets remain surprisingly navigable for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers. The main reason for this is the system of Island Explorer buses that converge on the Village Green and take passengers all over the island. According to Paul Murphy, general manager of Trenton-based Downeast Transportation, the Island Explorer system carried 412,000 passengers in 2011, and its popularity is growing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll exceed that figure by 8

bar harbor stats Incorporated: 1797 Mil rate: 9.84 Median household income: $41,388 Median age: 40.5 Population: 5,235 Education: â&#x20AC;˘ Mount Desert Island High School â&#x20AC;˘ Connors-Emerson Elementary School, â&#x20AC;˘ College of the Atlantic Major Employers: â&#x20AC;˘ Jackson Laboratory â&#x20AC;˘ Seasonal businesses Major Natural Resources: â&#x20AC;˘ Acadia National Park â&#x20AC;˘ Frenchman Bay

The Choice is Yours The Options are Endless... Simply Marvelous â&#x20AC;&#x153;ten dollarsâ&#x20AC;? Jewelry and Accessories Exclusively at The Christmas Tree, 23 Main Street &

14 Cottage Street | Bar Harbor | 207 288 9584 ď?ˇď?ˇď?ˇ.Vď?Šď?Źď?Źď?Ąď?§ď?ĽEď?ď?°ď?Żď?˛ď?Šď?ľď?.ď?Łď?Żď?

Canterbury Cottage The Perfect Getaway Designed by Fred Savage in 1900, the Canterbury Cottage is a friendly, homey spot in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor. Short walk to all the shops, restaurants and many outdoor activities. Minutes from Acadia National Park. Pet-friendly.

Open year-round.

7R\V WUHDWV DFFHVVRULHV JLIWV DQG FROOHFWLEOHV IRU SHWV DQG WKH SHRSOH ZKR ORYH WKHP

207-288-2112 12 Roberts Ave. Bar Harbor

CANTERBURYCOTTAGE.COM

)ROORZ XV RQ )DFHERRN 0DMRU FUHGLW FDUGV DFFHSWHG )RXU OHJJHG IULHQGV ZHOFRPH 0$,1 675((7 %$5 +$5%25 ZZZ EDUNKDUERU FRP

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 41

Top: The bed races down Cottage Street are one of the off-season events that make Bar Harbor a year-round destination. Above: The Village Green is a gathering spot—especially in the summertime.

42 / Bangor Metro October 2012

to 9% this year,” he predicts. “There are people who keep track of the amount of pollutants we’ve kept out of the air over the park, and it’s substantial,” he says. An estimate based on 2.5 passengers per car means that the bus service took 164,800 cars off the roads in and around Bar Harbor last summer. Somewhere in heaven, John D. Rockefeller Jr. is smiling. The buses are free to the public, though donations are gladly accepted. They are paid for largely through entry fees to the park, but also through ongoing grants from L.L. Bean totaling several million dollars. Some of the buses run as late as nine in the evening. The Jackson Lab commuter buses wheel through town between 3:30 and 4 p.m.; the Bangor bus arrives back at Odlin Road shortly after five. It’s largely a subscription service; the cost to regular riders is $20 per week on the Bangor and Cherryfield routes; $17 on the Franklin and Ellsworth routes. It’s funded by a Federal Transit Administration grant with a 50% match from the Jackson Lab, Acadia National Park, and subscriber fees. Asked if Downeast Transportation has considered a tourist bus between Bangor and Bar Harbor, to run later in the day, Murphy replies, “We’ve toyed with a lot of ideas. It’s an interesting time in Maine for public transportation. The demand is growing, but funding at the federal level is always problematic.”

Photos: melanie brooks

a piece of maine: bar harbor

The

Independence you want, the Support you need

Birch Bay Retirement Village has an extraordinary assisted living community dedicated to helping residents and their families through the transitions of later life. Overlooking a crystal blue harbor, at the edge of Acadia National Park, the Kimball Terrace Inn has all the amenities today’s travelers expect, in a picturesque setting. All rooms have A/C, and most have views of the harbor and luxury marina. The Watermark Restaurant and Lounge serves breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days a week and has a full-service cocktail lounge and outdoor patio.

Our friendly staff is ready to welcome you for an unforgettable vacation!

The Kimball Terrace Inn

and Watermark Restaurant and Lounge Huntington Road, Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662 1-800-454-6225 • Fax: 207-276-4102 www.KimballTerraceInn.com Email:info@kimballterraceinn.com

Residents live in their own apartments supported by professional caregivers. Days are busy—filled with activities, art & crafts projects, exercise, fitness programs and regularly scheduled outings. If that’s the kind of positive, upbeat secure setting you’ve been seeking for a parent or spouse, look no further.

Assisted Living & Memory Care

Call (207) 288-8014 for your personal tour.

2012 energy guide

Keeping Warm Weatherization is a great means to home comfortâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and savings! by Paul Badeau

David and Alice Anderman in their circa 1900 Waterville home.

Photos: (opposite) courtesy efficiency Maine; (top) comstock/thinkstock.com

lthough his home wasn’t completely weatherized yet, Waterville resident David Anderman knew his investment would pay off. Last winter, he and his wife Alice had committed to insulating their attic and replacing their heating system by hiring a Manchester-based residential construction contractor called The Breathable Home. “It was late winter, and a few inches of snow had collected on the roof,” said Anderman. “The contractor had started to insulate the attic the day before, and already half of the roof had no snow, and the other half was covered. I knew then that our investment would have a positive impact on heat loss.” The Andermans are among thousands of Maine residents who have made their homes more energy efficient and more comfortable by insulating and air sealing. Like many Mainers, the Andermans have an old house (in their case, very old, circa 1900). They took it for granted that because their house was old, they had to suffer quietly through the winter months, wearing sweaters and trying to ignore the stiff breezes that whistled through their kitchen and hallways. That is, until they discovered an energy audit. Just a few years ago, if you told your neighbor you were getting an energy audit, you were likely met with a puzzled look. Today, more people are discovering the value and sensibility of a home energy audit, a comprehensive and prioritized assessment of your home’s energy efficiency—or inefficiency, as is often the case. According to the national Alliance to Save Energy, a home energy audit is a sound and objective first step in determining how much energy your home is using. By pinpointing exactly where air and energy are leaking, says the Alliance, “You can identify improvements that will make your home more energy efficient and comfortable, while saving money and reducing long-term maintenance problems.” The Building Performance Institute, the nation’s premier standards and credentialing organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work, estimates that many of the 130 million homes in this country were constructed before modern energy and building codes were established. That’s certainly true in much of Maine. According to BPI, these homes

often suffer from performance problems ranging from inflated energy consumption and poor thermal comfort to indoor air quality issues. A professional audit includes a blower door test to measure how much air and heat loss occurs, along with other tests and significant scrutiny of a home’s attic and basement—areas where air leakage often occurs, along with moisture, air quality, and heating safety issues. Of course, the primary reason to get an audit is to prompt action, often through weatherization. The nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy describes weatherization as “the activity of making a building more energy efficient by reducing air infiltration, improving insulation, and taking other actions to reduce the energy consumption required to heat and/or cool the building.” Weatherization may also include other measures, such as lighting and water heating. The savings gained through weatherization can be tremendous. In 2010, Efficiency Maine piloted a whole-house weatherization program. From 2010 to May 2011, 3,211 homeowners completed whole-house energy upgrades in more than 225 Maine communities. The results: the average homeowner is projected to realize an energy savings of about 40 percent per year, or about $1,473 using 2011 cost estimates. Efficiency Maine’s PACE and PowerSaver loans now offer Maine homeowners low-interest financing options to conduct energy upgrades. Efficiency Maine

also provides a comprehensive list of BPI-certified contractors sorted by zip code on its website, www.efficiency maine.com. These BPI-certified vendors are called Participating Energy Advisors “One of the most significant barriers to having Maine homes weatherized is the up-front cost required to pay a contractor, whether it’s for having more insulation added to the attic or walls, installing a new heating system, or air-sealing,” explains Dana Fischer, Residential Program Manager, who manages Efficiency Maine’s residential loan programs. “The low-interest loans Efficiency Maine offers provide the homeowner with funds up-front to pay a contractor. The monthly savings on a homeowner’s utility bills resulting from those improvements are often enough to pay for the monthly loan payments. In the long run, homeowners pay less for heat, and their home is more comfortable—warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.” In April 2012, Efficiency Maine also launched a new promotion providing homeowners with a minimum of six hours of blower door-driven air-sealing and insulation work per dwelling in 1-to 4-unit buildings for a total value of up to $300. All that’s required is a blower door test before and after the air-sealing to confirm improved efficiency. Winslow homeowners John and Sheila Bacon no longer need to use air conditioners in their upstairs bedrooms. In July 2011, the Bacons financed a home weatherization project through a Maine PACE Loan. After considering the recommendations and projected savings outlined in their whole-house energy audit, they decided to re-insulate their two-story cape. The project consisted of blown-in insulation in the ceilings, foam insulation in the ceiling slopes and basement headers, and insulation around the basement bulkhead. The Bacons reported that the money they saved on their oil bill last year from weatherization more than paid for their loan. Last year, they saved $1,466 in oil bills when their loan payments totaled just $708, taking the initial sting out of borrowing money, according to John. “We’re no longer throwing away our money, and we’re so much more comfortable in our home,” says Sheila Bacon. “With no more drafts, it’s like being in a brand new home.” www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 45

2012 energy guide What changes has your industry seen—both positive and negative—over the last 10 years?

Energy Answers With colder weather on the horizon, we wanted to take a closer look at the different energy sources we have here in Maine. In this issue, we learn more about wind power, oil, and electricity and how it affects us. We asked Jamie Py from the Maine Oil Dealers Association, Gerry Chasse from Bangor Hydro, and John Lamontagne from First Wind the same three questions about their industry. Here’s what they had to say…

46 / Bangor Metro October 2012

First Wind has been proud to be at the forefront of developing, building, and operating wind projects in Maine. The Mars Hill Wind project was the very first utility-scale wind project to go online in Maine, and since that time, the amount of wind energy in Maine has grown steadily. Beyond just growth in wind energy, we’ve seen a steady expansion of businesses that help wind companies do their jobs—whether it’s construction firms, environmental assessment firms, or engineering and civil design firms. In the last 10 years, Maine has welcomed a new industry to the state and it is leading to significant investment in parts of the state that could use it. We don’t see much downside to wind energy in Maine.

Jamie Py from the Maine Oil Dealers Association: The last 10 years have brought major changes to the home heating businesses that we represent. These changes have mostly been positive. One example would be the fact that many of our member companies have diversified their product and service offerings beyond just oil to include propane, biofuels, wood pellets, and solar. Another example would involve the modernization of heating equipment offerings such as high-efficiency boilers, furnaces, indoor/outdoor controls, air conditioning, and various types of hybrid heating systems, like solar assist. In general, our industry has moved from a single-product-oriented business to a total energy and comfort-solution business. A catalyst for the diversification trend within the industry is the actual decrease in the use of heating oil. At its peak in 2004, Maine residential consumers used 414 million gallons to heat their homes. Six years later, in 2010, Mainers used 189 million gallons. Some of that reduction was due to the addition of alternate heating equipment, as well as warmer weather, but the majority of the reduction was simply achieved by replacing older boilers with modern high-efficiency units. The average household usage has

dropped from just over 900 gallons per year to approximately 600 gallons per year. Not coincidentally, a house that used 900 gallons with a 20-year-old boiler will drop consumption to close to 600 gallons when it updates to a more efficient replacement system. Other consumer initiated action such as home energy audits and weatherization improvements have likewise changed the landscape. Our industry is working hard to foster the advancement of the energy conservation technician (historically referred to as your “furnace guy”), to provide improved consumer education and services that home owners need to lower fuel consumption and reduce expenses.

Gerry Chasse from Bangor Hydro: Beginning with the blackout of 2003, legislators, regulators, and utilities came to appreciate the age of our power grid and the stress that had been placed on it. The blackout spawned federal legislation called EPACT 2005 (The Energy Policy Act of 2005) which, in part, gave a branch of the federal government known as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority to provide incentives and impose penalties in an effort to get utilities to build transmission projects to improve reliability. In New England, this has been tremendously successful, with utilities investing roughly $5 billion on transmission since then. These investments have improved reliability and created capacity for renewable electricity generators to connect to the grid. Separate from EPACT 2005, utilities nationwide have worked to further improve reliability, while providing options for customers to keep their rates down, by implementing a number of Smart Grid improvements. While the Smart Grid had its beginnings a number of years ago, it got a big boost from President Obama through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act that gave many utilities access to matching stimulus funding to make Smart Grid investments. Smart Grid applies new technology to the electrical grid and empowers customers to manage electricity usage. Many in the industry liken the evolution of Smart Grid technol-

Photo: hemera/thinkstock.com

Justin Lamontagne from First Wind:

Advi ce . Answers. Altern at iv es .

2012 energy guide ogy to that of the Internet. The future of our grid and our use of it will look different in years to come. As part of the new Smart Grid technology, many utilities have made it possible for consumers to better manage their electricity consumption via the Internet. Bangor Hydro recently made available the PowerSmart Maine Online web tool that allows customers to view their electricity use and realize savings. Business owners are already finding this helpful in understanding and managing their consumption. Soon, electricity consumers will have more direct access to the electricity market that was created in the late 1990s through hourly dynamic pricing. This access will effectively allow them to cut out the middle man when it comes to purchasing electricity and make choices about consuming electricity when it is more cost effective.

What are the pros and cons to using what your industry produces to power, heat, and cool homes in Maine? Justin Lamontagne from First Wind: Wind energy is becoming an increasingly significant way to provide power to Maine’s homes and businesses, and that means the energy is being generated in Maine for Mainers. Beyond that, wind energy does not emit any harmful pollutants, unlike energy from fossil fuels, such as gas, coal, and oil. The “fuel” that powers wind turbines is simply a strong breeze, so wind energy serves as a hedge to wild fluctuations that can occur with fossil-fuel-based energy sources. Plus, the price of wind energy to consumers now is below that of energy delivered by coal and oil.

Jamie Py from the Maine Oil Dealers Association: Heating oil and propane have been used to heat and cool homes in Maine for over 50 years. The technology is robust, well tested, and bulletproof—turn the dial and get comfortable heat. This reliable equipment has continued to advance and evolve over the years. Major technological and computerization developments, along with fuel quality advances, have added to both 48 / Bangor Metro October 2012

the reliability and efficiency factor. The not-so-positive aspect of our industry’s fuel is the price per gallon. Although heating oil has been less expensive than other fuels for most of the last 40 years, the past three years have brought oil prices to record highs. Natural gas prices have plummeted to the point that it is comparatively far less expensive. This price change has been problematic for both dealers and customers. The discrepancy in price between the two popular heating fuels (heating oil and natural gas) is caused by two major issues: supply and commodity speculation. Major new sources of natural gas and oil have been found in the U.S. Oil is therefore becoming more of a domestic product, with the primary imports coming from Canada and Mexico. This new U.S. sourcing has made America a net exporter of oil for the first time in 50 years. However, only natural gas prices have sunk to the lowest prices in decades, while oil has risen dramatically. This is an unusual occurrence, as historically, the fuels have more closely tracked each other. There are many reasons for high oil prices but two stand out: hyper-speculation in the oil market and the U.S. treasury’s printing trillions of additional dollars for quantitative easing. Devaluing the dollar through quantitative easing (or printing dollars) reduces the relative price of oil, which is traded in dollars. Excessive trading creates an unnatural and unreal demand on oil futures, contracts and derivatives. Simply put, the well-known “supply and demand” logic for price fluctuation does not apply here. Supplies are growing, but demand is not—yet prices continue to climb. People need stable food and energy prices to survive and thrive. The commodities speculative trading casino must stop in order to meet that need. The primary way consumers can take control of higher prices is to use less. When a home reduces its consumption to the 400-gallon range with upgrades in equipment efficiency, weatherization, and perhaps supplemental heat, the annual cost of heating oil (assuming prices near $4 a gallon) will be less than most of our annual cell phone bills.

Gerry Chasse from Bangor Hydro: We see more pros than cons in using electricity to power, heat, and cool homes in Maine. We are extremely dependent on

fossil fuels. In fact, Mainers use the most heating oil per capita in the U.S., with more than 75% of us using oil to heat our homes. Our dependence on oil for heating and transportation costs Mainers $5 billion each year, and about three quarters of that leaves our economy. Fortunately, Mainers have options. We already know that wood, wood pellets, and biomass are options that customers have chosen to produce energy, and they play an important part in the diversification of our energy supply and in our economy. However, what’s new to Mainers are the tremendous benefits that heat pumps can bring. We don’t just want customers to use electricity; we want them to use it efficiently. Heat pumps give Mainers heating options in a time when heating oil is once again climbing. Of course, oil prices have been climbing for years. In fact, I recently pulled my oil bills from the past 10 years and I found that I am paying three times more for my heating oil today than I was 10 years ago. But what about electricity prices? They are almost exactly the same as they were 10 years ago and have had much less volatility than oil prices. Those are tremendous differences, and the future for electricity prices looks bright. Couple that with the advancements in heat pump technology, and heating with electricity is a win on many fronts, from household economics, to our economy, to our ecology. Heat pumps also reduce CO2 emissions. Taking into account heat-pump efficiency and the sources of generation that produce New England electricity, heating with heat pumps produces only about one-eighth the CO2 emissions as burning oil. That’s good for the environment. And if the additional energy required to heat homes ends up coming from new renewable sources of generation like wind, then those carbon emissions could be eliminated. In other areas of the country, heat pump technology has been embraced because heat pumps are cost effective, quiet, and ductless, making installation simple, but it is slow to catch on in Maine. We are working to change that. Heat pumps work by using refrigerant to absorb heat from the outside air. Refrigerant is naturally much colder than outside air even on a cold day. Electricity is used to move the refrigerant and transfer heat

Propane for hire. Propane is hard at work for today’s businesses. In the field, it’s heating greenhouses, while simultaneously being used to prep the cuisine at local restaurants, as well as keeping schools, hotels, and construction sites warm. And since it’s clean burning and domestically produced, propane is more than a reliable alternative. It’s a sustainable solution. So no matter what your industry or size of business, Dead River Company has the expertise to customize a solution to meet your business’ needs and energy saving goals. "REWER s %LLSWORTH s www.deadriver.com

2012 energy guide

Mars Hill Wind Farm

Wind Energy: Made in Maine With 185 MW of wind energy capacity currently operating at four projects in Aroostook, Penobscot and Washington counties, First Wind is proud to be generating enough power for more than 75,000 Maine homes. Our newest project under construction in Hancock County will be yet another source of renewable energy and sustainable economic development for Maine. Like wind in Maine: w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / W i n d f o r M a i n e Contact us:

from one space to another. Depending on the type of heat pump, they may pull heat from the air or the ground. The technology works the same way air conditioners or refrigerators work and can be used to cool your home very efficiently in the summer. Because heat pumps are extracting heat from the air or ground, they have an efficiency rating of up to 400%. To put it into perspective, consider that most traditional fuel oil furnaces are 75 to 80% efficient. This means that for every 100 gallons of oil that you burn, you get the equivalent of 75 to 80 gallons worth of usable heat. Wood pellet stoves are 50 to 65% efficient, which means for every ton of pellets that you burn, you get about a half-a-ton worth of heat. With heat pumps, for every unit of electricity you put into the heater to operate it, the heat pump is able to extract from the environment approximately two to four times that amount of heat and move it into your home. Until now, some of the cons have been the upfront cost and the effectiveness in colder climates. New technology addresses both concerns. It’s no longer necessary to replace your entire heating system, but instead lower-cost units can provide most, if not all of your heat, while keeping your existing system in place for back-up. This newer technology also makes the systems ideal for use in the state of Maine.

What sorts of new and exciting things are on the horizon for your industry here in Maine?

( 2 0 7 ) 2 2 8 - 6 8 8 8 | w w w. f i r s t w i n d . c o m

Justin Lamontagne from First Wind: First Wind hopes to continue to develop new projects in Maine in the coming years. We have several projects in development right now, and we hope to bring new forms of efficient technology to the region, so that wind projects can generate more energy with fewer turbines.

Jamie Py from the Maine Oil Dealers Association: Next generation BioHeat®—the newer, cheaper, and more friendly renewable liquid fuel, is slowly entering the market and can plug and play into existing equipment. BioHeat® is a product that gives the homeowner a domestic and 50 / Bangor Metro October 2012

2012 energy guide greener home heating option. Another advanced technology now available is remote access home monitoring systems. This technology is being utilized more and more in Maine on all sorts of energy systems. These monitoring systems allow homeowners to track their usage in great detail, from home or away, via the Internet. Consumers can see in clear terms the amount of energy they are using and will be more likely to attempt to reduce that use. This technology is also a great tool for comparing energy utilization from one source against another, helping consumers to make more informed choices about home heating and cooling. New hybrid systems that combine the use of oil, propane, biofuels, heat pumps, and/or solar offer significant savings, work well together, and new applications are coming on-line every year. Maine’s energy marketers are now offering a diverse menu of options and can develop a personalized energy strategy that provides comfort and savings for their customers. Whenever a better fuel, technology or system comes along, your local energy marketer will be there to bring it to you.

Gerry Chasse from Bangor Hydro: Bangor Hydro is working on a pilot program that would provide variable pricing and allow customers to shift electric use to times of the day and night when the cost is less. For example, customers could run their dishwashers later in the evening, when the cost is lower and save money. Customers could also program appliances or heating and cooling systems so that they would run when the cost of electricity is lower. Customers could charge electric vehicles overnight, when the cost of electricity is significantly lower. Bangor Hydro is piloting electric vehicle technology now, as we believe this is the future of the transportation industry. We’ve added two Chevy Volts to our fleet and, depending on driving behaviors and conditions, they can run more than 40 miles on a fully-charged battery, at less than half the operating cost of gasoline. Once that battery power is depleted, a gas-powered generator efficiently recharges the battery. We are working to install charging stations at our facilities and plan to work with communities to install charging stations as well. 52 / Bangor Metro October 2012

t s i l o d y e n o H It’s that time of year once again, to get ready for winter. Here is your list of things to do this month to help you get started.

Have your furnace cleaned If you have a contract with your heating fuel provider, double-check to make sure an annual cleaning for your furnace is included. If it’s not, it’s wise to pony up the money to have it done. It will help your furnace run more safely—and efficiently— over the next 12 months.

Get an Energy Audit Professionals use devices like infrared cameras to see where your home is losing

Program your thermostat If you don’t already have a programmable thermostat, think about getting one. And make sure to turn the heat down at night before you go to bed and in the morning before you go to work. No need to heat your house if no one’s home.

Rotate your ceiling fan Make sure your ceiling fan is rotating clockwise in cold weather. You want it to push warm air down, not suck it up to the ceiling.

the most heat—a great first step in

Weatherstrip

deciding what to do to your home before the snow flies.

Ready your house for the elements. Caulk air leaks around windows, doors, pipes, and

Close off doors

ducts, and weatherstrip doors and windows. Winter weather will not take

Is there a spare room in your house

advantage of your house after proper

that isn’t being used? Perhaps your kids

weatherizing.

have left for college or there’s an extra bathroom you don’t use often. Keep the door closed and seal off the room—no need to heat an area that is rarely used.

Upgrade Visit Efficiency Maine’s website, www.effi ciencymaine.com, to find out what home improvement projects you can do by the end of 2010 that will earn you tax credits and rebates. You might be surprised at the amount of money you can save.

Turn down water heating temperature Lower the temperature on your water heater, especially during the winter months. With each 10°F reduction in water temperature, you can save 3%–5% in energy costs.

Reliable, Renewable Energy One of Maine’s Finest Resources

“Patriot believes in the importance of renewable energy in Maine, and we work hard to develop responsible projects that we can all be proud of. We are committed to being good neighbors and productive members of the communities that we work with.”

(617) 890-0600 | www.patriotrenewables.com

what’s happening

October

October 5 & 6 Acadia Oktoberfest / Southwest Harbor

Acadia Oktoberfest Southwest Harbor • October 5 & 6 Grab your friends and head to Mount Desert Island for one of our area’s biggest and best Oktoberfest celebrations. Here you will get to sample some of Maine’s best brews, wines, and food while listening to live music. It’s a great way to celebrate the harvest season. Suzanne Vega Rockland • October 12 This year marks the 25th anniversary of Suzanne Vega’s Solitude Standing album, which features the popular songs “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner”. Catch this brilliant songwriter and performer yourself when she performs in Rockland.

54 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Photos: (top) © Mary Rozzi; (bottom) Hemera/thinkstock.com

October 12 Suzanne Vega / Rockland

Events September 29–October 7 Hike for Mike Acadia National Park This community event benefits the Acadia Family Center. For one week, participants are asked to hike the trails around Acadia National Park and to keep track of the miles they cover. The week ends with a Summit Celebration, with prizes and awards. www.acadiahikeformike.org October 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 & 27 Ghostly Bangor Bangor Prepare for the paranormal. Follow a winding path through haunted Bangor and stop at several sites to hear tales of reported ghostly activity. Tour starts at the Thomas A. Hill House at 159 Union Street. 7 and 7:30 pm. $10 nonmembers; $8 members; $5 for children under 12. Call for reservations. 942-1900 • www.bangormuseum.com October 4–14 Foliage Food & Wine Festival Blue Hill Join us for fantastic food and wine while you enjoy the spectacular scenery of coastal Maine at its best. Events include wine dinners, tastings, workshops, tours, and more. 374-3242 • www.bluehillpeninsula.org October 5 Second Annual Golf Outing Kebo Valley Golf Club, Bar Harbor This event includes lots of great prizes and lunch. Proceeds benefit Friends in Action. 9 am. 664-6016 www.friendsinactionellsworth.org October 5 & 6 Acadia Oktoberfest Smuggler’s Den Campground, Southwest Harbor Join in the fun at the 17th Annual Oktoberfest and enjoy Maine products including microbrews, wine, food, music, and crafts. 244-9264 • www.acadiachamber.com October 5 & 20 Mount Hope Cemetery Tour Bangor With Halloween right around the corner, it’s time to tour the second-oldest garden

cemetery in the country. Meet at the cemetery superintendent’s office. 5 pm. $7 adults; free for children under 12 and Bangor Museum and Center for History members. 942-1900 • www.bangormuseum.com October 6 Ben Taylor in Concert The Strand, Rockland Ben Taylor’s memorable melodies, immaculate acoustic guitar playing, and insightful, honest lyrics have been captivating fans for years. Taylor seamlessly merges the sounds and styles of rock, pop, folk, and hip-hop. 7:30 pm. $15 in advance; $18 at the door. 594-0700 • www.rocklandstrand.com October 6 A Taste of the Peninsula Blue Hill Peninsula Restaurants from around the peninsula and Deer Isle offer samples prepared by their chefs, with wine and beer tasting, a chowder contest, and fishermen and farmers selling their products at the Farmers’ Market. 374-3242 • www.bluehillpeninsula.org October 6 Museum Crawl Tour on Molly the Trolley Aroostook County This trolley tour will visit the Aroostook County Historical & Art Museum in Houlton and the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. The tour leaves from the Historic Fire Station at 11 Church Street in Presque Isle. Reservations required. 8 am. $20. 762-6300 • www.pihistory.org October 6 8th Annual Harvest Festival Union Have you ever picked grapes in Maine? Come help us bring in Maine’s largest grape harvest while learning about the challenges of growing grapes in Maine. This is the busiest time in the vineyard, so come watch it all happen. 11 am–5 pm. 785-2828 • www.savageoakes.com October 6 James McMurtry in Concert The Center Theatre, Dover-Foxcroft This Texas native has long been known

Theater

Music

as an astute, clear-eyed observer and concise, no-holds-barred chronicler of the human condition. McMurtry’s own guitar work is a flinty, muscular style perfectly suited to punctuate and emphasize his voice and tunes. 8 pm. $22.50. 564-8943 • www.centertheatre.org October 6 Saturday in the Garden at the “Shores” Searsport Shores Ocean Camping Take a self-guided tour of vegetable, shade, flower, and seaside gardens. There will be ongoing natural dye demonstrations and pickling classes, as well as live music and snacks. 9 am. 548-6059 • www.campocean.com October 6 Rovero and Juliet The Grand, Ellsworth The Bard’s greatest tragedy, as it was originally intended—with puppets and a happy ending. Can two feuding families—the Muttagues and the Catulets—be brought together by love? Find out in Rovero & Juliet. 1 pm. $10; $5 for children 12 and under. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org October 6 Perseus and Medusa Presented by Tanglewood Marionettes The Grand, Ellsworth Take a trip back in time to the dawn of civilization to an ancient world of gods, goddesses, prophecies, and heroes. 4 pm. $10; $5 for children 12 and under. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org October 6 & 7 Foreign Auto Festival & Antique Aeroplane Show Owls Head Transportation Museum A salute to globalization, with vintage vehicles from around the world. MG is the featured marque. All pre1992 vehicles welcome. Vehicle demonstrations, Model-T rides, and family activities. 9:30 am–5 pm. $12; free for children under 18. 594-4418 • www.owlshead.org October 6 & 7 Living History Days Leonard’s Mills, Bradley A perfect time to view the foliage in our beautiful forest while experiencing life in www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 55

Events

Theater

a 1790s colonial village. Enjoy bateau and wagon rides, making homemade cedar shakes, fresh-pressed cider, and more.10 am–4 pm. $8 adults; $4 children. 974-6278 • www.leonardsmills.com October 6–8 Fall Harvest Weekend Montpelier: The General Henry Knox Museum, Thomaston Enjoy free mulled cider and donuts at this Columbus Day weekend event. Several rooms at the museum will be decorated in autumn colors. Sat. 10 am–3:30 pm; Sun. and Mon. 1–3:30 pm. Free admission for military personnel and their families. 354-8062 • www.knoxmuseum.org October 6–8 Family Weekend Seal Cove Auto Museum, Tremont Celebrate Columbus Day by taking part in fall harvest activities, including making cider and auto obstacle races. 244-9242 www.sealcoveautomuseum.org October 6 & 13 Ghosts of Fort Knox Guided Tour Prospect Join the East Coast Ghost Trackers in search of ghosts and paranormal phenomena. Tours run hourly and

Music capacity is limited, so please reserve in advance. 6, 7:15, and 8:30 pm. $10. www.fortknox.maineguide.com October 6 Treworgy Orchards Concert Series: Lissa Schneckenburger Treworgy Family Orchards, Levant Fiddler and singer Lissa Schneckenberger brings new life to old ballads and wows audiences of all ages. 1 pm. 884-8354 www.treworgyorchards.com/concerts October 7 Waldo County Pie & Story Festival Belfast Boathouse This event includes a pie-baking competition, pie eating, storytelling, and live music. 1–4 pm. Admission is free; pies are $1 a slice. 338-6616 October 7 Nappy’s Puppets Presents: Jack and the Beanstalk The Grand, Ellsworth Don’t miss this classic fairy tale told through puppetry. 1 pm. $10; $5 for children 12 and under. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org

October 7 Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers Presents: The Legend of the Banana Kid The Grand, Ellsworth In The Legend of the Banana Kid, our friend Little Chucky meets a mysterious cowboy who takes him to a remote Western town that is being harassed by a seedy group of outlaws. 4 pm. $10; $5 for children 12 and under. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org October 7 An Evening With James McMurtry The Grand, Ellsworth The son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry, James grew up on a steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. His first album, Too Long in the Wasteland, was released in 1989. He’s been winning music awards ever since. 7:30 pm. $29. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org October 7 American in Paris Collins Center for the Arts, Orono Sheryl Staples is featured on violin, backed by the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and conductor Lucas Richman. 3 pm. 800-622-TIXX • www. collinscenterforthearts.com

museums Hancock County Abbe Museum Bar Harbor 822-3519 • www.abbemuseum.org Birdsacre-Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary & Homestead Ellsworth 667-8460 • www.birdsacre.com George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History Bar Harbor 288-5015 • www.coamuseum.org Seal Cove Auto Museum Seal Cove 244-9242 www.sealcoveautomuseum.org Wendell Gilley Museum Southwest Harbor 244-7555 www.wendellgilleymuseum.org 56 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Woodlawn Museum Ellsworth 667-8671 www.woodlawnmuseum.org Knox County Coastal Children’s Museum Rockland 385-1105 www.coastalchildrensmuseum.org Farnsworth Art Museum & Wyeth Center Rockland 596-6457 www.farnsworthmuseum.com Maine Lighthouse Museum Rockland 594-3301 www.mainelighthousemuseum.com

Owls Head Transportation Museum Owls Head 594-4418 • www.ohtm.org Penobscot County Hudson Museum at the University of Maine Orono 581-1901 www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum Maine Discovery Museum Bangor 262-7200 www.mainediscoverymuseum.org University of Maine Museum of Art Bangor 561-3350 • www.umma.maine.edu

October 7 Treworgy Orchards Concert Series: Ari & Mia Friedman Treworgy Family Orchards, Levant This soulful and spirited acoustic duo explores the traditions of southern Appalachia and Northeastern fiddle music. 1 pm. 884-8354 www.treworgyorchards.com/concerts October 7, 14 & 21 Public Chairlift Rides & Pancake Breakfast Camden Snow Bowl Breakfast will be served from 8–10 am, while the chairlift will be open to the public from 9 am–4 pm. $5 per person or $15 for unlimited rides. Mountain bikers welcome. 236-3438 www.camdensnowbowl.com October 9 Tour of Robbins Lumber Company Searsmont The fifth generation of the Robbins family is managing one of the most modern sawmills in the U.S. Owner Jim Robbins will lead the tour and with his wife Ann, will welcome you to their home to enjoy beverages and appetizers afterwards. Proceeds to benefit the Georges River Land Trust. 3 pm. $30 for GRLT members; $35 for nonmembers. 594-5766 • www.grlt.org October 11 NT Live Presents: The Last of the Hausmans The Grand, Ellsworth This new play by Stephen Beresford is a funny, touching, and sometimes savage portrait of a family that’s losing its grip. 2 pm. $17 adults; $15 seniors; $14 members; $12 students; $10 youth aged 12 and under. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org October 12 Schoodic Arts for All Concert Series: Masanobu Ikemiya Winter Harbor Ikemiya, a classically trained pianist, plays ragtime music with all of its exuberance, humor, and energy. He appears regularly at the major ragtime festivals, and is founder and leader of the New York Ragtime Orchestra, with

Beautiful New Facility Now Open 115 Guest Rooms on 3 Floors t Indoor Pool & Whirlpool Spacious Fitness Center t Sweet Shop t Business Center Complimentary Wi-Fi t Complimentary Local Shuttle Service 100% Nonsmoking t Free Hot Breakfast t Ideal Location Hampton Inn t Haskell Road t Bangor t 207-990-4400

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 57

Events

Theater

which he toured frequently in the U.S. and Japan. 7 pm. www.schoodicartsforall.org October 12 Belfast Garden Club Open Garden Days Grove Cemetery Gardens & Chapel, Belfast All gardens are open for enjoyment. 10 am–4 pm. $4 each garden or 5 for $15. 338-3105 • www.belfastgardenclub.org October 12 Suzanne Vega in Concert The Strand, Rockland Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neofolk songs of her own creation. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known halls. 8 pm. $34. 594-0700 • www.rocklandstrand.com October 12 New England’s King of Comedy: Bob Marley Collins Center for the Arts, Orono Celebrating 15 years as a stand-up comic, Bob Marley is one of the hottest and most sought-after comedians in the country. He has been featured in his own special on Comedy Central, and is one of the few comics to do the complete late-night TV circuit. 8 pm. 800-622-TIXX www.collinscenterforthearts.com October 13 EMMC’s 8th Annual Kitchen Tour Bangor & Brewer This event will tour seven kitchens in the Bangor/Brewer area. All proceeds benefit the capital campaign for the new pediatric oncology floor at the Lafayette Family Cancer Center, nursing scholarships, and Children’s Miracle Network. 12–4 pm. $25. 944-1231 • www.emmcauxiliary.org October 13 A Walk Back in Time Elm Grove Cemetery, Thomaston Walk with Thomaston Historical Society’s historian Peggy McCrea as 58 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Music she leads a tour through historic Elm Grove Cemetery. This tour is appropriate for anyone, from students to seniors, and all are welcome to learn about the people who were so important to the development of the town of Thomaston. 2–3:30 pm. 354-2314 www.thomastonhistoricalsociety.com October 13 Met Opera Live in HD: L’Elisir D’Amore The Strand, Rockland The Grand, Ellsworth Collins Center for the Arts, Orono This is a new production of Donizetti’s comic gem L’Elisir d’Amore, directed by Bartlett Sher and conducted by Maurizio Benini. 1 pm. 594-0700 • www.rocklandstrand.com 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org 800-622-TIXX www.collinscenterforthearts.com October 13 & 14 6th Maine Battery Cannon Firings Fort Knox, Prospect A full-scale Civil War era Parrot cannon firing demonstration will take place throughout the day. This is the real deal and will provide some explosive excitement for all who visit. 10 am–4 pm. www.fortknox.maineguide.com October 14 Philharmonia Quartett Berlin Minsky Recital Hall, UMaine Orono Hailed as “four of the best” by the British press after their debut at Wigmore Hall in London two decades ago, the Philharmonia Quartett Berlin has enjoyed a critically acclaimed career, establishing itself among the world’s premier string quartets with 20 years of international concerts and a large and diverse discography. 3 pm. 800-622-TIXX • www. collinscenterforthearts.com October 14 MDI Marathon Bar Harbor Four island communities will host this annual MDI Marathon. The 26.2-mile course follows a seaside route at the peak of fall foliage season. This race is a Boston Marathon qualifier. Starts at 8 am. 276-4226 • www.mdimarathon.org

October 17 Thomas Hill Standpipe: Fall Foliage Tour Bangor Walk to the top for a great view of the city of Bangor in all its autumnal glory. 3–6 pm. 947-4516 • www.bangorwater.org October 17 The Price is Right—Live! Collins Center for the Arts, Orono To mark their 40th year on TV, The Price is Right has created a touring version of the studio show with even more audience interaction. It has the same excitement, games, cash, merchandise prizes, nametags, and even the famous Price is Right microphone. From Plinko, to Cliffhangers, to the Big Wheel and the fabulous Showcase, The Price Is Right, Live! is the only experience that allows you to be the star of the show. 7 pm. 800-622-TIXX www.collinscenterforthearts.com October 17–November 4 Becky’s New Car Penobscot Theatre, Bangor Becky Foster is caught in middle age, middle management and in a middling marriage—with no prospects for change on the horizon. Then one night a socially inept and grief-stricken millionaire stumbles into the car dealership where Becky works. Called a “smart, comic cruise down the road less traveled,” audience members will play a vital role in how the story unfolds, so come ready to participate. 942-3333 • www.penobscottheatre.org October 18–20 Pop!Tech Conference Camden This three-day summit explores new ideas and emerging technologies with hundreds of visionary thinkers. www.poptech.org October 19 & 20 Bangor Book Festival Bangor Public Library Long live the book! This 6th annual event brings Maine writers and illustrators to downtown Bangor to read, discuss, and meet with Maine readers, writers, and book fans. 9 am–5 pm. 947-8336 • www.bangorbookfest.org

October 19 & 20, 26 & 27 Fright at the Fort Fort Knox, Prospect Are you afraid of the dark? Ghosts and other scary things are said to lurk in the corridors of Fort Knox. 5:30–8:30 pm. $10; $5 for children ages 12 and under. www.fortknox.maineguide.com/fright October 20 Comedy Show Spectacular Event Center, Bangor “New England’s Funniest Women” will take the stage for a night of laughs. Doors open at 7:30 pm; show starts at 8:30 pm. $20 admission includes show and appetizers. Bar service is available. 941-8700 www.spectaculareventcenter.com October 20 Midcoast Brass Quintet Concert Chestnut Street Baptist Church, Camden This concert will feature a variety of favorite jazz and pop songs. Proceeds will benefit P.A.W.S. Animal Adoption Center. 7:30 pm. $20; $10 for children 12 and younger. 236-8702 • www.pawsadoption.org October 21 Tommyknockers and More Bus Tour Bangor Join your guide on a comfortable motorcoach for a tour of Bangor as seen through the books and movies of Stephen King. 2 pm. $20. 947-5205 www.visitbangormaine.com October 24 Theatre at Monmouth Presents: Hamlet Monmouth Shakespeare’s murder/revenge tragedy of a court in crisis and a young man at a crossroads, replete with ghosts, swordplay, and betrayal, has fascinated audiences and actors for more than 400 years. Part of the Theatre at Monmouth “Shakespeare in Maine Communities” tour, the workshop is open to middle school and high school students of the stage. Young adults are welcome. Workshop starts at 4 pm; performance at 7. $15 performance only; $15 workshop only; $25 performance and workshop. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org

October 25–28 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Union Hall, Searsport Don’t miss this inventive retelling of the Robert Louis Stevenson story. 7 pm. 338-9668 • www.belfastmaskers.com October 26 & 27 Lantern Tour Presque Isle Don’t miss this slightly spooky, kinda’ creepy, tour of historic downtown. The one-hour tour starts from the fire station and includes a tour of the jail. 7 pm. $3. 764-6561 www.centralaroostookchamber.com October 27 Halloween Spooktacular Party Cushing This spooky fundraising party benefits the Georges River Land Trust and is hosted by Karin and Bob Weisert in Cushing. Prizes will be given for the best costumes. 5 pm. $40 for GRLT members;

$45 nonmembers. 594-5166 • www.grlt.org October 27 Halloween Dance Spectacular Event Center, Bangor Come get your spook on this Halloween and dance the night away. Prizes for the best costume. Doors open at 7 pm; dancing from 8–12 pm. $10. 941-8700 www.spectaculareventcenter.com October 27 Live from the Met: Verdi’s Otello The Grand, Ellsworth Collins Center for the Arts, Orono Verdi’s Shakespearean masterpiece returns to the Met with Johan Botha in the title role, opposite the acclaimed Desdemona of star soprano Renée Fleming. Semyon Bychkov conducts. 1 pm. 667-9500 • www.grandonline.org 800-622-TIXX • www. collinscenterforthearts.com

The Perfect Location

HARLEY-DAVIDSON has been in motion for over 100 years and this franchise has been in Hermon since 1960. We know from experience that Hermon understands what a business brings and gives back to the community. Location is the first key to a business’ success, and our location on Route 2 in Hermon is perfect, as both homeowners and business transporters travel this road on a daily basis. Hermon has a rural community feel combined with strong business minds hard at work. —Central Maine Harley-Davidson/Buell

Let me make the case for locating your business in Hermon. Call or write me today. Ron Harriman Economic Development Director

www.hermon.net s Grantron@aol.com

947-8595 s 1-800-648-8335

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 59

60 / Bangor Metro October 2012

October 27 & 28 Caribou Fall Arts & Crafts Festival Caribou High School Aroostook County’s oldest and largest craft fair displays the fine work of professional Maine craft artists. 10 am–4 pm. 498-6156 • www.cariboumaine.net October 27 & 28 Great Fall Auction and Flea Market Owls Head Transportation Museum A fundraising auction featuring travel packages, antiques, collectibles, gift certificates, and more. Flea market on Sat.; auction Sun. Free admission all weekend. 9:30 am–5 pm. 594-4418 • www.owlshead.org October 27 & 28 Spooky Car Days Seal Cove Auto Museum, Tremont Good old Halloween fun with many of the automobiles decorated with cobwebs and spooky creatures. 244-9242 www.sealcoveautomuseum.org October 30 Voltaire and Frederick: A Life in Letters Collins Center for the Arts, Orono This new play was commissioned in honor of Frederick II’s 300th birthday and is an overview of the pen-pal friendship between these two great thinkers, which spanned almost half a century. 7 pm. 800-622-TIXX www.collinscenterforthearts.com October 31 All Hallows Eve Merryspring Nature Center, Camden Hosted by Merryspring and Ashwood Waldorf School, this event is a chance for wee sprites and goblins to be guided through jack-o-lantern-lit woods filled with fairytale vignettes and to enjoy twilight refreshments in the garden. 4 pm. 236-2239 • www.merryspring.org

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 61

metro sports: community programs Eastern Maine Community College

Great College. Smart Choice.

Technical Career & Transfer Education

Bangor Youth Football is on a Roll

It all adds up! Flexible class schedules + 30 degree programs + $86 a credit hour + Career, Technical, and Transfer Education

Great College. Smart Choice.

1.207.974.4600 www.emcc.edu Like us on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/EMCCBangor

62 / Bangor Metro October 2012

fter years of a nomadic existence, jumping from field to field around the Bangor area, Bangor Youth Football opens their season with a new home. “We’ve been given a permanent home at a wonderful field next to the Downeast School in the old Capehart Community,” says Anthony Berry, the safety coordinator and a coach for Bangor Youth Football. This home field advantage is the biggest reason why enrollment this season is up 70% from last year. About 220 fourth to seventh graders take part in the program, which has been around for 30 years. Students in grades four through seven make up the four varsity and junior varsity teams. The organization also has a cheerleading program for students in kindergarden through seventh grade. “We even have fathers who participated in BYF, who now watch their sons playing on the same team they might have played on as a young man growing up in the 1980s,” Berry says. Bangor Youth Football is run by a small group of dedicated board members and coaches. Each player is asked to contribute a $75 entry fee each year, which is a

far cry from the $300 it costs the group to outfit a player from head to toe. “We have never turned players away because they could not afford to pay and we never will,” Berry says. “We do expect that every player will do his or her part in our fundraising efforts each season.” Each Friday night, these players and cheerleaders descend upon Cameron Stadium to play what they have been practicing all week long. “Seeing the improvement in the skills that they learned on our practice field makes us, as coaches, proud,” Berry says. But the on-field skills are just a part of what these kids are taking away from the program. The sense of belonging, of being a part of something that is bigger than themselves, is one of the lessons the coaches help the kids take away with them once the season is over. “We drill the importance of education, commitment, dedication, honesty, and good citizenship into our players,” Berry says. “They learn the importance of teamwork, of praising one another for a job well done, and holding each other accountable when a mistake is made. As a parent, as a coach, as an influence on a young child’s life, you cannot ask for much more than that.”

photo: courtesy of bangor youth football

This community program has a new home—and Bangor-area children are reaping the benefits. By melanie Brooks

metro sports: college

11 New Brands 1,000 Used Vehicles Statewide Service

Go Blue! The UMaine Black Bears men’s hockey team is shaping up for another successful season thanks to returning players and some talented newcomers. By Laura Reed

Photo: steve Babineau

he 2011-2012 season was an exciting one for the University of Maine men’s ice hockey team. The Black Bears played in front of a school-record 38,456 fans at Frozen Fenway, defeating the University of New Hampshire 5-4 in overtime. Maine also competed in the Hockey East Title game and made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing several key members of last year’s team, like Spencer Abbott who was Hockey East Player of the Year, a First Team All-American, and Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist, the Black Bears are determined to have another successful season. Among the returning players is feisty forward Joey Diamond. Diamond led the team in goals with 25, and tied for fifth place in the nation for goals scored during last season. He will serve as a captain of the Black Bears along with defensemen Mike Cornell and Mark Nemec. Diamond and Mark Anthoine, a Lewiston native, return to anchor the power play. Each scored 11 power play goals a year ago, which placed them in a tie for

the national lead. The duo led Maine in scoring 26.7% on the power play, which was ranked second in the nation. Dan Sullivan returns between the pipes for the Black Bears this season. Sullivan won the starting job a year ago, but classmate Martin Ouellette and newcomer Matt Morris are expected to challenge him for ice time. Head coach Tim Whitehead has recruited a highly skilled incoming freshman class, which is expected to make an immediate impact. Among those who will see considerable time on the ice this winter are Devin Shore and Ben Hutton, both from Ottawa, Canada. Maine has a pair of in-season tournaments on its schedule. The Black Bears travel to Kansas City, Missouri this month for the Ice Breaker Tournament with Nebraska-Omaha, Army, and future Hockey East rival Notre Dame. Maine also returns to the Florida College Classic in December where the Black Bears will face Minnesota-Duluth in a rematch of the 2012 NCAA Tournament in the opening game. The Black Bears make their Alfond Arena debut on Friday, October 6. Follow the team at www.goblackbears.com.

All at one location – shop today! www.quirkauto.com

Augusta | Bangor | Belfast | Portland

Call Toll Free 1-800-725-7883 Find us on Facebook Facebook.com/quirkauto

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 63

food file

Creating a healthy meal your kids will love doesn’t have to be hard. The proof, according to Emilie Manhart, isn’t in the pudding—it’s in the blender. By Naomi Graychase

64 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Photos: kate crabtree

Clean Food Cooking

o say that Emilie Brand Manhart eats a healthy diet is almost as much of an understatement as saying she likes to run a bit. This Bangor High School English teacher and mother of two approaches both running and feeding her family with serious commitment. Since her first child was born seven years ago, Brand Manhart has completed 14 half-marathons, four marathons, and five triathlons. A typical weekend will see her running ten miles and biking 40, and when she’s training—which is pretty much always—she fits in seven workouts a week. She also prepares virtually all of her family’s food from fresh, whole-foods ingredients. Believe it or not, before she had kids, Brand Manhart was not a runner. Nor was she quite so careful about the food she put into her body. But a lot of things changed after she had Skyler, 7, and Reed, 5. Now, she not only runs marathons, she leads weeklong cleanses via her popular parenting and fitness blog, One Mom in Maine (www.onemominmaine.com), and she is vigilant about what she and her kids consume.

“I’ve always been a healthy eater,” says Brand Manhart from the sunny kitchen of her Hampden home. “But I didn’t have all the information. When I became a parent, I became more deliberate. I started reading labels. After I stopped breastfeeding, everything else just felt less pure. I started to pay attention to ingredients.” This active, 38-year-old is at ease in the kitchen. She is mindful, thoughtful, strong—just as we suspect she is, when she is wearing a racing bib instead of an apron. She was raised in Michigan, in a family where sitting down to dinner at the family table was integral to her upbringing. She wants her kids to have that same foundation when it comes to food. Her kids know that if they want a treat— like a donut—they need to have a healthy thing first. “They will ask, ‘Is this a healthy choice?” she says. One of the things that makes her most proud is when she takes her kids to the grocery store and they shout, “We need kale!” What’s her trick to enticing young children into a love affair with traditionally despised veggies, like kale? It’s neither bribery nor tough love, but rather the creative use of a simple blender. “Kids can be picky,” she says. “They would never get excited about a salad, but when their little hands put those same vegetables into a smoothie, they become so proud.” For Brand Manhart, the smoothie is a way of creating balance in her kids’ diet. “On a night when they eat pizza or pancakes, I give them a big smoothie with it, and they get a full day of vitamins. I think to myself, ‘You just had a big salad. Mommy wins.’” During our visit, the first course was a nutritious and delicious smoothie prepared by Reed and Skyler, with fresh-squeezed juices and fresh fruits and vegetables purchased from the Natural Living Center in Bangor. In the way that some children will fight over a favorite toy, the Manhart kids skirmished over who would add the carrots and apples to the juicer. The result was a refreshing concoction, with a nicely balanced sweetness. Who knew fresh spinach could go down so well? The kids obviously love pressing the juice and then whizzing together the smoothies, but when asked her favorite part, Skyler doesn’t say “blending” or “juicing” or “choosing the ingredients”— she says, “Ummm…drinking them!” Proof positive that the smoothie solution works.

Emilie Brand Manhart gets her two children to eat healthy by creating delicious (and nutritious) smoothies.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 65

food file recipe Red Lentil Coconut Soup 2 onions, minced  2 garlic cloves, crushed  4 tomatoes, roughly chopped  �/� teaspoon turmeric  1 teaspoon ground cumin  6 cardamon pods  �/� cinnamon stick  1 �/� cups red lentils, rinsed and drained  3 �/� cups vegetable broth  14-ounce can coconut milk  1 tablespoon lime juice  salt and freshly ground black pepper  cumin seeds, to garnish  Put the onions, garlic, tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, cardamom pods, cinnamon, lentils, and broth into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are soft.   Remove the cardamom pods and cin-

66 / Bangor Metro October 2012

namon stick. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.   Add the coconut milk and lime juice to the soup. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup slowly, without boiling. Garnish with cumin seeds.

The smoothies were followed by dinner on the terrace, where the family grows the mint she used in our tasty fresh lemonade, made from a recipe a friend found on online. Our entrée was a hearty red lentil coconut soup, inspired by an “anticancer” care package sent to Brand Manhart by her aunt, a breast cancer survivor, like Brand Manhart’s mom. “Sugar and refined flours are invitations to cancer,” Brand Manhart says. Rich in cancer-fighting folate and turmeric, the soup was the perfect complement to the arugula salad with roasted beets (one of Brand Manhart’s “power foods”), candied pecans, and homemade vinaigrette dressing. If you are new to what Manhart calls “clean foods”—foods without gluten, refined sugars, meat, dairy, soy, or processed ingredients—then this dinner might seem a little light. But, in fact, it was so filling that no one had room to try the fresh fruit she had prepared for dessert. She promised the uneaten dessert wouldn’t go to waste. Breakfast smoothies, anyone?

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 67

kitchen confidential Where are you from and how did you end up in Maine? My parents are originally from the area. They got married, joined the Air Force, and later divorced. I stayed with my mother, who remarried. My father moved back to Maine. My stepfather was stationed in Florida, then later Alaska, where I grew up. What is your first food memory? It’s hard to really place my first memory of food, but I remember spending summers in Maine, and we would always have these big family barbecues. My grandfather would cut his own huge strip steaks and boil lobsters. It’s nice to remember how everyone came together around these meals. What are some of your early cooking experiences? My parents were in the Air Force, so we didn’t always get to spend a lot of time together. My mom would always have us help out with dinner, even if it was just chopping onions or even just standing there, watching her cook. I loved when we had people over. Mom would pull out all the stops; we’d cook all morning long and eat all day.

The Crow’s Nest Joe Gervais took on a challenge when joining the kitchen staff at The Crow’s Nest in Presque Isle. This restaurant and event center is constantly hopping—thanks to some super renovations and a fresh menu. By melanie Brooks

68 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Where did you study/apprentice? I attended the Culinary Program at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. I jumped from restaurant to restaurant throughout the area. After a couple years of that, I moved to Maine and worked under Paul Parsons, the executive chef for the Caribou Inn and Conference Center, for two years. He was a little unconventional, but brilliant. Every day I find myself using some trick that he taught me. He passed away last year When did you realize you were a chef? I think I realized I was a chef when I

Photos: Sha-lam photography

Any family influences on your style and taste? My mom’s tastes were so eclectic. Sometimes we would be eating Mexican, other nights we would be having Korean or Filipino, and still other nights we would have ployes and chicken stew. I guess from that I really started to mix and match flavors. That really has an influence on the menus and recipes I write now.

could create a dish out of nothing. When I could see a few ingredients and know exactly what to do with them and how to do it. A lot of times inspiration comes at the oddest times, and to take that inspiration and make something from it, I think that’s a chef.

Opposite page: Chef Joe Gervais putting the finishing touches on a signature dish. Above: The Crow’s Nest’s Cider-Glazed Pork Chops.

What do you consider to be your pivotal career move? Taking the job as sous chef at The Crow’s Nest. I came to this job because I was really intrigued by the idea of a clean slate to work off. I knew I would learn a lot working at a start-up restaurant. After a few months, the executive chef wasn’t working out and Jim Stacey, the owner asked me if I would do the job while he looked for a replacement. I guess I’ve done a good job, as he decided to stop looking. When did The Crow’s Nest open? The Crow’s Nest opened in October of 2010. The owner was bored in his retirement and was interested in the bar and restaurant business. He purchased a property, which used to be a restaurant and event center. He made numerous renovations to the 1,000-seat restaurant including a children’s play area, a mother’s room, and a carport. What do you love about your location? I love the diverse community. I am always being asked to do something different— either a special themed wedding or some

BUYING YOUR GOLD & SILVER AT THE HIGHEST PRICES. 570 Stillwater Ave. Bangor 186 High St. Ellsworth

207-557-4979

Open 7 Days a Week! 10am–6pm

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 69

dining guide Hancock County Cleonice Mediterranean Bistro We source local ingredients, blend them with flavors from around the Mediterranean to produce spectacular meals: Lunch, Dinner and Tapas. 112 Main St., Ellsworth 207-664-7554 • www.cleonice.com The Crocker House Country Inn Simple, elegant fare in a comfortable setting. Gardenfresh vegetables, breads and desserts made daily. Extensive wine and imported beer list, fully stocked bar. Dinner served daily May 1 to Oct. 31. Reservations are requested. 967 Point Road, Hancock Point 207-422-6806 • www.crockerhouse.com The Lucerne Inn Travelers have been coming to the Lucerne Inn overlooking Phillips Lake for almost 200 years. Make dining out an event with a four-course meal in a dining room with a view from every window. 2517 Main Rd., Dedham 207-843-5123 • www.lucerneinn.com Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound For over 50 years, Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound has been providing you with the very best and freshest seafood Maine offers. Trenton Bridge ships fresh Maine lobsters, scallops, crabmeat, clams and mussels right to your door, or in summer season, serves them to you in Downeast Maine! 1237 Bar Harbor Road, Trenton 207-667-2977 • www.trentonbridgelobster.com

Penobscot The Coach House Affordable & delicious homestyle cooking served in a casual & friendly atmosphere. We serve breakfast, lunch & dinner 7 days a week. Eat in or call for take-out. 457 Wilson St., Brewer 207-989-4101

70 / Bangor Metro October 2012

kitchen confidential Dysarts Restaurant Home cooking tastes best when you don’t have to cook it! Serving Maine recipes that capture the authentic flavor of our region. I -95 exit 180 (530 Coldbrook Rd.), Bangor 207-942-4878 • www.dysarts.com Heroes Sports Grill Full service sports bar and grill, featuring wings, pizza, burgers etc. Open Monday and Tuesday 4pm–10:30pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11am–11:30pm, Friday and Saturday 11am–12:30am and Sunday 11:30am–9:30pm. 41 Washington St., Bangor 207-974-3033 • www.herossportsgrill.com Miguel’s Mexican Restaurant Miguel’s serves great, affordable, authentic, Tex-Mex cuisine made with local produce, beef, and seafood when available. Miguel’s prides itself on great customer service in a fun family-friendly atmosphere. 697 Hogan Rd., Bangor 207-942-3002 • www.miguelsbangor.com Moe’s Original Bar B Que Moe’s Original Bar B Que serves up an award-winning, all things Southern, Alabama BBQ experience. Haul it Home Packs & catering for special events. 650 Broadway, Bangor 207-992-9000 • www.moesoriginalbbq.com Schooners Seafood & Steakhouse Enjoy dinner on our beautiful deck overlooking the Penobscot River, or enjoy our delicious cuisine that will tempt your taste buds on a romantic rendezvous for two or in an enticing environment for the whole family. 5 South Main St., Brewer 207-989-5389 • www.schoonersbrewer.com Thistles

Owned and operated by The Rave family, Thistles provides one of the best dining experiences in Bangor. At Thistles you will be introduced to a superb menu of cuisine that is truly global. 175 Exchange Street, Bangor 207-945-5480 • www.thistlesrestaurant.com

special dietary need. I’m always kept on my toes. With such a large facility, I may be called on to do it all at the same time. What is your favorite ingredient to work with? I really tend to go through phases, but I tend to always reach for some sort of fruit. I really like to play on sweet and savory. Using fruits always tends to add a bit of brightness to any dish. What is the dish we will be featuring? How did it come about and what ingredients are used? Cider-Glazed Pork Chops. This dish came about because someone told me that pork was too dry to serve in a restaurant and that nobody here would buy it. So, taking on the challenge, I make brine with apple juice and soak the chops for a day, then wrap them in applewood-smoked bacon and grill them. Towards the end of cooking, I glaze them with a brandy and cider sauce. The first time I made them, we knew we had a winner, and since it’s been on the menu, it has been one of our top sellers. Your favorite restaurant? Pagoda, its a Chinese restaurant in North Pole, Alaska. I worked there for a couple years as a prep cook, which is where I learned a lot of my knife skills. The food was just great; simple, but great. I asked the owner one day why his food was so good, and he said, “We take our time and we make good food with good ingredients—we don’t cut corners.” Least favorite job-related task? Office work. I would scrub pots and pans all night if I could avoid inventory or scheduling. Most people don’t understand how much stuff, besides cooking, has to be done. As a chef today, you must also be a manager. It’s a skill I’m still working on. The last time you really surprised yourself in the kitchen? A couple weeks ago I was called on to do a plant-based meal. They wanted a barbecue theme, and I decided on making my own veggie burgers. I made brown rice and lentil burgers, and they turned out way better than I had thought a veggie burger could taste.

What does a perfect day off look like? My perfect day off is hanging out around the house with my wife and daughters, just enjoying each other, and having dinner as a family. What would you want your last meal to be? Garlic Spare Ribs and Lumpia. This is the meal my mother makes for me when I visit. One time, when my wife and I went to visit my parents in Alaska, we spent five hours driving around Fairbanks just looking for the right wraps for the lumpia. What do you love most about your job? The creativity and the challenge. Everyday there’s something new, some function or special guest that tests my skills and abilities. Here at The Crow’s Nest, I really get the opportunity to grow creatively as a chef.

more info the crow’s nest 150 Maysville Street, Presque Isle 207.540.1800 Hours: Tues.–Thurs., 11 am– 9 pm; Fri. & Sat., 11 am–10 pm Specialties: Steaks and seafood Accolades: Voted Best New Restaurant in Aroostook County in Bangor Metro’s 2012 Best Restaurant contest First-timer tip: Check out the specials Sample menu item: Tornado Shrimp, Citrus Salmon, and CiderGlazed Pork Chops Directions: Travel North on Route One through Presque Isle, turn right on Route 163 East. The Crow’s Nest is located �/� mile down on the right, across from Lowes.

Generators are our business, not a sideline

s Planned preventative maintenance contracts s State wide sales, service & installations s 24 hour emergency service s Factory-trained technicians

CMD Powersystems 42 Daves Way | Hermon 207-848-7702 bill@cmdpowersystems.com www.cmdpowersystems.com

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 71

per spectives

Magnus Stark

72 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Magnus Stark is a professional architectural, product, and editorial photographer based in Bangor. Born in Sweden, Stark has been photographing across the United States for the past two decades. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worked with many architects, interior designers, real estate developers, ad agencies, and magazines throughout his career. Stark moved to Maine last year from the Los Angeles area with his wife, Bari Newport, who is the executive director of the Penobscot Theatre Company.

www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 73

maine woods & waters

In Pursuit of the King of Gamebirds You can’t afford to make too many mistakes when hunting a bird as crafty and challenging as the ruffed grouse. Story and Photo by Brad Eden

ctober means one thing to many Maine sportspeople, and that’s the beginning of the upland bird-hunting season. For most, the main focus is the ruffed grouse or “partridge” as we call them up here in the northeast. Its likely those bird hunters’ bookshelves bow under the sheer volume of tomes dedicated to what the poet laureate of grouse-hunting literature, Burton Spiller, called “The King of Game Birds.” That’s a lot of homage for a 24-ounce bird with rather pedestrian plumage. I’ve been chasing ruffed grouse for over three decades and they still bamboozle me. Even today, counting my empty shells against the frozen delicacies in my freezer at the end of a grouse season is a humbling experience. You see, I am one of the nut jobs that invests in bird-hunting dogs and rather pricey double-barrel shotguns and tries to shoot them flying. This is opposed to the more traditional Maine method called “heater hunting,” where you drive logging roads looking for birds pecking gravel in the roads, and ground sluice them. All perfectly legal if you have exited the vehicle to load up. But challenging? No. When I first moved to Maine, my neighbors couldn’t figure out what I did for a living. My truck was parked in the driveway most workdays, and I was seen driving in and out of the woods on dirt roads around town year round. So it was no surprise that after awhile I heard rumors that the townsfolk thought I was a marijuana grower tending and harvesting my hidden pot crops! Truth is, I was either working as a graphic designer in my home office, or I was out training bird-hunting dogs, scouting bird covers, doing preseason inventory on game-bird populations, and hunting nearly every day during the bird season.

Even today, counting my empty shells against the frozen delicacies in my freezer at the end of a grouse season is a humbling experience. Along that unbeaten path I have learned a thing or two that might help add a bit of ballast to your game bag. If you are looking for a challenge and would like to 74 / Bangor Metro October 2012

be indoctrinated into the missing flying club, read on. Get to know all the nooks and crannies of the areas you plan to hunt for grouse. Knowing the hot spots amidst monotonous terrain, the boundaries, and the escape routes gives you an edge. That takes time and boots on the ground. Once you have gotten to know your grouse covers and have bagged some birds and stockpiled some memories, you’ll become stingy and secretive about them. Get the shotgun off the crook of your arm, turn off the damn cell phone, pay attention, walk with your shotgun at port arms, and be ready. This goes for hunting with or without dogs. I am not talking about a bug-eyed, white-knuckle march through a bird cover. I am talking about a casual but focused readiness to spring into action. The grouse is typically unpredictable and spooky—inevitably, as soon as you pack it up mentally, that’s when the bird flushes. Don’t wait for the perfect shot. A shot opportunity can amount to a flicker out of the corner of your eye or a swash of brown battering through the early-season foliage. Take the shot and burn some powder. This is tempered for safety, of course, if you are hunting with others. The distraction of keeping track of other hunters has a crippling effect on reflexes, and instinctive shooting is compromised, which is why many earnest grouse hunters prefer to hunt alone. Follow up on every bird, even if you think you missed. At the shot, not every grouse somersaults in midair and lands within sight. Hit or miss, still mark the spot you shot from and where it went down by breaking a branch or hanging a hat. My dogs retrieve, so I rarely lose a bird, but I still follow up every grouse shot at or flushed. After the second flush, I figure that bird has won for that day and move on. To some, bagging an occasional partridge off the road is just meat on top of the Sunday beans. But for those of us with the grouse-hunting affliction, it is a crafty and frustrating wing-shooting challenge, and every one held limply in the hand is a small miracle. Brad Eden is an artist, writer, Registered Maine Master Guide, and owner/editor of the online magazine www.uplandjournal.com

savvy seniors

What Makes You a Caregiver? The definition of a caregiver states that a caregiver is a person who has accepted responsibility for looking after a vulnerable neighbor or relative. If this sounds like you, read on. by carol higgins taylor

eople are living longer than at any time in human history— and Maine ranks as the oldest state in the nation. Every month, 660 Mainers will turn 65. This means that these people, who are seniors themselves, are most likely caring for aging parents who may be in their mid-80s or older. Consequently, more and more people find themselves in the official role of “family caregiver,” which means they are providing unpaid assistance to an aging adult. It can be a daunting task at best. For many people who provide care, the label “caregiver” still feels foreign. The following questions can help define the term better. Answering YES to one or more can provide insight to what it

really means to be a caregiver and some of the tasks that go along with it. • Do you provide transportation to an older person, such as to medical appointments? • Do you prepare meals or grocery shop on a regular basis in an attempt to ensure that that your loved one is eating properly? • Do you help with house cleaning, laundry, or yard work? • Do you assist with personal care, such as bathing and dressing? • Do you monitor medications to guarantee proper usage? • Are you handling bill paying? These activities may not seem like much, especially on an occasional basis,

but over time they can make a caregiver feel stretched pretty thin. While caring for a loved one can be enormously rewarding, it can also take its toll. Seeing an ill or aging parent or spouse become increasingly dependent on outside help may give way to fear, anger, frustration, and subsequent guilt. For caregivers with children and jobs, caregiving duties added to the mix of their everyday lives could lead to burnout, which may result in health problems. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and a weakened immune system—meaning increased susceptibility to colds and flu— are a few of the stress-related conditions. Caregivers may also feel overwhelmed, may sleep too much or too little, feel tired www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 75

savvy seniors most of the time, become easily irritated or angered, and feel constantly worried. Being aware of the potential problems associated with caregiving is the best way to prevent them.Â If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re unusually tired, cranky, quicktempered, or overly emotional, it may be time to reach out and talk to someone about what you are going through. Support groups are a wonderful place to share these feelings and thoughts with others who have a unique understanding or your situation and who can exchange stories and ideas. A feeling of camaraderie can develop in these meetings, as each member truly understands the experiences faced by the group. There is comfort in that. An important piece of advice is for caregivers to take care of themselves by eating nutritious foods and squeezing in some exercise. While this may seem like just one more thing heaped onto an already overflowing plate, you have to remember that if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not strong and healthy, the parent or spouse for whom you are caring may

suffer the consequences. Who will care for them if you get sick? For senior caregivers who are dealing with their own aging issues, now is not the time for undue stress. If this group doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tend to their own needs, they wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the energy, strength, compassion, and endurance to see through the role of caregiving. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to ask for help. Often friends and family members are willing to pitch in but arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure what to do. Make a list of chores that need to be done to help others feel useful. Simple things, such as raking the leaves or walking the dog, can relieve some of the pressure.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Above all, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel guilty when you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t able to be the perfect caregiver. Nobody is perfect, and love and kindness go a long way. The likelihood is that you werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a perfect parent either, so just do the best you can. Be grateful for the things you can do and forgive yourself for the things you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do.Â Each Area Agency on Aging in Maine has a Family Caregiver program with

specialists who spend their days working with individuals and families who have found themselves in a caregiver role. For more information on caregiving services, call 1-877-353-3771. Carol Higgins Taylor is director of communications at Eastern Area Agency on Aging. She may be reached at chtaylor@eaaa.org.

resources for seniors Area Agencies on Aging

877-353-3771

Legal Services for the Elderly

800-750-5353 Medicare

800 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MEDICARE (800-633-4227) Attorney General Health Care Crimes Unit

888-577-6690

Adult Protective Services

800-624-8404

Confidential number to report suspected elder abuse or financial exploitation.

How Confident Are You about

Your Financial Future? Dirigo Pines Retirement Community in Orono offers exceptional variety for a vibrant and fulďŹ lling lifestyle. Cottage Living Independent Living Apartments Assisted Living Apartments Memory Loss Suites Call for a tour today! 207-866-3400 â&#x20AC;˘ 9 Alumni Drive Orono, Maine www.DirigoPines.com

76 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Estate & Retirement Planning Tom Duff

President & Branch Manager

Joel West

Serving our clients for over 25 years Initial Complimentary Consultation

Financial Advisor

DUFF & ASSOCIATES An independent firm Securities offered through:

470 N. Main Street, Brewer t www.duffandassociates.com

Safe Return

888-572-8566

Nationwide system that helps identify and locate individuals who wander due to Alzheimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or dementia.

Pharmacy Help Desk

866-796-2463

Consumers receive information on their Medicare part D plan, and Medicare Savings Programs.

Office of Consumer Regulation

800-332-8529

Public Utilities Commission

800-452-4699

Every Voice Matters.

Make Yours Count! Election time is right around the corner. Don’t sit idly by while others cast their votes. By Jane Margesson

t’s hard to believe, but we are now just weeks away from the 2012 elections. Your phones are probably buzzing with calls from the candidates. Your favorite television shows are no doubt peppered with election advertisements. Money can have a tremendous influence in politics, and the amount of money being spent on these ads is remarkable. Consequently, the socalled “average” American is sometimes left feeling a bit skeptical and maybe a little left out of the whole process. Despite some of the challenges inherent in our political system, it ultimately does come down to the votes that are cast on Election Day. It is worth noting that Maine has a very strong history of voting, especially among residents over 50. According to the US Census Bureau, Maine had the nation’s highest eligible-voter participation in 2010 and the third highest rate of participating voters between the ages of 65-74. In a presidential election year, it is expected that the numbers will be even higher. The fact that so many Mainers take voting seriously is encouraging, and voters are speaking up about why they feel obligated to go to the polls. Roberta Downey of Bangor has been a voter since 1966. She says that to her, “voting is the most important obligation of a citizen in a democracy. It is through voting

that we are empowered to make choices and influence outcomes.” Roberta was surprised to hear that, according to the US Census Bureau, the number one reason for registered voters not voting is that they are too busy. “How can one criticize government if one isn’t voting?” she says. “The few minutes it takes to cast your vote can have an impact that lasts for years.” Options for voting in Maine are varied, offering opportunities to accommodate every schedule. You can request an absentee ballot, for example, up until Thursday, November 1, 2012. You can also vote early at designated voting places, in the same manner as Election Day, starting 30 days before the elections. For all questions related to voting, including registration, go to the Maine Division of Elections at www.maine.gov or call (207) 624-7650. If you are having trouble making up your mind about the candidates, a good place to start is to find out where they stand on the issues that matter most to you. For more than 26 years, AARP has worked to make sure the candidates address the issues that are important to older voters. As in past years, in 2012, AARP has produced online and print versions of their Voters’ Guides, which provide responses from presidential and congressional candidates in answer to key questions. This year, the questions posed are

the following: • How would you protect Social Security for today’s seniors and strengthen it for future generations? • How would you put Medicare on stronger financial ground and protect today’s seniors and future retirees from the burden of rising health costs? • How would you help Americans build a financial nest egg for their retirement? The candidates’ responses are culled from publicly available information and excerpts from their own campaign sources. Printed alongside their answers are AARP’s non-partisan principles on each of these issues. The Voters’ Guides provide unbiased information that can help voters make informed decisions when they go to the polls. You can receive your own copy at www.aarp.org/me or by calling 1-866-554-5380. Margie Higgins, also of Bangor, is excited to cast her ballot in November. “I’m 85 years old,” she says proudly. “I have been voting for 67 years. We all have a chance to make a big difference, and everyone should get out and vote. It’s too important not to.” JANE MARGESSON is a communications professional with over 20 years of experience with AARP. She currently serves as director of communications for AARP. www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 77

market place

33 School St., Brewer, ME

991-9889

www.schoolstreet pictureframing.com Mention this ad for 10% off!

Your Retirement is Our Business INITIAL COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION

Joel West, Financial Advisor / .BJO 4USFFU t #SFXFS t XXX EVĂľBOEBTTPDJBUFT DPN Securities offered through:

78 / Bangor Metro October 2012

Join us for Food and Fun!

Tour seven of Bangor areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most interesting and unique kitchens while supporting local healthcare facilities. Taste delicious food and beverages along the way compliments of these fine area vendors: Ann Marieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kitchen Butterfingers Bakery Savage & Sons Coffee Savour Chocolate Madeleineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Micro-Bakery Oats Any Time

Patron Sponsors:

Applebee Enterprises, Inc Bangor Metro Hammond Lumber Company Katahdin Trust Company

8TH ANNUAL KITCHEN TOUR

October 13, 12-4 PM Tickets $25

Available online and at the EMMC Gift Shop, Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hallmark on Broadway, Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gift Shop, and Miller Drug (Westgate) Proceeds will benefit Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Services and EMMCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raish Peavey Haskell Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cancer and Treatment Center in the Lafayette Family CancerCare Center in Brewer

Advocate Sponsors:

Atlantic Designs, Inc Bangor Daily News Bangor Hydro Meadowbrook Ridge

www.emmcauxiliary.org

real estate: estate Visit www.bangormetro.com for additional listings & virtual tours hancock County

Ă&#x2122; + Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0MĂ˘ $%! 1803 federal home, large rooms, high ceilings, wood floors, period moldings, and more. Large intown lot with lovely lawns and gardens. $575,000 Ann Mcgraw Compass Point Real Estate Office: 207-374-5300 www.compasspointrealestate.com

Ă&#x2122; + Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M "ĂĄ" $ Need a home away from home in a coastal town? Three level village townhouse, all day sunshine, carefree living, harbor views. $249,000 Suzanne Decrow Compass Point Real Estate Office: 207-374-5300 www.compasspointrealestate.com

Ă&#x2122; II L Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M "Ă¸Ă¸Ă¸ Restored cape, views of Eggemoggin Reach, 109â&#x20AC;&#x2122; tidal frontage, dock, float, deep water mooring, screened porch. 2FP, 7BR. $660,000 Tad Goodale Compass Point Real Estate Office: 207-374-5300 x16 www.compasspointrealestate.com

penobscot County

Ă&#x161; H Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M Ă¸Ă˘%%Ă¸ Stunning lakeside post & beam. 26â&#x20AC;&#x2122; high prow front cathedral glass window. Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen. Guest house. $1,250,000 Steven Shelto Acadia Realty Group Office: 207-667-7423 www.acadiarealtygroup.com

*I Ă&#x153;I I Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M%Ă˘ ĂĄ 3 BR home on Jones Cove. Enjoy the lovely sunsets. Listed at $379,000 Barbara Bragdon The Winter Harbor Agency Office: 207-963-2347 babragdon@prexar.com

Agents

a LI K Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M ĂĄ Ă¸ Ă˘ Beautiful New England Bed & Breakfast w/ 7 bedrooms, could be single family, multi-units, or B&B. $150,000 Kelley & Wally Fenlason Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Town & Country Office: 207-942-6711 Cell: 207-949-7376

Louise Rolnick, CRS, GRI, ABR Relocation Specialist Buying, Selling or Relocating â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Breeze with Louise! Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Town & Country

+H LĂ? aĂ&#x2DC;0M ĂĄ""Ă˘! Impressive 3,000 sf home on 1-acre landscaped lot. New roof, new gleaming wood floors, heated pool. Inlaw possibilities. $239,000 Gary Eastman 944-0249 Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Town & Country Office: 207-942-6711

Kelley & Wally Fenlason Associate Brokers The Only Team You Need! Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Town & Country

Office: 207-942-6711 X114 Cell: 207-299-7768

Office: 207-942-6711 Cell: 207-949-7376

N LK +H Ă&#x153;I Ă? aĂ&#x2DC;0M Ă¸ $ Well kept little 3 BR home with a 2 car attached garage & a lovely sunroom on Grindstone Neck. Listed at $240,000 Barbara Bragdon The Winter Harbor Agency Office: 207-963-2347 babragdon@prexar.com

Your listing could be on this page Sell it faster. Advertise in Bangor Metroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Real Estate Guide and your ad will also be listed on www.bangormetro.com. Starting in our October issue, the Real Estate Guide will also include a monthly feature on topics relevant to the industry! www.bangormetro.com Bangor Metro / 79

last word

Spokes and Jokes Columnist Chris Quimby is planning on taking his stand-up comedy routine on the road in the most peculiar way. By Chris Quimby

Chris Quimby is a husband, father, Christian comedian, writer and graphic designer from Brooks. Visit him on the web at chris quimby.com or nachotree.com. 80 / Bangor Metro October 2012

don’t know what it is about cycling, but it really helps me think. Theories abound as to the reason. Perhaps all of the spandex pushes much needed blood away from the rest of my body and up to my brain. It is worthy of consideration, though, that although my thinker is more highly engaged on such trips, my ponderings might be dangerous. On a recent bike ride, I came up with the idea to bike from Maine to Texas. My plan was not to do this in one day. I admit that I don’t know a lot about Texas—only that it is large, separates us from Mexico, and contains people that say the word “y’all.” This summer I met a wonderful family from Texas who had come to Maine for the summer to serve at Camp Fair Haven in Brooks. They, too, said “y’all,” and I loved it every time. They also were not familiar with the use of the term “wicked” in this area of the country, and were disturbed each time they heard it. I became quick friends with Brian, the husband and father of the group, who is a musician and has a cool hairdo. He encouraged me to do more with my stand-up comedy. It’s not that I have done nothing with my comedy, but lately most of my gigs have been around the dining room table, joking around with the family while we eat and discovering that, if you consume peas while laughing, oftentimes they crawl up that passageway in the back of your throat that extends up through your nose. It also happens with jalapeno peppers, which I found out through an episode a few years ago when I laughed during pizza and immediately cried out for help. My wife offered her quick assistance by running for the video camera. But what does a 40-year-old man wearing biking shorts have to do with comedy? Well, a lot, actually, but that’s not where this is headed. I’ve decided I should bike to Texas while performing standup comedy along the way. Please note that I will not be delivering jokes while actually on the bike, mostly because I will be too tired to speak. It will be a fantastic opportunity to meet new people, enjoy new experiences, and eat like a human vacuum cleaner without gaining any weight. There is, however, a lot of planning involved in such a venture. My plan is to leave in the autumn of 2013. Before then, I need to get my financial house in order, pay down some debt, and get my graphic design business to the point where it won’t need as much of my direct care for three months. My wife and two children will be joining me and are quite excited. Many people close to me are excited about this trip, remembering their regrets for some of the adventures they did not pursue in their own lives. Some of my closest friends, however, have told me, without mincing words, that I am out of my mind. I have been documenting the process to get to Texas, and will continue to do so during the trip. My hope is to eventually compile my writing and video into a book and a documentary film. If you want to know more about the Spokes and Jokes Tour, I invite you to follow the progress at www.spokesandjokes.com. I could always use encouragement, as this is quite a daunting endeavor. However, if ya’ll just wish to drop me a line to suggest how wicked stupid an idea this is, I welcome that, too.

Life is full of exceptional moments. Your business relationships should be too. “When you find a banker that sees your vision and the sweat you’ve put into something — a person who recognizes your commitment to early mornings and late nights — then you’ve got more than a banker. You’ve got an active player in your success. Someone who’s always there for you. And, on occasion, someone who’s actually there with you.” Chad Francis Co-Owner

Atlantic Landscape Construction, Inc.

MachiasSavings.com