Special
THE SUSTAINABLE LIVING ISSUE:
ALONE AND OFF THE GRID WITH ZACHARY FOWLER
VINTAGE VIBES with
RUSTED RAVEN FURNITURE
FIGHT NIGHT
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TAKES HOLD IN MAINE
6
SUMMER
HIKES
TINDER HEARTH
BREAD $5.95
May 2017
PSYCHIC Darlene Flood
DANDELIONS:
THE BEST FOOD YOU HAVEN’T TRIED
COMPOSTING FOR BEGINNERS
CONTENTS
MAY 2017
FEATURES 34 LIFE IN THE CAGE Maine’s growing passion for MMA 42 VINTAGE VIBES Turning trash into treasure at Rusted Raven Furniture 50 THE NEW DADDY BLUES Studies show postpartum depresssion can affect all involved 56
THE HEART OF COASTAL MAINE Take a trip to Belfast, then and now 34
LIFE IN THE CAGE
56
THE HEART OF COASTAL MAINE
IN EVERY ISSUE 08 WHAT’S HAPPENING Local news & sightings 30 PERSPECTIVES Photos from Gary Farnham 32 Q&A With retiring Sedgwick School principal Don Buckingham 80 LAST WORD Chris Quimby is calling for showers of French vanilla to bring in May
S PECI A L
T H E
S U S T A I N A B L E
L I V I N G
I S S U E
DANDELIONS: THE BEST FOOD YOU HAVEN’T TRIED • COMPOSTING FOR BEGINNERS
ON THE COVER Jill Schroeder at Tinder Hearth bakery. PHOTO BY JENNY NELSON
2 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
FIGHT NIGHT MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TAKES HOLD IN MAINE
VINTAGE VIBES RUSTED RAVEN FURNITURE
TINDER HEARTH BREAD
6 SUMMER
HIKES FOR ALL ABILITIES
$5.95
May 2017
ALONE AND OFF THE GRID WITH ZACHARY
FOWLER
PSYCHIC DARLENE
FLOOD
BUSINESS
ARTS & MUSIC
FOOD & DRINK
16 CHANNELING ENERGY Reading energy with Bangor psychic Darlene Flood
26 COMMON COVERS Jamming with Common Crossing
18 IN SEASON NOW A fresh salad recipe with baby greens
28 GRAPHIC CONTENT The talent behind O’Chang Comics
20 TINDER HEARTH BREAD Baking with the stuff of the earth 22 START YOUR DAY RIGHT In search of tasty morning grub 24
99 BOTTLES AND A NOODLE BAR Checking out the nightlife in Bangor
page 71
OUTDOORS
HEALTH & HOME
62
66 STRETCH FOR YOUR HEALTH Tips for preventing injury this spring
SHOES WERE MADE FOR WALKIN’ Some of the best local hikes 64 BEAR PAUSE Tracking Maine’s bears
68 FLIP THE SWITCH Shed some light on the best bulbs
SPECIAL: SUSTAINABLE LIVING Meet “Alone” survivor Zachary Fowler, learn how to compost at home, gain some gardening tips, and discover why (and how) you should be eating dandelions. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 3
EDITOR’S NOTE
I’M NOT MUCH OF A GAMER, but lately I’ve been investing time (read: a little obsessed) with “Red Dead Redemption” on the family’s PlayStation 4. Most any “real” gamer can tell you about it—released in 2010, it’s since won acclaim and heaps of awards with superlatives like “of the year” and “of all time.” The story’s a classic cowboy yarn. The year is 1911. The protagonist, John Marston, is a former wild west outlaw that’s eschewed his old gang for a redemptive turn as a family man. Just as he’s settling in and making good, along come agents from the fledgling FBI. They hold his family hostage and force him to bring his former gang mates to justice. Drama (and gunfighting) ensue. Meanwhile, the world marches onward. Airplanes, automobiles, telephones and trains creep across the western landscape, turning cowboys and outlaws into dusty relics. Change—and its close cousin, progress—are inevitable. They move forward, earnestly, like locomotives steaming through the night. This fair magazine recently held a readership survey to find out what you, our readers, like about it. And dislike. And want to see more of. The response was overwhelming. As it turns out, a lot of you like social activities, restaurants and events. You like hearing about your neighbors and the people in your community. On the other hand, you’re not really interested in sports coverage (though to be fair, a few of you are). And so we made some changes. This is the first issue to reflect them, based on your feedback. Is it perfect? I can’t tell you that—that’s up to you. I encourage you to communicate. Shoot me a line at editor@bangormetro.com. Don’t hold back. When it comes down to it, this magazine is for you, our readers. I want to know. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a cowboy hat and Louis L’Amour’s “Hondo.”
MATT CHABE, SENIOR EDITOR
4 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
www.bangormetro.com P.O. Box 1329 Bangor, Maine 04402-1329 Phone: 207.990.8000
PUBLISHER
Richard J. Warren
SENIOR EDITOR
Matt Chabe mchabe@bangordailynews.com
ART DIRECTOR
Amy Allen aallen@bangordailynews.com
SUBSCRIPTION & PROMOTIONS MANAGER
Fred Stewart fstewart@bangordailynews.com
Wilson Electronics
Cell Phone Signal Booster
Connect With Us Online
Improve signal to your cell phone or cellular data card, giving you maximum signal performance for rural or remote locations. Boosters available for use in car, boat, or in-building. Systems utilize outside antenna, inside antenna, power adapter, and cellular amplifier.
bangormetro.com facebook.com/BangorMetro @BangorMetro bangormetro editor@bangormetro.com
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 5
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Joshua Archer
Hannah Barry
Sarah Walker Caron
Bob Duchesne
Abigail Curtis
Joy Hollowell
Hannah LaClaire
Chris Quimby
Emily Burnham
Jeff Kirlin
Todd Nelson
Aislinn Sarnacki
Richard Shaw
Bangor Metro Magazine. May 2017, Vol. 13, No. 5. Copyright Š Bangor Publishing Company. Bangor Metro is published 12 times annually by Bangor Publishing Company. All rights reserved. This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or part in any form without the written permission of the Publisher. Bangor Metro is mailed at standard rates from Portland, Maine. Opinions expressed in either the editorial or advertisements do not represent the opinions of the staff or publisher of Bangor Metro magazine. Advertisers and event sponsors or their agents are responsible for copyrights and accuracy of all material they submit. Bangor Metro magazine to the best of its ability ensures the acuracy of information printed in the publication. 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 both in print and online. Editorial: Queries should be sent to Matt Chabe at mchabe@bangordailynews.com. Advertising: For advertising questions, please call the Print Sales Manager Todd Johnston at 207-990-8134. Subscriptions/Address Change: A one year subscription cost is $15.95. Address changes: to ensure delivery, subscribers must notify the magazine of address changes one month in advance of the cover date. Please contact Fred Stewart at 207-990-8075. Accounts Payable/Receivable: For information about your account please contact Todd Johnston at 207-990-8134.
COVER PHOTO: JENNY NELSON
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 7
EVENTS
WHAT’S HAPPENING
MAY
MAY 13 2017 Color Bangor
MAY 6 STEPS FOR SOULS: SUICIDE AWARENESS WALK
Steps for Souls is a suicide awareness walk that was founded to shed light on the tragedy of suicide. Featuring brief speeches, a performance by Bangor High School students, and ways to help in the community. Open to all, at Bangor High School.
This informational session is a chance for families and friends of those suffering with alcoholism or addiction to connect, educate and support one another. We will present information about various resources for you and your loved ones. From 5:30-7 p.m. at Bangor Area Recovery Network. Contact MAY 6 Jim LaPierre, LCSW CCS at counseling@ YMCA HEALTHY KIDS DAY roadrunner.com. A fun, family-oriented opportunity to get the
MAY 6 BOUNCE N' BEER ADVENTURE
Join Maine Yoga Adventures for a Saturday of big fun at the trampoline park and a ride on The Growler Bus towards Belfast. The adventure begins at the Orono Trampoline Park at 10:30 a.m. with bouncing and more. From the park, adventurers will head out to Nocturnem Draft Haus to meet up with The Growler Bus for a midcoast brewery tour. There will be plenty of yoga at every stop. Cost: $110.
kids moving and active. Pony rides and more from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA in Dover-Foxcroft. prymca.org
MAY 6 MEN IN MOTION MALE REVUE
Feeling adventurous? This event features some of the best (and steamiest) male dancers in New England. Courteous, tasteful, and definitely heart-racing, this event is best enjoyed in a group. Hot Seats and Diva tickets available. $30 in advance at Hollywood Casino Hotel & Raceway, Bangor.
maineyogaadventures.com hollywoodcasinobangor.com 8 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
MAY 8 BURNS VOCAL ARTS MUSIC STUDIO - STUDIO RECITAL
An evening of music. Vocalists ages 10 to adult present a showcase of their work over the course of the semester. Admission by donation. All proceeds benefit the Burns vocal scholarship program. To be held at Penobscot Theater in Bangor from 6-9:30 p.m.
MAY 10 BRLI ANNUAL DINNER
Join the Bangor Region Leadership Institute for a night of networking, dinner, and celebration. BRLI will recognize the class of 2017 and honor this year’s recipient of the G. Clifton Eames Leadership Award. At the Hilton Garden Inn, Bangor from 5-8 p.m. brliexperience.org
MAY 13 2017 COLOR BANGOR
Join the American Folk Festival as runners and walkers take over Bangor’s waterfront for a day of color, fun, walking/running and more. Participants pass
PHOTO: BDN FILE
MAY 3 ADDICTION IN THE FAMILY: FAMILY INFORMATION NIGHT
through color zones at different spots on the course. Each zone has different colored corn-starch powders that volunteers throw all over your white shirt!
with freshly milled Maine Grains flours. Class participants will use simple tools and learn about different flours for making pasta such as whole grain, spelt, and heritage grain flours. The workshop concludes with a tasting of pastas made in the class. Workshop limited to 15 participants. The Mill Inn + Cafe, DoverFoxcroft at 3 p.m.
Wondering what you can do to support LGBTQ youth? Want to know about trans issues? What the terminology means? How to use gender-neutral pronouns? Join OUT Maine for this informative training on supporting and empowering LGBTQ youth and their families from 9-11:30 a.m. The University of Maine Hutchinson Center, Belfast.
Beer knows no gender. In that spirit, Central Street Farmhouse is offering a Mother’s Day event that is all about beer. Do you have a mom who likes beer, wants to learn more about beer, or wants to make beer? She sounds like a cool mom! Learn all about partial mash brewing in a “certified” environment. Not a mom? No worries—all are welcome. $50 per pair includes lesson, samples, snacks, and your own six-pack of homebrew. At 1 p.m. at Central Street Farmhouse in Bangor.
dfmill.com
outmaine.org
MAY 14 JUST KIDS’ STUFF YARD SALE
MAY 26 AN EVENING WITH DAVID CROSBY & FRIENDS AT CRITERION THEATRE
centralstreetfarmhouse.com
kidscornerbarharbor.org
MAY 14 MOTHER’S DAY PASTA MAKING CLASS–FOR BEGINNER’S
MAY 19 SUPPORTING LGBTQ YOUTH IN OUR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
americanfolkfestival.com
MAY 13 MOTHER’S DAY BEER BREWING 201
Share memorable time with your mother learning to make homemade rustic pasta
Community Early Care and Learning Facility will host a “Just Kids’ Stuff” yard sale fundraiser in front of the Acadia Hotel at 9 a.m. Come check out great children’s items, from clothes, toys, books, decor, furniture, maternity and more. All proceeds benefit Kids’ Corner. Acadia Hotel, Bar Harbor.
Legendary singer-songwriter and social justice activist David Crosby will perform as part of his spring tour. Crosby is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, inducted as a member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor. criteriontheatre.showare.com
MAY 26-28 BANGOR COMIC AND TOY CON The BCTC returns for a weekend of geek
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 9
EVENTS
WHAT’S HAPPENING
fun! Gaming, cosplay, films, vendors, artists, comic creators, writers, wrestling, music and more! Cross Insurance Center, Bangor. bangorcomictoycon.com
MAY 28 KRISTIN ANDREASSEN PERFORMANCE
Kristin Andreassen is a songwriter and a percussive dancer who brings her talents to live performances that have been called “inventive” and “haunting.” She has been a featured performer on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, and in 2015 NPR’s Mountain Stage chose her performance as one of year’s ten best. 58 Main Street, Bangor.
MAY 13 Mother’s Day Beer Brewing 201
Something To Do?
Find Ideas on our online
calendar of events
bangormetro.com 10 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTO: BDN FILE
Looking for
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 11
EVENTS
SIGHTINGS
HERE’S A LOOK AT JUST A FEW SPECIAL EVENTS FROM THE PAST MONTH...
1
PHOTOS BY JEFF KIRLIN, THE THING OF THE MOMENT
1: Angela Smith, Matt Smith and family at the 2017 Maine Science Festival.
the Maine Science Festival’s Science on Tap event (sponsored by this magazine).
2: Amy Cookson, Ashley McCurry and Justine McCurry at the Emerge Maine Graduation Class of 2017.
4: Karen Ellis and Greg Ireland take a big leap into frigid waters at the Bangor Polar Dip to benefit Camp Capella and Camp Sunshine.
3: Robin Murphy, Jennifer F. Murphy and Rose Murphy at
4 2 3
12 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
5 CHANCE TO WIN TICKETS! Answer these Black Fly Brewfest questions online at BangorMetro.com for your chance to win tickets to the main event May 20 in Houlton!
5: Katie Cloutier grabs a selfie with Darth Vader at the Bangor Symphony Orchestra—The Music of Star Wars.
6: Paul Hilchey-Chandler and Amy Stevens Brook at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine Space Station 5K.
6
FIND ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S POP QUIZ ON PAGE 29!
Visit BangorMetro.com to play online for your chance to WIN 2 tickets to the Black Fly Brewfest May 20 in Houlton! www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 13
BUSINESS
BIZ BUZZ
ON THE MOVE
Eastern Maine Community College announced that JORDANNA C. SPRAGUE of Burlington, Maine, will receive the Leon A. Gorman Endowed Scholarship for the ‘17/’18 academic year.
United Way of Kennebec Valley (UWKV) recently announced CRAIG GAROFALO, vice president and senior operations officer of Kennebec Savings Bank, as chair of its board of directors. CARL D. MARSH has joined Camden Financial Consultants as assistant vice president, financial consultant. In similar news, JAMES ADSIT has joined Camden National Bank as senior vice president and director of commercial banking for the Bangor and Down East regions; BLAINE JONES joins as the new retail regional manager in the Down East region; and JEAN CLAVEAU joins as vice president, commercial banking officer.
Chief Cryptologic Technician (Technical) RYAN STANCHFIELD of Brownville holds his daughter, Ryleigh, for the first time during the arrival of USS Hopper at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, recently. U.S. Navy photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Stoltz. Solon selectman ELAINE ALOES and Rockport Town Manager RICHARD “RICK” BATES were appointed recently to the 12-member executive committee that helps guide the priorities and operations of the Maine Municipal Association.
14 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
AWARDS SUSAN LETCHER recently joined College of the Atlantic as a professor of plant sciences. BerryDunn recently announced a slew of new hires, including STEPHANIE CHACA, ALEXANDRA HALL and MORGAN HILOW to the Audit and Accounting Group; NICOLE FELLOWS, SUSAN GARD-SMITH, LOUIS KRUPP, JAMES QUENTIN, JOSEPH SHAGOURY, BENJAMIN SMITH and MATTHEW TREMBLAY to the Government Consulting Group; KACIE MCNICHOL to the Tax Group; and EMILY MARQUIS to the Marketing Group. In addition, ANDREW MAJKA has joined BerryDunn as a senior manager in the firm’s healthcare industry group. MICHAEL THOMPSON recently joined CES., Inc., as senior project scientist in their Brewer office. REBECCA TWISS also joined as marketing specialist, serving locations statewide.
GRANTS University of Maine’s MICAH PAWLING was recently announced as a fellow with the Whiting Foundation’s Public Engagement Fellowship. The program awards $50,000 each to eight humanities scholars. Pawling’s project, The Sabattis Tomah Project, engages the Native American Passamaquoddy communities in Maine and New Brunswick as active participants in telling their own story.
HANGER CLINIC, a Bangor patient care company providing orthotic and prosthetic solutions, was recently awarded the annual Excellence Award for Operations by its parent company, Hanger, Inc. The award recognizes Hanger Clinic centers that provide superior clinical care, reliable customer service, and have attained or sustained outstanding operating results. The GREATER BANGOR CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU (GBCVB) and presenting sponsor, HOLLYWOOD CASINO HOTEL & RACEWAY, recently announced the winners of the 2017 Tourism and Hospitality Eagle Awards. DICK STACEY and STACEY’S COUNTRY JAMBOREE will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, CAROLANN OUELLETTE will receive the award for Individual Achievement, and the MAINE WHOOPIE PIE FESTIVAL will receive the GBCVB Impact Award. New this year will be the first-ever GBCVB Partnership Award which will go to the BANGOR REGION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. In recognition of a major gift from Maine-based WINDHAM WEAPONRY, the PINE TREE COUNCIL, BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA will rename the shooting range complex at Camp William Hinds as “Windham Weaponry Youth Shooting Sports Ranges.” Middle school students from Athens, Bath and Veazie were winners in Maine Municipal Association’s sixth annual statewide essay contest, with the theme “If I Led My Community…” The winners are EMMA BEAUREGARD of Damariscotta Montessori School; OLIVIA MESSER of Veazie Community School; and PATRICIA THODY of Athens Community School.
Quirk
BUSINESS
Channeling
E N E R G Y For psychic Darlene Flood, seeing the past, present and future isn’t about crystal balls and tarot cards; it’s about reading a person’s energy. BY HANNAH LACLAIRE
PSYCHIC DARLENE FLOOD often says that she’s an overnight success, even after practicing her craft for 20 years. Her daily routine hasn’t changed much in that time. She always starts her day with a cup of black coffee—“My grandfather always said, ‘If you have to put something in it, you shouldn’t be drinking it.’” Her outlook on life and her job, however, has changed dramatically. “It’s more about the way that I feel,” she said, “and being okay with who I am, and what I do, and being a strong female.” That hasn’t always been easy for Flood, who used to be hesitant to share her work with others. “The first question that everybody asks is, ‘Well, what do you do?’ I would say, ‘Well, I do… spiritual work,’” she said, mumbling and looking away, “because people [can be] very shaming and very critical and very narrow.” She was raised in the rural Maine town of Lee. She was a quiet, well-behaved child, following in the footsteps of a rule-breaking sister. “She’s an Aquarius,” she said simply. As a Leo, she said, she couldn’t be more different from her sister, who moved to Texas and became a “born-again Baptist preacher,” which is the “antithesis of what I do.” Flood said we’re all born with the ability to connect with the non-physical, but for most, it gets stomped out at a young age. Her own “conscious spiritual exploration” intensified in 1987, she said, and she began developing her psychic gifts in earnest in 1996. When she first moved to Bangor in 1994, there were a lot of people she describes as “alternatives” like herself. Over the years, she said, that number has waned. “I don’t know of anyone other than me that is still doing this after 20 years,” she said. “But I never gave up.” She’s not your stereotypical crystal-ball gazing, turban-wearing psychic, although she does find humor in that depiction. Instead, she dresses simply in jeans and a T-shirt most days, always ready to transition from her office to outside play. Her business is tucked away in the very back of a large building on Hancock street. She has the entire lower floor to herself. Her office is spacious and calming. Two chairs sit in the middle of the room and there are a few relics on the walls, but it’s otherwise unadorned. She lets the energy characterize the space. “All kinds of things fall under the umbrella of ‘Darlene Flood the Psychic,’” she said. She teaches development classes, holds private readings, does healing work and teaches workshops. In a typical reading, she uses no crystal balls, no tarot cards (which she says are a crutch), and no physical contact. All she needs is a connection with her client’s energy. “As I’m connected with that energy, I’m used as a channel for all of the information and the energy that comes forth based on the spiritual agreement that the client has,” she said. What comes next could be anything. “It’s sometimes things that have already occurred, sometimes things that are occurring now, sometimes things that are potential in the future,” she said. “I don’t decide what that’s going to be. It’s different with every person that sits in front of me.” 16 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
“She’s one of the most powerful people I’ve ever met,” said Traci Cates, a long-time friend and client of Flood’s and a regular attendee of her development classes. “She challenges you without making you feel ‘less than.’” Through her connection with Flood, Cates has grown in her own psychic understanding and has helped her fit her spirituality to what she always thought it should be. Although she’s always been open to psychic energies, Cates said Flood has helped her to “develop far beyond where I would have if I had not met her,” and that she has had a huge impact on her life. For her part, Flood said it can be difficult when people expect her to know all the answers, but that it’s rewarding to help people through difficult times. Her career has seen her travel to psychic fairs, and she’s even consulted on an unclosed murder case in Fort Knox by a police officer who was about to retire. “I learned a lot about trusting my intuition with that one,” she said. “I do what I do with integrity.” Today, Flood no longer travels to psychic fairs or does marathon minireadings. She’s content to stay on the path that she’s on, which she believes is the universe’s intention. Until that path changes, if she’s not working she can be found at home in her pajamas, doing nothing but sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee the only way to drink it.
HAVE
PLANS for this weekend?
Find ideas on our online
calendar of events
bangormetro.com
bangormetro.com
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 17
FOOD & DRINK
IN SEASON NOW
In Season Now:
BABY ARUGULA and Other Greens STORY & PHOTOS BY SARAH WALKER CARON
ONE OF THE greatest gifts of shopping farmers markets is the ability to talk directly to the folks growing your food. Unlike the impersonal grocery store, this is a chance to bridge the gap between people and food. May is prime time for starting these conversations. Farmers markets are transitioning from their winter schedules and routines to their summer ones, which means there are more markets, more produce to choose from and more farmers to chat with. While you’re filling your market bag, pause for personal connections. They are what make the experience so special.
Arugula Salad with Balsamic Roasted Radishes and Sweet Potatoes Serves 4, as a side dish 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, washed and quartered 1 medium sweet potato, cut into ½-inch dice 1 shallot, peeled and quartered 2 tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 4 cups baby arugula Crumbled blue cheese (optional) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. On a nonstick baking sheet, stir together the radishes, sweet potato and shallot. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, stir and then roast for 10-15 minutes move. Drizzle the roasted vegetables with balsamic vinegar and toss to combine. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Toss the roasted vegetables with the baby arugula. Divide onto four plates and drizzle with a little additional balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and, if desired, blue cheese. 18 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
IN CRATES AND BOXES AND BAGS, THE SMALL GREENS ARE APPEARING AT STANDS THROUGHOUT THE STATE NOW. BABY ARUGULA, SPINACH AND OTHER GREENS ARE IN SEASON, A WELCOME RESPITE FROM THE STORAGE CROPS OF COOLER MONTHS. Ask how your farmers and their families are doing. Complement their luscious array of produce. Inquire about the field conditions and what’s coming soon. And if you are unfamiliar with something, ask about it. That’s how I learned about lovage last year, a sweet herb with a flavor similar to celery. And when you’re there, be sure to get some baby greens like arugula. In crates and boxes and bags, the small greens are appearing at stands throughout the state now. Baby arugula, spinach and other greens are in season, a welcome respite from the storage crops of cooler months. Rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and folic acid, as well as potassium, iron, calcium and more, this nutrient-rich leafy green is perfect in salads like this one. Its peppery flavor is a nice complement to the rich balsamic roasted radishes and sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
SARAH WALKER CARON is a Bangor-based food writer and a senior editor for the Bangor Daily News. Her weekly food column, Maine Course, appears in the BDN every Wednesday and she is also author of Sarah’s Cucina Bella food blog (www.sarahscucinabella.com) and a cookbook: “Grains as Mains: Modern Recipes Using Ancient Grains.”
Best
VOTE NOW
TAURANTS
RES
YOU VOTE YOU DECIDE
90+ RESTAURANTS from Fort Kent to Rockland
Visit bangormetro.com to vote now for your favorite restaurants and see the winners featured in our September 2017 issue!
HURRY! Vote now!
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 19
FOOD & DRINK
TINDER HEARTH
Bread Crafting loaves from the stuff of the earth. BY TODD R. NELSON
20 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
BREAD IS MADE of yeast, salt, flour and water. But what yeast? What salt, what flour? To Tim Semler, every ingredient is a critical distinction. “Our bread tastes so good because ours is the best water in the world,” Semler said. “It’s amazing.” Across the back field from his Tinder Hearth bakery in Brooksville is a saltwater cove. That, too, must influence the bâtard loaves being formed on the wooden table in the sunny bake house to bake tomorrow. To hear him talk, you realize even the air is important to the bread-making process. Semler, 33, a Brooksville native, makes artisanal bread in a massive wood-fired brick oven installed in the same house he grew up in. He and his wife, Lydia Moffet, a Deer Isle native, live adjacent to it with their children, two-week-old Bernard and three-year-old Kieran. It’s their tenth year in business. “We’re getting to a good place in terms of community reputation, varied products, and selling in different places,” he said. “For any food business in this area, you have to be immensely creative and resilient.” Semler tried a year at New School University in New York City, majoring in jazz and liberal studies. He still plays guitar in weekend gigs with the Soulbenders. Moffet was a political science/ecology major at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. After working various local jobs, they started majoring in bread, drawing mentorship from Bohemian Bread in Montpelier, Vt., and Hungry Ghost in Northampton, Mass. Their efforts started modestly in an outdoor brick oven in the field out back and have grown since. It takes 36 hours to make their loaf, beginning with firing up the oven to 1,000 degrees F. When the radiant heat comes down to 700 degrees, it’s time to put the bread in. It’s a baking tempo that honors an ancient bread, not business, model. “What sets us apart is sourdough and wood firing,” said Semler. “That shapes the schedule, feeling of the bread, timing, economic model—the whole system.” Monday is fire and dough; Tuesday is bake and sell. Wednesday through Thursday, repeat to bake and sell on Friday. Their loaves sell for $7 apiece, yet they sell it all. “In summer, I don’t even have a loaf to eat in my own kitchen,” said Semler. The six weeks of quadruple sales in summer anchor their sustainability. For instance, to satisfy the 1,000-croissant-a-week demand in the summer, Tinder Hearth needs 17 mostly part-time bakers and drivers to supply bread and pastries to stores in Deer Isle, Blue
Clair Malina (left), Jill Schroeder, and Tim Semler in the kitchen.
PHOTOS: (LEFT) JENNY NELSON; (TOP) TODD NELSON; (BOTTOM) JENNY NELSON
Jill Schroeder places bread in the oven at Tinder Hearth bakery.
Tim Semler, Lydia Moffett and their son Kieran.
Hill, Ellsworth, Bangor and Bucksport. In winter, for 250 croissants a week, there are eight employees. Pastries are lucrative, and help leverage the real passion: bread. Semler talks bread with a poet’s fervor and the granular knowledge of a biologist who understands baguettes at the molecular level. “The lactic acid in sourdough protects the dough from burning in the high heat,” he said. “Due to long fermentation, without yeast, all the grain gets fully saturated. Every molecule of starch unfurls like a fern and has water on all sides.” This achieves a prized hydration rate. “Then it becomes ‘a different food.’” That said, sourdough is “not a formula,” said Semler. “It’s living, moody organisms. We open up the lid and say, ‘Talk to me!’” What about gluten intolerance? “People tell me, ‘I can’t eat any wheat—but I can eat your pizza.’ We use the highest gluten flour available, but it’s sour dough, and full of water.” Are Semler and Moffet satisfied? Yes, provided they get to keep their hands in the dough. “We’ve achieved sustainability. It’s working. Two kids, a new Honda, and remodeling the house. This year we’ve also started shipping bread to New York and Philadelphia.” Tinder Hearth is a bread terroir—living Maine water, air and organisms infiltrating the “big city.” www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 21
FOOD & DRINK
START YOUR DAY In search of the region’s morning grub. STORY & PHOTOS BY HANNAH BARRY IT’S BEEN SAID that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Perhaps you’ve even heard breakfast referred to as the “magical unicorn of daily meals” (or maybe that’s just my own hyperbole). In any case, it’s correct—breakfast is the best. It starts your day off right and fills your rumbling stomach after a long night of sleep-induced fasting. Fortunately, the Bangor Metro region has a number of delicious destinations to get your breakfast on. I recently visited some of them in search of delicious breakfast eats.
FORK & SPOON (BANGOR) FORKANDSPOON.ME
Recently, I discovered that Fork & Spoon had started serving breakfast, so it seemed a no-brainer to check it out. Fork & Spoon has gone through some changes recently, and really delivered with their breakfast sandwiches. It was a simple and delectable experience. Keep your eyes on Fork & Spoon as their breakfast offerings develop.
BLAZE (BANGOR) BLAZEBANGOR.COM Known for their signature pizza and expansive beer taps, I thought it couldn’t hurt to see what the brunch buzz was all about. I ordered coffee and a mimosa made with blood oranges that made my whole body feel delightfully fizzy. For an entrée, I had the breakfast sandwich that came on a homemade buttermilk biscuit that had my mouth watering from the moment I saw it on the menu. My dining party ordered the cast-iron corned beef hash and the Blaze skillet. I’d recommend Blaze for any occasion, but especially for a celebration brunch outing.
THE EAGLE’S NEST (BREWER) FACEBOOK It might be better known for its lobster rolls, but come morning, locals know it as the place to grab a hearty nofrills breakfast in a similarly no-frills atmosphere. Come for the bacon, eggs and bottomless coffee, stay for the great view of the Penobscot River just below. 22 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
right CAFE THIS WAY (BAR HARBOR) CAFETHISWAY.COM
Bar Harbor’s Cafe This Way serves up organic and vegan breakfast fare in a fun, funky atmosphere tucked away off the main street. Grab the McThis Way Big Breakfast Sandwich, The Vegan (eggless and dairy free), or the organic oatmeal topped with blueberries and bananas. Look out for their signature cartoons around the place for a good morning laugh.
FRANK’S BAKERY (BANGOR) FRANKSBAKERY.COM
Since 1945, Frank’s Bakery has been serving homemade specialty baked goods (and amazing local coffee) to the people of Bangor. They also happen to serve “the greatest breakfast sandwich in town,” as one of the ladies behind the counter proudly told me. It might be true. Not only was it incredibly tasty, they also offer glutenfree options (quite important to some, myself included). A visit to Frank’s is a genuine Bangor experience and the staff is very friendly.
SEA BISCUIT BAKERY (ROCKPORT) SEABISCUITBAKERY.ME Drop into Rockport’s Sea Biscuit Bakery for breakfast sandwiches, scones, bread pudding and poundcake as well as other traditional, delicious bakery fare.
BUCKSPORT
BROOKS
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner
Weds – Thurs & Sun • 8 am – 2 pm Fri – Sat • 8 am – 8 pm
12 Purple Heart Hwy • Brooks (207) 722-3236
RALPH’S CAFE (BROOKS) FACEBOOK
Diners rave about this little restaurant in out-of-the-way Brooks. Highlights include the eggs benedict, homemade jam and walls adorned with memorabilia and kitsch.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL CAFE (MILLINOCKET) FACEBOOK If you find yourself heading north, you must stop at the Appalachian Trail Cafe. It’s small, it’s homey, and you get the sense that countless proud and weary souls have sat in those booths after spending many a long day on the Appalachian Trail. Its charm is in its simplicity—heavy ceramic mugs, a basic breakfast menu, homemade pies, no-hassle table service and a decor that will keep you amused every time you visit. Though I couldn’t go everywhere and cover everything, there are breakfast destinations in the Bangor Metro region for all tastes. Are you looking for kitschy style? Nicky’s Cruisin’ Diner in Bangor is your place. Massive portions (and pancakes)? Dysarts or Governor’s. Restoration after a long night? Judy’s on State Street in Bangor. When in the region, there’s no shortage of breakfast. This list is by no means exhaustive. Did we miss your favorite breakfast stop? Tell us about it at editor@bangormetro.com—your glowing recommendation could make it into a future issue!
GUILFORD
Your listing could be on this page Attract more customers. Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Restaurant Guide. Call 941-1300.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 23
NIGHT LIFE
AND A NOODLE BAR BY MATT CHABE
Have your own stories about life after dark in the Bangor region? We encourage our readers to share their stories for possible publication in this section. Tell us your stories of bonfire parties, theatre dates, night shifts, bar crawls, quiet nights at camp, unexplainable encounters and more. Submit your stories to editor@bangormetro.com, and remember—keep it legal, and keep it friendly. Bangor Metro reserves the right to edit or refuse any content for style and appropriateness. 24 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTO: DOUG GRACE
99 BOTTLES
FRIDAY. 5:30 P.M. Outside the office window, the sun was a butterscotch button dissolving in the mid-March haze. I looked down at my computer screen. It looked back with a blank stare. What was I still doing here? I wondered. The weather was brutally cold. It had been a long week. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. My companion, a guy from The County I had known for a little over a year, was texting me. He was probing, wanting to know my plans. He was pushing me to move. I welcomed it. I was ready to move. “I could use a drink,” I texted back. And so we found ourselves at 99 Hops House, the new brewpub nestled neatly in the back of Hollywood Casino on Main Street in Bangor. I’d been tipped off to the place by a co-worker, and enticed by the premise: 99 craft beers on tap, with the promise of fame to those hardy enough to quaff them all—your name emblazoned on a bar stool. An ambitious goal, but I was hooked. I met my companion at the bar. He was halfway through a four-beer flight of mostly light beers. From behind us, the relentless bells and chimes of the gaming floor blew over us like heavy gold glitter. I ordered a Geaghan Brothers beer, and told the bartender I wanted to join the 99 Club. My companion, like-minded, did the same. For a $10 fee, we were presented with stamp books to track our progress. I ordered another beer off the long beer list. I was feeling pretty good about this start. My companion leaned in close to tell me a story: “I think I told that bartender a bad joke,” he whispered guiltily. “Before you got here, he asked me what I was up to tonight. I told him I was getting inebriated. He looked at me dead-eyed and said, ‘Not here you’re not.’” I looked around. It was probably true. There are some bars you go to to waste the night away, to be loud amongst loud people. This is not that bar. This bar was spotted with couples and single patrons quietly enjoying pub food, slowly appreciating their drinks. At this rate, I thought, they’d never get their names on bar stools. We finished our beers and grabbed an Uber to the Umami bar downtown. As many times as I’ve visited this neon-soaked, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it side room off the noodle bar, I’ve never learned its true name. It’s unassuming and friendly, the crowd light and interesting. “You need to get the dragon bowl,” I told my companion. “It’s the house specialty.” The bartender presented him with the massive ceramic bowl and lit the sterno on top. A small flame sprung to life. Inside, various liquors of unknown quantities swirled. My companion’s eyes glazed. I sipped a coffee brandy and Coke, a drink that anywhere else is paint thinner but here becomes something more nuanced. Someone came barreling through the door, yelling loudly. His friend followed close behind, coat gathered over his hunched shoulders, cloudy breath stopping just outside the open door. The guy on the barstool next to me was trying to get my attention by leaning in close to my ear. The bartender engaged in friendly conversation with another patron. These were all people I had seen here before, all characters from the area’s flowing, organic life after sundown. I settled into conversation with my companion. Some bars exist as comfortable, momentary escapes from the din of the rat race. Other bars, you go to them to waste the night away, to be loud amongst loud people. In Bangor, there’s a bonus of both.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 25
ARTS & MUSIC
COMMON Up north, this tight band gets feet stomping. BY JOSHUA ARCHER
26 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
C O V E R S YOU KNOW AT the end of the movie “Stand By Me,” when the boys are walking down the street and they go their separate ways and Richard Dreyfuss’ voice tells you how each boy ended up in life? That’s kind of like what happens at the end of each Common Crossing show (except for the whole Richard Dreyfuss thing). Half of the band lives in northern Maine, while the other half live south, but once a month like spawning fish they converge for a gig and suddenly, they’re all 12 years old again. At the beginning of their 20 year ride, they started out as The Blake Street Boys, a clever nod to the band’s bachelor pad on Blake Street in Presque Isle, and played the dorm circuit. “Then the Backstreet Boys came out and they didn’t play any instruments... and we didn’t want to be associated with them, so we needed a new name,” said Brian Mosher. Mosher, who doesn’t like to be thought of as the frontman (but kind of is), joined forces with school chums and core members Doug Cronkhite on drums and Shane Mountain on bass [Mosher and his family were also featured in Bangor Metro’s April 2017 issue—Ed.]. The band’s most recent and youngest addition—like, 20 years younger—is Josh Kovach on lead guitar. Together they provide what most folks in northern Maine are looking for: a good cover band. “People enjoy us playing covers, so it became a business and that’s what people want around these parts,” said Mosher. “[They want] a good band where they can tap their feet, and that’s OK.” Is it OK though? Put the magazine down and go look them up on Spotify. They actually have original tunes. Their only album (so far), produced in 2010, Seeing the Light of Day, is a throwback to 90s pop.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE NITE SHOW
Common Crossing takes the stage.
“We’re not changing the world with our music,” said Mosher, “but we are good buds, you know. We’ve been together doing it for a long time and I think that’s what people come to see. We don’t take ourselves seriously at all. We know that we’re not going to be rock stars, but we enjoy playing music.” The band has enough original material in their catalog for half a dozen albums. But like the eternal struggle for most creative folks, it takes a full moon, aligned planets and a sacrifice for them to find studio time. You know when they practice? During sound check. They’re pretty good on the fly. A year after they recorded their first album, Kovach joined the band. It was a little rough at first, having their lead guitarist (a junior in high school) greeted with odd looks when they would play at bars. “People would say, ‘Is that Brian’s son? Is he playing with dad?’” said Mosher. “To Josh’s credit, he worked through all that and he’s really blossomed as a guitar player and a performer. He’s really invaluable to the band at this point.” At the beginning of the year they announced open slots for booking and it didn’t take long to have their year planned out. They have gigs all over Maine and it’s not uncommon for them to play a show out of state. What’s kept them going for so long could be the distance between members, their day jobs and their families. What’s that old proverb? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? “We’re really good friends. There’s a bond in the band like a brotherhood. That’s one of the strengths of the band, which is how well we get along together and how much fun we have just playing music. That’s kind of our philosophy: if we’re having fun playing music then anybody watching us is going to have fun,” Cronkhite said. With different locations, ages, and tastes in music, what would traditionally force a band to call it quits hasn’t stopped what Mosher says is a workhorse of a band. They’re like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese: a good, reliable product designed for mass appeal that’s guaranteed to fill your gut. Just don’t be afraid to order off menu and request a few original tunes. You won’t be disappointed.
Quintessentially Coastal
Enjoy life with stunning bay views and take advantage of home ownership without property maintenance at Penobscot Shores in Belfast. Apartments in the Ocean House for sale or rent. Private cottages for sale.
207-338-2332 | penobscotshores.com 10 Shoreland Drive, Belfast
Waldo County General Hospital A Member of MaineHealth
LISTEN & SEE: commoncrossing.net www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 27
ARTS & MUSIC
GRAPHIC
CONTENT A midcoast couple’s NSFW take on Maine life. BY MATT CHABE
“Green” Bud Kelly and community.
28 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
“GREEN” BUD KELLY, the ostensible star of O’Chang Comics’ animated web series Temp Tales, is hardly what you’d call a role model. He’s partial to coffee brandy swillin’, truck drivin’, pot smokin’ and slingin’ expletives like a professional cusser. One could argue that Kelly’s a reflection of his surroundings, and that’s what makes Temp Tales so engaging (and often hilarious). Kelly’s a Mainer, tried and true. Turns out, the situations he and his friends find themselves in are inspired by real Maine episodes. “My ideas come from real-life experiences,” said Temp Tales writer and voice actor Andy O’Brien. “Before [my current job] I worked as a caretaker, mowing lawns and doing landscaping and stuff like that...so I took a lot of that experience. That’s why I called it ‘Temp Tales’ originally, because it was about all my temporary jobs.” O’Brien is one-half of the O’Chang team along with his wife, animator Hanji Chang. Temp Tales isn’t the only product O’Chang creates, but it’s arguably the most popular: some episodes have over 300,000 views on YouTube, while others have almost twice that. Those are big numbers for a project born in 2012 from a mutual desire to create. Andy and Hanji met in Taiwan, said O’Brien (“I was in a punk band and DJing, and she was into punk music. She had a big mohawk”). After returning to Maine, Hanji needed material to animate for a course at Maine College of Art. Andy, a writer, had material from his days working temp jobs. And so it began. While a lot of what comes out of “Green” Bud Kelly’s mouth isn’t fit to print, it’s not foreign language to anyone that’s spent time around working Mainers. When you talk to O’Brien, a one-time Maine state representative and today a writer with The Free Press in Rockland, it becomes apparent he has a wealth of stories to draw from. “I once knew a guy who was just constantly fighting with the dump about how much [trash] he could dump down there,” said O’Brien. “So finally he got frustrated and made an art sculpture with all this trash and put up a sign that said ‘FREE ART.’” That experience made into the Temp Tales episode “Crittah Gittahz Part I.” O’Brien tells another tale about his time as a state rep. A constituent was vocal about restrictions placed on his vehicle, a truck with a lift kit and “monster tires”—they kept his truck off the road, said the man, and it impacted his business prospects. What began as a tense interaction became a quintessential Maine moment. It formed the basis of the Temp Tales episode “Smokeshow.” “I think doing a lot of the jobs that I did, [they] could be very menial,” said O’Brien. “And kind of frustrating sometimes. But you know, there’s a lot of funny stories that come out of that.” O’Brien said that as Temp Tales grows in popularity, more people approach the duo with stories of their own. “There’s a lot of really creative, funny people who come to us with stories who do all kinds of work,” he said. “I love it when people come up to us and they say, ‘Man, we’ve been through that stuff, too.’ And there’s sort of a sense that, you know, we have common experiences and we can laugh about it.” In addition to Temp Tales and day jobs, O’Brien and Chang do animation work commercially. They have big plans brewing for O’Chang’s future. And O’Brien said he has plans for a full-length Temp Tales movie, complete with (local) celebrity guest voices. “We meet people along the way, and they give us inspiration,” he said, “and you know, that’s sort of where it started. We’ve always tried to get those people involved. We look at it as kind of a community effort.”
Need a
Bright Gift Idea?
Show your love all year long
with a subscription to
Bangor Metro! For subscriptions,
call 990-8219
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 29
ARTS & MUSIC
30 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PERSPECTIVES
GARY
FARNHAM
“AS A FOURTH GENERATION Vermonter, I was raised in the picturesque mountains of central Vermont, where I experienced an outdoor lifestyle. It was there that I gained a tremendous appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us. Having always been artistic in nature, that natural beauty spurred my creative side to express that vision through photography. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Photography and creating images for many years in Vermont (and, for the last 10 years, in The County), I have learned to let light inspire my creativity and be the fundamental element that breathes life into an image. Capturing that late afternoon sunlight spilling across a field of golden wheat, dancing upon rippling water, or highlighting a child’s hair is a challenge I eagerly anticipate. Whether capturing nature, still life, or a portrait, I’m always analyzing the angle and intensity of the light and how it’s falling upon my subject. Every decision I make regarding the composition of a photo is contingent upon my light source and how it speaks to me. Getting the light right is my goal. In my mind, it’s the difference between a mediocre photo and a great one.” —GARY FARNHAM
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 31
Q+A Q+A
Q + A With Don Buckingham, retiring Sedgwick School principal. STORY & PHOTOS BY TODD R. NELSON
HE HAS A LIVELY, welcoming word for each kid as they tumble off buses and into his building. He’s taking the pulse—“Get rid of the gum, Suzie.” “Where’s your hat, Jane?” “How’s that cast?” It’s Don Buckingham’s 28th and final year as principal of Sedgwick Elementary School. How did this flatlander from Chicago wind up a 33-year veteran Maine principal? Easy: he went to Camp Robin Hood in Brooksville at age 15 and fell in love with the state. “I had never seen a lovelier place,” he says. Though destined for the family printing business, he made his move after college—“If I was ever going to live in Maine, I needed to do it then.” He came to Sedgwick in 1989 after positions in Cave Hill and Penobscot. The town needed a principal to help build its newly-constituted town school. He’s been Maine Principal of the Year, earned a doctorate at UMaine, been duct taped to a wall (for a fund raiser), spent countless Friday evenings chaperoning school dances, and welcomed at least 10 of his students’ children to his school. “No grandchildren yet,” he said. YOU’VE SAID “BEING A PRINCIPAL IS A LIFESTYLE, NOT AN OCCUPATION.” EXPLAIN. When you’re the principal in the town you live in, you become the go-to person, someone people can talk to. With luck, I get a chance to help. The school’s the only show in a small town. Everything positive happening in town is going to happen at the school. You must be the one to spark it. These days, it’s easier for people to email than to question somebody or catch a facial expression or tone of voice. We’ve lost something. “Digital community” doesn’t have any community at all. WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD SCHOOL DAY FOR THE KIDS? They’ll be able to tell me what they learned; to say legitimately, “I had a great day, Dr. B,” then go home and tell their parents something good that happened. WHAT’S A GOOD DAY FOR YOU? When I can pat some teacher or kid on the back; when I don’t question whether I made the right career choice. Every so often I wonder, What was I thinking. DEFINE “BAD DAY” FOR THE PRINCIPAL. Suspending a kid from school. I’m in the business of making kids feel welcome, not kicking kids out of school. However, sometimes a kid cannot be in school because it’s not safe for them or their classmates. Sometimes, you need to send a message: this behavior will not be tolerated. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE A STUDENT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR JOB? If you want a job where you will never be bored, be a school principal. It’s hard work; you’ve got to learn to compromise, to listen. Though I hear people say it’s a thankless job, it’s not. I’ve been appreciated for more than I’ve done. I get so many thanks from parents. In the beginning of my career, it wasn’t like that. DO YOU EVER WISH FOR DO-OVER MOMENTS? Tons of times. Once I got a note from a graduate who had been picked on due to who she was. She felt I had ignored that. I was shocked and hurt. I had a good relationship with the student and her parents. From her perspective, she was right, which is what mattered. I wrote back apologizing for my lack of action, telling her how much I still had to learn as a school principal. I take stuff like that to heart and use it to grow. In such moments, you can close yourself off and say, “This kid’s wrong. I did what I needed to do.” Or you can say, “How can I keep that from happening again?” I need to be the person that makes school safe. WOULD YOU DO IT ALL AGAIN? Yes. Differently. With more river guiding time.
32 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 33
PHOTO: ED TROSCIANIEC
FEATURE
34 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
Jon Lemke, Angela Young and Maine’s passion for MMA. BY MATT CHABE
LIFE IN THE
CAGE
THERE’S A BIT of initial awkwardness in this Jon Lemke interview. He’s reticent, the answers to questions coming short and guarded. But once you find some common ground—in this case, our shared military service—he warms up a little. The answers start flowing more freely. He’s open. Honest. Easy to get along with. You almost forget he punches people in the face for a living. “YOU’RE GOING TO have to make sacrifices, you know,” said Lemke, a pro MMA fighter from Bangor. “For the last five years I’ve lived in the gym, lived and rented my space [there]. That’s just part of the process of getting established. You try and make your way up through whatever... and build toward even bigger paydays. As far as making a living, could I support a family? No. But, you know, thankfully in my case...it’s just me and the dog.” Lemke, 38, is one of a growing number of men and women throughout the state investing their time in mixed martial arts, or MMA. Unlike other combat sport disciplines, MMA incorporates multiple fighting styles in a unique, full-contact melange. Striking and grappling, both standing and on the ground, are common. The fighting space is commonly called a “cage” rather than a ring (in most cases, it actually is a caged-in area). MMA in Maine is big enough business that in 2009 the state legislature established the Combat Sports Authority of Maine (CSAM) to regulate it. More than a sport or a hobby, it’s a way of life for many. Practitioners commonly put in several gym hours a day, nearly every day, in pursuit of their goals. For some, it’s a payday—pros like Lemke make a living from fight payouts www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 35
FEATURE
The agony of defeat at NEF 27 in Lewiston this past February.
“IT BECAME MY PASSION AND JOY, MY OUTLET, MY RELEASE, AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS KIND OF ROLLED UP IN ONE.” —JON LEMKE and sponsorships, and support their income with things like steady training gigs. For Lemke, the seeds were planted early. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps, and tried out for the Marines boxing team after a stint in infantry reconnaissance. He spent the last year and a half of his service doing nothing but boxing (“I didn’t have to wear a 36 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
uniform, didn’t have to stand in formation. My only job was to box”). “I didn’t know what I was going to do [when I got out],” he said, so he moved back to his home state of Wisconsin. “I got a job for a year that I didn’t like doing, security at a casino. So I started going to school. Got in a little bit of trouble. Got married. She
already had her degree. I applied to a bunch of schools on the east coast and west coast. Got accepted to a couple, checked them out online. Maine seemed like a good place to visit. So I drove out here for a week. Found a place. The rest is history.” In 2005, in what he describes as a low point in his life, he found Team Irish MMA
PHOTOS: ED TROSCIANIEC
Fitness Academy (now Titan Athletics) in Brewer. The gym had been established by Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis, a well-recognized pro MMA fighter from Houlton who had made a name for himself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the holy grail of MMA competitions. Here, Lemke found a renewed purpose. “It became my passion and joy, my outlet, my release, and all these different things kind of rolled up in one,” he said. “So that...long, hard, stupid-decision journey that I had...all of that was absolutely necessary and leading me to the point where I’m at. We’re back to doing what I love and believe I was born to do.” Today, he’s had 13 MMA bouts as a pro. His main weapons are his fists and and his elbows, he said, with kicks thrown in. He’s egalitarian about his fight record—“Your next fight could be your last fight. So my next fight is always my biggest fight.” He knows the career of an MMA fighter is hard. He also knows it’s short. You can’t do this forever. For many fighters, it’s not just about beating the other person—it’s about the grind to beat your personal best. “You know, fighting is real life,” said Lemke. “It’s not only the actual sport competition, where it’s about as real as it can get. It’s also about overcoming obstacles and just getting pushed on everything that you do.” ANGELA YOUNG is a full-time nurse in Eastern Maine Medical Center’s critical care unit. She’s a wife, a mother, and as an amateur MMA fighter she knows first-hand what it’s like to take a punch. “I’ve had so many [co-workers] ask me about that,” she laughed. “It doesn’t hurt as bad as you think it does. During the actual fight there’s such an adrenaline surge. My very first fight I broke my nose in the first minute, and I had no idea.” She got into fighting when she was 15, when she developed an interest in boxing and started training with her now-husband Chris Young, the co-owner of Young’s MMA in Bangor. She stopped training in high school, she said, opting instead to cheer. When they got married, she started training again. At first it was just boxing, but then it grew. “When [Chris] opened the gym’s first location in Bangor,” she said, “I saw a couple of girls doing some of the other MMA classes in the gym. And I thought, ‘I wanna do that.’ So I started staying after for
Jon Lemke. www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 37
FEATURE
(Top) Angela Young (left) works on her moves with Catie Denning at Young’s MMA in Bangor recently. (Right) Ryan Jarrell interviews Young for a recent episode of The Maine Event. (Below) Young relaxes at home with her son, Kaden.
38 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTOS: ASHLEY CONTI; (RADIO) ED TROSCIANIEC
some of the wrestling and jiu-jitsu classes and...my interests just grew from there.” As an amateur, the 33-year-old has had four fights—two wins, two losses. Unlike pros, amateurs don’t get paid to fight. It’s not a full-time job, but you wouldn’t know it. Young said that a typical fight camp (a training regimen leading up to a fight) lasts about eight weeks for several hours a day. A slow day means two or three hours in the gym. “It takes a lot of discipline for anybody, no matter what you have going on in your life,” she said. “So the schedule itself can sometimes be very tricky. But being involved in the sport is extremely rewarding, not only going through the daily grind of training...but the fight itself is what we all look forward to. That’s the time where we get to walk into the cage and show what we’ve worked so hard [on].” If anyone tells you they’re not nervous getting in the cage, said Young, “they’re lying. I think when you step in the cage, it’s very much the ‘fight or flight’ thing that you go through. You’re nervous. You’re thinking about all the scenarios. But I think that’s where your team really comes into play...there’s a lot of coaches and a lot of other fighters behind the scenes that are helping prepare you.” MMA IS INARGUABLY a male-dominated sport, but that’s changing. Until recently, there were few options for women to compete at the same level as their male counterparts. Now there’s more opportunity, said Ryan Jarrell, due in part to the popularity of female fighters like Ronda Rousey. Jarrell and his partner Bryan Stackpole produce and host The Maine Event, a popular MMA-centric podcast that covers the sport both statewide and nationally. “I think Ronda Rousey in particular... was kind of a trailblazer for women in MMA,” said Jarrell. “I think a lot more people started to pay attention to it. There were always women that were training everywhere, but there was no women’s division in the UFC [they introduced the women’s bantamweight division in 2012 and the featherweight division this year— Ed.]. And I think you look at the women [in Maine] like Rachael Joyce, for example, or Angela Young, there are some really talented women that genuinely enjoy the sport.” Young agrees. She said she’s seen interest among women “explode” over the past couple of years, due in part to the www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 39
FEATURE
IT’S A GREAT LIFESTYLE, IT’S HARD, IT TAKES A LOT OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS. MOST PEOPLE COME HERE TO GET IN SHAPE AND LEARN HOW TO DEFEND [THEMSELVES] IF THEY NEED TO.
—EDUARDO BENJAMIN
popularity of other women in the sport. “We’ve seen a lot of women that started taking fitness classes and personal training, but they see other women stay for some of the MMA classes...so I think that by example of seeing other women involved in the sport [they become interested].” Eduardo Benjamin, the co-owner and Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor at Titan Athletics, said about thirty percent of his classes are female. “It has been growing,” he said. “One [woman] came here about three years ago, no confidence. And now it’s different. And then there’s the self-defense aspect. I hope we never need it, but if you need it it’s like second nature. You know what you do.” “I TELL MY [students], it’s very few people that want to be hit in the face, but they choose that lifestyle,” said Benjamin. “It’s a great lifestyle, it’s hard, it takes a lot of 40 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
mental toughness. Most people come here to get in shape and learn how to defend [themselves] if they need to. Most people, they will never fight. They just want to learn how to fight.” Benjamin studied under the Gracie family in Brazil, a popular and revered martial arts family known for their development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. As a fighter, he’s won impressive titles in his own right (“I won my titles, and it’s all about the school now,” he said). When he moved here from Brazil in 2004, there was no jiu-jitsu school in Bangor, “so I found a school in Farmington. I used to drive down to Farmington three times a week...to train. It was a long drive, an hour and a half each way. But that was my passion. You know sometimes, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do for your passion.” He said the jury’s still out on the longterm effects of the sport. “The guys that
fought the first UFC in 1993, they’re not 80 yet so we don’t know yet,” he said. “We will have to wait to see about brain damage and [other potential effects].” Still, he recognizes that MMA can be dangerous—“You’re glad that you have refs there. We have very good refs in the state of Maine.” “The thing that I think scares a lot of people off is that the concept is ‘a bunch of barbarians in there, it’s a bloodsport,’” said Jarrell. “And that’s not it. I think at its core, the mixed martial arts is an outlet for people to live a healthy lifestyle. What you’re putting your body through to stay in shape and to do this, you’re carving your [body] like out of a stone. It takes so much discipline to do that. And I think that the biggest thing is that this is something that can keep people on the right path in life.”
PHOTO: ED TROSCIANIEC
Jessica Borga (left) takes a hit from Brianne Genschel of Farmington at NEF 26 in Lewiston last year (Borga won).
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 41
FEATURE
Vintage VIBES 42 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
At Rusted Raven, one man’s trash becomes everyone’s treasure. BY JOY HOLLOWELL
PHOTOS: MATT CHABE
MATT STEPP IS a bargain hunter. There’s nothing he enjoys more than finding old, outdated and dilapidated pieces of furniture from salvage shops, second hand stores and other unusual places. With a background in art, he’s often able to envision and recreate a new purpose for his rusty treasures. Two years ago, he decided to post some of his upcycled pieces online. One day, Stepp received a rather blunt message. “I told him that his pieces would look better if he did this and that,” said Mike Weston. Stepp hadn’t heard from Weston in 15 years, when the two waited tables together at a T.G.I. Friday’s in South Portland. Taken aback by Weston’s brusque tone, Stepp messaged him back, asking what his former co-worker even knew about refurbishing furniture. “Everything,” replied Weston with a smirk. He then invited Stepp to come check out the Penobscot Theater workshop where Weston worked. “He did, and that was pretty much it,” Weston said. Today, the two men (along with Weston’s wife, Jennifer) own Rusted Raven Furniture. They specialize in deconstructing older pieces of furniture, then reconstructing them, using the original elements along with their own style of funk. The results are functional works of art. “There are a lot of people who come to us with furniture that their grandmother gave them. Like, a table that their mom ate off of when she was a little girl,” said Weston. “And they want to do something with it, but the piece is just hideous.” Weston and Stepp take those time-honored but horrendousto-look-at heirlooms, and transform them into statement pieces that combine the past, present and future. “You can go out and spend so much money for new furniture, and it’s not even made of real wood,” Weston said. “We can take what you have already, make it look completely different and beautiful. And it will last for the rest of your life.”
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 43
FEATURE
Matt Stepp (left) and Mike Weston in the Rusted Raven workshop.
The men find many of their diamonds in the rough at salvage places. “Online, in stores, along the side of the road, wherever it may be,” said Stepp. “We’ll bring it back to the shop and figure out how to bring it back to life.” When asked where the inspiration comes from, Weston readily admits he has no idea. “Sandpaper and luck,” he said with a humble shrug.
WHEN ASKED WHERE THE INSPIRATION COMES FROM, WESTON READILY ADMITS HE HAS NO IDEA. “SANDPAPER AND LUCK,” HE SAID WITH A HUMBLE SHRUG. Their shop is located in the basement of Weston’s home on Old Schoolhouse Lane in Hampden. “I mainly bought this home because of the all the space down here,” Weston said, gesturing around as the sounds of Phish and an electric saw compete with each other for background noise. They rely solely on social media and word of mouth for advertising. “We have quite a few repeat customers,” said Weston. Already, their clientele reaches as far down as Boston. One of their first jobs was refurbishing one of Bangor’s first public pianos, part of an effort by The Kindness Project. That led to a call from the owner of Blaze restaurants, who asked the men to redo his apartment in Bar Harbor as well as some tables for his businesses. That in turn led to more work in Bar Harbor, a job for The Jackson Lab on MDI, and work for Ipanema Bar and Grill in Bangor. 44 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTOS: MATT CHABE
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 45
FEATURE
“IT’S THERAPEUTIC FOR ME TO COME HERE,” SAID STEPP. “I HAVE A BUSY LIFE. I HAVE A NINE-YEAR-OLD SON, HARPER, WHO IS TOP PRIORITY. WHEN I COME HERE, I’M ABLE TO UNWIND AND PAINT OUT MY ARTISTIC VIBE.” 46 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTOS: MATT CHABE
Will Newman cleans a sawblade.
They’re also venturing into custom mudrooms after work posted on Facebook garnered more than 3,000 views. “Since then we’ve been getting a lot of clients that want rooms with built-in benches and shelves,” said Stepp. “We can either make it look brand new, or make it look like it’s been there since the house was built.” Today, Rusted Raven is a full-time job for Weston. His former boss at the Penobscot Theater now works for him. “Will Newman was the master carpenter at the theater for 10 years,” said Weston. “He’s amazing. He can build anything to within one-sixteenth of an inch to spec.” Stepp juggles his time between Rusted Raven Furniture and his other job as the University of Maine dining services manager. “It’s therapeutic for me to come here,” said Stepp. “I have a busy life. I have a nineyear-old son, Harper, who is top priority. When I come here, I’m able to unwind and paint out my artistic vibe.”
A work in progress— to sand, or not to sand?
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 47
Stepp credits Weston for giving him that outlet. “When I first started, something was really lacking in my life,” Stepp said, looking over at his business partner. “I love Mike; I love Jenn and the support system they give me. Mike is like a father figure to me.” “Uh, I’m not that much older than you,” Weston said, breaking up the serious moment. “Five years, that’s it.” Stepp breaks into laughter. “OK,” he said, “How about a mentor then?” “Not even five years,” Weston replies, not ready yet to let his friend off the hook. Building a friendship along with a business can cause friction among even the best of buds, but not for Weston and Stepp. “They say the first ship to sink is a partnership,” Weston said, “but everything really has been going great for us.” The men do admit there’s one thing they completely and utterly disagree on: “Ipswich,” said Stepp. “He likes Ipswich pine stain, I hate it,” adds Weston. “Ipswich,” said Stepp, grinning over at Weston. “That’s pretty much all that we fight about.” Grateful for the opportunities they’ve been given, Stepp and Weston are taking steps to pay it forward. They work with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor’s ReStore. “We take the worst piece of furniture that they have monthly and we give it a free spa treatment,” said Stepp. “The store then uses the pieces for fundraisers or a raffle.” The two friends have grand plans for their business, including a large warehouse shop that includes a DIY carpentry section for others to use. “Almost like an artist guild,” Weston explains. “There’s really no place like that right now.” Stepp hopes that as Rusted Raven Furniture grows, “I can further grow my artistic connection to the local business landscape.” As for Weston, he’s hoping that in 10 or 15 years, he’s doing the exact same thing. “In this lifetime, I choose happy,” he said. “I was working horrible jobs and I was miserable. Now, I get to listen to Phish, dance, laugh and create art all day. I can’t stop smiling, it’s so great.”
THE TWO FRIENDS HAVE GRAND PLANS FOR THEIR BUSINESS, INCLUDING A LARGE WAREHOUSE SHOP THAT INCLUDES A DIY CARPENTRY SECTION FOR OTHERS TO USE.
Mike Weston.
48 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
PHOTOS: MATT CHABE
FEATURE
BIA
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 49
FEATURE
50 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
THE
NEW
DADDY
BLUES Studies show postpartum depression can affect all involved. BY JOY HOLLOWELL
WELCOMING A NEW BABY into the world is supposed to be one of the happiest times of our lives. But for certain women, all those changes coming at once can bring on symptoms of anxiety and depression. It’s known as the “baby blues.” The more-serious version of it is postpartum depression. Now, studies have shown that women aren’t alone— some men are susceptible, as well. A recent study shows that paternal postnatal depression (PPND) affects 5-10% of new fathers. That’s only about 5% less than the depression rates for new moms, according to figures published online by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “When a baby arrives, it’s a huge change to the family,” said Diane Kay-Daigle, a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) at Mount Desert Island Hospital. “It’s a world-shaker for the mom and the dad.” According to Kay-Daigle, when a mom or dad has the “baby blues,” they may have depressed thoughts but are still able to carry on with their daily activities. These feelings typically occur shortly after birth but generally balance themselves out by the end of the two-month mark.
www.bangormetro.com www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO BANGOR / 51METRO / 51
FEATURE
The signs and symptoms of postpartum depression are more intense and can include severe mood swings, difficulty in bonding with your baby, severe anxiety and panic attacks or even thoughts of suicide. They can also last longer, up to a year after a baby is born. “A lot of men and women just feel like this is supposed to be a difficult time, so we’re just going to kind of muddle our way through it,” Kay-Daigle explained. “Also, if a mom has depression, the dad has to take on a lot of the responsibilities and that can take a toll on their mental health.” A dramatic drop in hormones after childbirth is often a catalyst for postpartum depression in women. For men, environmental factors are the primary trigger for perinatal depression, which includes the pregnancy.
“A LOT OF MEN AND WOMEN JUST FEEL LIKE THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DIFFICULT TIME, SO WE’RE JUST GOING TO KIND OF MUDDLE OUR WAY THROUGH IT,” KAY-DAIGLE EXPLAINED. “ALSO, IF A MOM HAS DEPRESSION, THE DAD HAS TO TAKE ON A LOT OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND THAT CAN TAKE A TOLL ON THEIR MENTAL HEALTH.” “These are significant life changes,” said Dr. David Prescott, a clinical psychologist and the director of healthcare studies at Husson University. “Increased stress, disruption in sleep, and disruption in normal ways of coping with stress all play a role.” Additionally, said Prescott, there are factors that can put new fathers at an even greater risk of postpartum depression. Those include living apart from the baby and mother, having a child with behavioral problems, or becoming a father at a young age. In fact, research shows those first few years of parenthood may actually be the riskiest for young dads in particular. According to one study, the symptoms of depression increased on average by 68% during the first five years of fatherhood for men who were around 25 years old, when they became fathers and lived with their children.
52 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 53
FEATURE
So why aren’t we hearing more about PPND? “I think a lot of times, dads get overlooked,” said Kay-Daigle. “When mothers go to their well-baby checks and their postpartum doctor’s appointments, their providers are screening for depression. Dads don’t have that kind of contact with a provider after delivery so it’s not necessarily on anyone’s radar.” “I think many fathers may be in denial,” said Prescott. “Or in some cases, dads feel like there are so many demands on them and their partners that they don’t want to ‘complain’ about their mood.”
“IN SOME CASES, DADS FEEL LIKE THERE ARE SO MANY DEMANDS ON THEM AND THEIR PARTNERS THAT THEY DON’T WANT TO ‘COMPLAIN’ ABOUT THEIR MOOD.” PPND symptoms can also be mistaken or misconstrued. “Irritability and anger can be symptoms of depression,” said Kay-Daigle. “Having less of a threshold for anger outbursts or frustration tolerances can be something we see more in men than women.” “Cultural norms such as ‘men don’t cry’ or ‘men shouldn’t be allowed to show their emotion’ will impact how symptoms of depression play out,” added Prescott. “All of us, men and women, have to learn to recognize when we are depressed. We have to learn to think about depression as a problem that benefits from professional diagnosis and treatment and that it’s not something that you have to learn to live with.” And unlike the baby blues, postpartum depression can develop up to a year after a baby is born. “For instance, when a mom returns to work at 12 weeks, that can add additional stressors,” said Kay-Daigle. “It’s really something to be aware of, not just in the first six to eight week range.” “There’s a huge stigma in our culture towards seeking help for mental health,” she added. “People would be feeling better, sooner, if they were addressing their mental health. If you had a physical health symptom that wasn’t going away, you would go to see your provider. It should be the same with mental health.”
54 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
Get the most out of your heat pump. Clean FILTERS regularly. When your heat pump is running at its best, you’ll realize maximum comfort and savings. Set the MODE to heat or cool for greatest efficiency. Use the auto setting for the FAN, so your system can adapt as indoor and outdoor conditions change. For optimal COMFORT at a standing or seated level, you may need to adjust the temperature up or down depending on the season. Heating with a ductless heat pump is comparable to heating with oil at $1.50 a gallon. So let the heat pump do the work to increase your SAVINGS.
2015-12-03 Bangor Metro Jan Issue - Get the Most.indd 1
12/6/2015 METRO 8:39:17 PM/ 55 www.bangormetro.com BANGOR
THEN & NOW
BELFAST
While Belfast has changed in many ways through the years, lower Main Street is still recognizable from early photographs. (Top right) A view down Main Street toward the waterfront from the 1930s, courtesy of the Belfast Historical Society. (Left, top to bottom) Main Street Belfast is depicted in an old postcard; an early undated photograph; and today.
56 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
The Heart of COASTAL MAINE The waterfront community of Belfast has reinvented itself time and again. ARTICLE BY RICHARD SHAW | PHOTOS BY RICHARD SHAW, PAGE EASTMAN, A. GALEATI AND BELFAST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HISTORIC PHOTOS COURTESY OF BELFAST HISTORICAL SOCIETY, PENOBSCOT MARINE MUSEUM AND UNIVERSITY OF MAINE FOGLER LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
GENERATIONS AGO, a trip to Belfast meant stopping at Perry’s Nut House on Route 1 to purchase nuts and touch the wooden elephants, driving across the old Veterans Bridge, up the steep hill onto High Street, and perhaps sampling ice cream before leaving town. Someone in the family probably remarked how hard workers in that gritty city’s two leading industries—poultry processing and fishing—worked for a living, and before you knew it, you were in Camden or Rockland, with Belfast, Waldo County’s solitary city, in your rearview mirror. Just like magic, today’s Belfast has transformed itself into a destination for locals and tourists desiring the ambiance
of an authentic coastal community. People are lingering to shop, eat, drink and experience its vibrant arts scene. New Year’s by the Bay celebrations grow in popularity each year, along with summer’s Arts in the Park, Harbor Fest and Maine Celtic Celebration. “Over the past 25 years, Belfast has experienced significant economic growth and an increase in vitality and vibrancy,” said Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge. “It is also a great place to live, with its excellent schools, a vibrant, walkable downtown, a network of recreational trails, and a myriad of events that take place throughout the year.” Vintage downtown signs evoke an earlier era, when Rollie’s Bar and Grill, www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 57
THEN & NOW
BELFAST
(Top) The Colonial Theatre was originally opened in 1912, burned to the ground in 1923 and was rebuilt, and still offers entertainment on High Street. In 1996, the life-size elephant “Hawthorne” came to the theater from Perry’s Nut House (pictured left in a historic shot and below as it stands today.)
58 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
Front Street Pub, The Purple Baboon, and Game Loft might have lured shoppers. There is also a Belfast Co-op store, Left Bank Books, and Bellabooks and Antiques, operated by Gary Guida and Kim Zahares. Colburn Shoes advertises itself as the nation’s oldest shoe store. Belfast’s resurrection began in the early 1990s, when credit card titan MBNA located there, hiring workers who boosted the city’s population and economic base. The company helped establish the University of Maine Hutchinson Center. At the same time, shipbuilding returned to the city’s waterfront with the opening of French & Webb, Inc. and Front Street Shipyard. Athenahealth and Bank of America took over when MBNA left, signaling a workforce reduction, but Belfast’s economic turnaround appears to be permanent. A working waterfront and intact downtown, with such 19th century architectural gems as the Masonic Block, National Bank Building, and Post Office, are well photographed. Strong civic leadership also helped saved the old Armistice Bridge, a link in the popular Harbor Walk, from destruction. “City government is committed to supporting the economy, the arts, industry and businesses,” said City Councilor Michael Hurley, “along with the outdoors, taxpayers, and all citizens and visitors.” History is everywhere you turn in Belfast. From the James P. White mansion, the Belfast Free Library, the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad, and the Colonial Theatre (still screening movies since 1912), it’s impossible to overlook the city’s past. Perry’s Nut House, operated by the Darling family, is still in business. Museum in the Streets signs explain the midcoast community’s contribution to state history; a 19th century book by Joseph Williamson (and a 20th century sequel by Jay Davis, Tim Hughes, and Megan Pinette) dig deeper; and the pages of The Republican Journal, Village Soup, and The Waldo Independent provide fodder for researchers. First settled in 1770, the town was largely abandoned during the Revolutionary War, when British troops occupied the village across the bay, now known as Castine. British forces burned Belfast in 1779, returning briefly during the War of 1812. The seaport rebuilt and prospered following the war, becoming a port of entry
Fisherman’s lobster shack in the 1950s. (Left) The Purple Baboon and Marshall Wharf dot the popular waterfront area on Front Street.
The Belfast Boat Landing in 1918.
The old Bank Block circa 1900 and (left) today.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 59
THEN & NOW
BELFAST
William G. Crosby High School in an undated historic photo. (Below) Looking up Main Street toward Post Office circa 1915.
60 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
and county seat in 1827. Shipbuilding and fishing followed, and in the 20th century, it was the world’s chicken-processing capital. “The Belfast Historical Society plays a key role in preserving and providing historical context for the items we collect and display,” said Historical Society president Megan Pinette. “The Belfast Museum is open June-October and provides a memorable and free experience for both residents and our visitors from away.” Vintage picture postcards, once produced in Belfast by the millions, show a city visited daily by Boston steamboats. A festival broiler queen holds a chicken in 1949, and the white Colonial-era First Church stands tall, as it does today. Many Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Co. postcard images from throughout Maine are collected in the book, “Maine on Glass,” co-written by Kevin Johnson, archivist for the Penobscot Marine Museum, which maintains the Eastern collection. “It is not a stretch to say that postcards were the first form of social media to take the world by storm; the tweets or texts of their time,” Johnson said. “Belfast was in the thick of it. Eastern Illustrating led the charge. While it was never their intention to create historical documents, their photographs most definitely are that and hold many wonderful stories of the people, businesses, and places in the images they depict.” May is a wonderful time to sample Belfast’s attractions. The All Roads Music Festival runs from May 19-20, the First Fourth Friday Art Walk of the year is on May 26, and, on May 27, the United Farmers Market opens for the season. For more information, visit the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce at belfastmaine.org.
TOWN STATS Incorporated: June 29, 1773 (town); April 3, 1853 (Maine’s eighth city) Named for: Belfast, Northern Ireland, home city of early settler, James Miller Nicknames: Broiler Capital of the World (outdated), A Waterfront Community, Heart of Coastal Maine Population: 6,682 (2015 estimate) Median resident age (2010): 46.9 Elevation: 85 feet Area: Total, 38.37 square miles Notable people: • Gary Lawless, bookseller and poet • John and Mary Enk, harbor benefactors • Irving S. Perry, Tropical Nut House founder • Lindsey Ray, artist, songwriter • Genie Francis, actress • William G. Crosby, 23rd Maine governor • Bern Porter, writer, scientist, artist • Albert W. Stevens, photographer, balloonist • Joseph Williamson, historian Useful trivia: • The movies “Peyton Place” (1957), “Thinner” (1996) and “In the Bedroom” (2001) were filmed in Belfast • The city’s Passagassawakeag is a rare 16-word, six-syllable New England river name • The first international radio broadcast, relayed from London to Belfast, through Searsmont to New York, took place on March 14, 1925 Landmarks: Veterans Memorial Bridge (Route 1); Memorial Bridge (old Route 1); Belfast Free Library; Colburn Shoe Store; City Park; First Church; Perry’s Nut House; Belfast Historical Society and Museum; Front Street Shipyard; Colonial Theatre; Belfast National Bank building; Masonic Block; Post Office; James P. White mansion Helpful websites: cityofbelfast.org, belfastmaine.org, ourtownbelfast.org
Best
VOTE NOW
TAURANTS
RES
YOU VOTE YOU DECIDE
90+ RESTAURANTS from Fort Kent to Belfast to Eastport
Visit bangormetro.com to vote now for your favorite restaurants and see the winners featured in our September 2017 issue!
HURRY! Vote NOW! www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 61
OUTDOORS
Shoes were The best hikes central to the Metro region.
STORY & PHOTOS BY AISLINN SARNACKI
IN MAINE, some of the most spectacular outdoor locations can only be reached by hiking trail, whether it’s a secluded sand beach, a crystal clear stream or an open mountaintop. You have to put forth a little effort to reach these spots, but boy are they worth it. This summer, lace up your hiking boots and hit the trails. The following list includes some of the best summer hikes—ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced— within easy distance from the Bangor Metro region:
BEGINNER HIKES MARIAVILLE FALLS PRESERVE IN MARIAVILLE Owned and maintained by the Frenchman Bay Conservancy, this preserve officially opened to the public in 2015, and features 1.6 miles of footpaths that travel through a quiet mixed forest to the West Branch of the Union River and a series of small waterfalls. Located just 30 minutes from Bangor, this scenic trail network offers a peaceful walk to a scenic river, where you can picnic on rock outcroppings and may even spy some local wildlife. BARRED ISLAND PRESERVE IN DEER ISLE Sandy beaches, wild roses, mossy forests and stunning ocean views— Barred Island Preserve has it all. Owned by The Nature Conservancy and managed by the Island Heritage Trust, this conserved property features 1.5 miles of nature trails that wind through a whimsical boreal fog forest to a sandy beach on the coast. And if you time your visit right, you can then cross over a sandbar to explore the scenic, undeveloped Barred Island.
INTERMEDIATE HIKES BLUE HILL MOUNTAIN IN BLUE HILL Rising 934 feet above sea level, Blue Hill Mountain is an iconic landmark on the Blue Hill Peninsula and has long been a popular hiking location. Owned and maintained by the Blue Hill Heritage Trust, the mountain is home to four well-maintained trails that lead to an open summit, where hikers can sit on the exposed bedrock, pick wild blueberries and enjoy stunning views of this coastal region. Hiking to the top of the mountain and back down, depending on the trails you take, ranges in length from 2 to 4 miles. RAGGED MOUNTAIN IN CAMDEN Topping off at about 1,300 feet above sea level, Ragged Mountain is one of the tallest peaks in midcoast Maine. The hike, up and back, is 4.8 miles. Much of the trail is in the shelter of a hardwood forest, though the final stretch to the summit travels over exposed bedrock, offering great views of the Camden Hills region and the nearby ocean. The trail to the summit of Ragged Mountain is part of the Georges Highland Path, a 50-mile network of low-impact hiking trails maintained by the Georges River Land Trust. 62 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
MADE FOR WALKIN’ ADVANCED HIKES DORR MOUNTAIN IN ACADIA NATIONAL PARK Reaching 1,270 feet above sea level, Dorr mountain is the third tallest peak on Mount Desert Island and was named after “The Father of Acadia” George Dorr, who constructed many of the trails on the island and was one of the people responsible for the creation of Acadia National Park. Several trails explore this mountain, and all of them feature the stunning granite stonework that is repeated on trails throughout the park. For a hike that is challenging and includes ladders, long rock staircases, and open ledges, try a 3.5-mile route that combines the mountain’s Ladder
DOUBLETOP MOUNTAIN IN BAXTER STATE PARK With a distinctive profile of two cone-shaped peaks, Doubletop Mountain tops off at 3,488 feet above sea level and is one of many fantastic hiking locations in Baxter State Park. A trail, totaling about 7 miles, travels up and over both peaks. Expect steep slopes, rocky sections and small stream crossings. The view from both peaks will take your breath away. This is an excellent warm up for people looking to hike nearby Katahdin, Maine’s tallest mountain.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 63
OUTDOORS
WOODS & WATERS
BEAR
Pause Tracking bears risky (but necessary) business for Maine biologists. BY BOB DUCHESNE
64 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
I WAS RECENTLY CLAWED by a bear. Granted, it was only a 5-pound cub, and he was only trying to cuddle a little closer to get warm. But his sharp claw caught my lip, and suddenly I could taste my own blood. He was one of four cubs nestled in my arms, which was apparently one more than I could control. He and his siblings had just joined the oldest and most extensive black bear research project in the world. Meanwhile, Mama Bear lay snoozing at my feet. “Parula” was a 15-year-old sow in the prime of her life. She was an excellent mother. Not only were all four cubs fat and happy, they were also well-behaved. When she told them to be silent, they obeyed without hesitation. Thus, for the previous hour, silence is all that we heard. The bears were holed up in an old beaver lodge in LaGrange, enjoying a snug winter, little suspecting that we would be paying them a visit in early March. But Parula had been snared eight months earlier, and biologists from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife were able to follow the signal from her radio collar to her den. Randy Cross is the IFW bear team leader. They call him “Boss.” The other crew members also have nicknames: Lisa Bates (“Kid”), Jake Feener (“Jumper”), and Ethan Lamb (“Roach”). These brave biologists crawl into dens every winter, tranquilizing mother bears, and checking the health of their cubs. We knew this particular mama might be trouble. At this age, they are at their strongest and healthiest, therefore more confident. Even when cornered in a den with their cubs, most mother bears are reluctant to attack. They fear humans, justifiably, and will merely hold their ground even when a live person has crawled in. They may blow air, make jaw popping sounds, and bluff-charge, but they will not likely swat at anything more than
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BOB DUCHESNE
Bob Duchesne wrangles bear cubs during a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife check on the state’s bear population.
two feet away. However, a confident bear can be more aggressive. Parula had all the advantages. There was an entrance into the beaver lodge, but the inside passage bent around a corner. Most lodges have a raised area inside that lets the beavers rest above the waterline. So Parula was both shielded from view, and she had a height advantage over anyone who crawled in. She had every reason to be confident. Maine has more black bears than any state east of the Mississippi, as many bears as western states three times our size. That abundance places a special responsibility on us to practice both conservation and good stewardship. There is such a thing as having too many bears. Nature provides a certain carrying capacity, which is how large the population can grow before it starts to suffer from overcrowding, disease, and starvation. There is also a social carrying capacity, which is how large the population can grow before hungry bears start to crowd humans. Bears prefer to avoid people, but a starving bear is a problem bear. It might be inclined to invade homes and stalk livestock. Bears
are charismatic, beloved by people who grew up with teddy bears, Yogi Bear, and Smokey Bear. But if home invasions become more common, public attitudes can change rapidly. The consequences are dire for bears. Maine’s bear biologists study bears not just because they are game animals, but because populations can get out of hand. Harvesting and spruce budworm have changed the Maine
three different study areas spread across northern Maine, approximating the variety of bear habitat in the state. Biologists can estimate from the data how weather and food are affecting the population each year. No other state comes close to Maine’s effort. Parula didn’t make it easy. The team opened a hole in the old beaver lodge, giving them a chance to poke her with
WE KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY BEARS ARE BEING REMOVED FROM THE WOODS EACH HUNTING SEASON. WE ALSO NEED TO KNOW HOW MANY CUBS ARE COMING ALONG TO REPLACE THEM. woods into a younger, more bear-friendly forest. Climate change promotes a greater abundance of ant colonies, a favorite bear food. We know exactly how many bears are being removed from the woods each hunting season. We also need to know how many cubs are coming along to replace them. Maine’s bear team has radio-collared over 100 female bears. Each winter they check to see how many cubs are born, and how many survive their first year. There are
the tranquilizer from two feet away. It took multiple tries. She bit the syringe and swatted away one attempt. Another attempt bounced off her collar. But in the end, the IFW bear team won. Again.
BOB DUCHESNE is a local radio personality, Maine guide, and columnist. He lives on Pushaw Lake with his wife, Sandi.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 65
HEALTH
S T R E TC H FOR YOUR
H E A LT H Tips to prevent injury during spring yard work. BY CHRIS QUIMBY
AFTER A LONG Maine winter confined to our homes and restricted by abundant darkness, we now emerge in concert into spring. And as we dutifully grasp our rakes and shovels to wipe the winter from our lawns, we must exercise caution as we exercise our bodies, lest we relegate ourselves to the season’s injured list with unsafe work habits. Physical therapist Matthew Economy, owner of Therapy Partners in Belfast, recently offered 10 best practices to physically prepare for springtime chores and decrease the possibility of injury. WARM UP: A simple 10 minute walk (about two songs on your headphones) will help improve muscle, organ and bone health. It will also increase your mobility to decrease the possibility of sprains and strains. STRETCHING: Although a warm up is physically better than stretching, stretching is still effective and will also help prevent injury. If you plan on being bent over all day—for instance, with gardening or stacking firewood—occasionally place your hands on your hips and do a back bend. This activity will help decrease muscular strains in the lower back. HYDRATION: Our bodies are 90% water and it’s good to keep it that way. Staying hydrated helps decrease muscle cramps, and while it’s hard to beat drinking straight water, sports drinks such as Gatorade better help replace electrolytes that we sweat out on longer workdays under the hot sun. TAKE BREAKS: It’s tempting to rush through a task you’d rather be done with, but an injury will further prolong the length of time the chore requires. Force yourself to rest every 20 minutes and allow your heart rate to return to a safer level, especially when engaged in more heavy-duty work. PLAN YOUR DAY: It’s often been said that if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail. If you have multiple chores, try doing bits and pieces of each throughout the day rather than one at a time. This will help you reduce injury by avoiding putting repetitive stress on areas of your body.
66 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
MODERATION: Just as it’s wise to plan your daily activities, it’s equally smart to plan your week or weekend to spread tasks out over multiple days. PRACTICE SAFE BODY MECHANICS: Fight against your nature to rush by slowing down and taking the time to practice healthful posture. Don’t bend at the waist when lifting. The muscles in your legs are bigger and stronger than the ones in your back, so put them to good use. Also, avoid twisting at the back—instead, turn your whole body when holding an object. If you are going to be kneeling a great deal, such as while gardening, consider using a foam pad. ASK FOR HELP: It’s humbling to do, but much less humbling than being heavily restricted by injury. Don’t try to be a hero. If you need to lift something heavy, large or awkwardly-shaped, reach out first to someone else for assistance. NUTRITION: We get our energy for work through food. Eat a healthy and substantial breakfast in the morning to fuel up for your productive day. QUALITY FOOTWEAR: Wearing a comfortable, supportive pair of shoes or boots will take the stress off your joints and make the rest of your body much happier. If, despite your best efforts, you experience injury, early treatment can resolve both pain and discomfort. Physical therapy is available by referral through your medical provider. You can also visit a physical therapist without referral, though some provisions may apply. Speak to your primary care provider or a physical therapist for more details. Regardless of your springtime responsibilities, do your best to keep yourself healthy and productive well into the summer and beyond.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 67
HOME
FLIP THE
SWITCH
Shed some light on the bulbs for your buck.
ARTICLE COURTESY OF STATEPOINT
THE AVERAGE HOME has 45 light sockets, which means you probably have more light bulbs than just about any home product. Yet, the lighting aisle can still be a daunting place. With the right knowledge, you can save money, protect the environment and bring the best features of your home to life. Here are four quick tips to get you started: OPT FOR LED. By 2020, half of all residential sockets will have converted to LEDs, which is good news—LEDs can last over 10 years and use up to 85 percent less energy than the traditional lighting you may use today. Available in a variety of shapes, sizes, wattages and color temperatures, they are becoming increasingly affordable, too. Just a few years ago, LEDs topped $40, but today you can find a high-quality LED for less than $5. PAY ATTENTION TO COLOR TEMPERATURES, WATTAGES, SHAPES AND QUALITY OF LIGHT. A few lighting facts can help you make useful purchases. For example, an average 60-watt replacement bulb would require about 800 lumens. The higher this number is, the brighter the light will be. And remember: when you invest in an LED that’s expected to last more than a decade, you want one that’s going to reliably live up to your expectations, so brands that have been around for awhile and have proven their commitment to quality truly matter in this space. IDENTIFY HOW YOU USE EACH ROOM AND THE MOOD YOU’D LIKE TO CREATE. Use comfortable, soft white light in cozy places like bedrooms, family rooms and dining rooms. Active spaces like laundry rooms and playrooms can benefit from an energetic daylight
68 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
Bright Ideas
ON WHERE TO
USE WHAT BULB Light color or light appearance is measured on the Kelvin (K) temperature scale. Lower Kelvin numbers mean more yellow, warm light; the higher the Kelvin number the whiter or bluer light. WARM WHITE 2500K-3000K (STANDARD COLOR OF INCANDESCENT BULBS). Perfect for bedrooms, living rooms or dens. BRIGHT WHITE OR COOL WHITE 3500K-4100K. Perfect for kitchens, workspaces and bathrooms. DAYLIGHT 5000K-6500K. Perfect for reading and active spaces like laundry and playrooms.
bulb. Feature pure, clean lights in kitchens, bathrooms and craft and hobby spaces that tend to benefit from light that delivers exceptional color contrast and brightness. Today, select manufacturers are taking the guesswork out of the equation by listing whether each bulb has a warm or cool tone and by offering room and use recommendations on the packaging. A warm, white light will have a lower K (Kelvin) number, while a cool daylight will have a higher K number.
HANCOCK COUNTY
REALTORS
PUT YOUR HOME IN ITS BEST LIGHT. Even with the right colors, perfect accessories and trendy furniture, a home can look lackluster. Look for light bulbs which are engineered with a higher color rendering index for greater color contrast and boldness over an average bulb. This means the colors and features in each room can look even better. Just imagine a room makeover in five minutes simply by changing your light bulbs. With today’s advanced options, there’s no better time than now to shed some new light in every room in your house.
Your listing could be on this page Sell it faster. Advertise in Bangor Metro’s Home section. Call 941-1300.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 69
TIPS & TRICKS FOR
COMPOSTING
SUCCESS THE HEALTHIEST FOOD
YOU'RE NOT USING
LIVING
OFF THE GRID
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Off the
GRID
Off-grid life for “Alone” survivor. BY ABIGAIL CURTIS
Zachary Fowler, back at home in Appleton, after surviving 87 days in the Patagonia wilderness and winning the History Channel’s survival show “Alone.”
72 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
YOU COULD SAY that Zachary Fowler has just won half a million dollars for his unsurpassed skill at living off the grid. Wait. Make that way off the grid. Fowler, 37, took home the prize for History Channel’s survival show “Alone” after he survived 87 days in the Patagonia wilderness. The boatbuilder and family man kept his spirits and mental acumen up during the long, cold, solitary days in South America by whittling wooden toys for his kids, inventing creative fish and bird traps and building a cozy shelter. And when he finally got home to Maine to settle back into his small yurt in the Knox County town of Appleton, he may have set himself apart from the show’s other contestants once again. “I got a tweet the other day, saying ‘You’re probably the only person who went home to harder conditions,’” he laughed. “The shelter in Patagonia was super secure and super comfortable, and warmer than our yurt.” Fowler, who exudes an air of friendly competence, looks the part of a woodsman, with his bushy red beard and his ever-present wooden wizard’s rod that
grid homestead, which increased in population two years ago when their daughter was born at home in the yurt. “Jami built such a beautiful home for us out of what we had,” he said. Still, in the waning months of winter, the land doesn’t look its best, Zachary Fowler apologized. And it’s true that the property doesn’t have the kind of glossy, photogenic charm that leads to documentation in trendy shelter magazines. Yet it is clearly the family’s home, and the bitter cold and bright sunshine of a blustery early March day allowed some of their innovations to shine. There’s the workshop that he built out of wooden strapping and heavy plastic that is primarily heated through passive solar gain, and which was warm even though the simple wood stove was unlit. Another large plastic and wood structure—this one looking a little like a circus tent—has served as the barn for meat animals such as goats and pigs, although they haven’t done a lot with animals since Fowler went off to shoot the TV show last summer (which was winter in Patagonia). They grow a lot of the vegetables they eat in raised beds, and use a large kiddie pool as a
PHOTO: ASHLEY L. CONTI
“AT FIRST, I LIVED OFF THE GRID BECAUSE I WANTED TO SAVE MONEY. IT SEEMED AN EFFICIENT WAY TO DO THINGS. THE LESS MONEY I SPENT ON LIVING THE MORE I COULD PLAY OUTDOORS, AND THAT’S HOW I LIVED MY LIFE.” he carved during the filming of the show. He carried it with him on a tour of his homestead, situated on a two-and-a-half-acre parcel of land set a mile and a half back from the main road. He purchased the land 10 years ago, after he had come to Maine from Vermont to build boats and then fell in love with the area. “I’m kind of hacking my life out of the woods,” Fowler said. “At first, I lived off the grid because I wanted to save money. It seemed an efficient way to do things. The less money I spent on living the more I could play outdoors, and that’s how I lived my life.” Initially, he hung his hat in a small, basic camper that he parked on a wooded knoll, and lugged in just five gallons of water a week for his own use. But a few years ago, he got a little lonely, and placed a personal ad on Craigslist. “Woodsy woman wanted,” he wrote. When Jami, now his wife, responded, he thought she seemed so nice and so pretty that she might have been his buddy messing with him. But she was for real, and it didn’t take long for her to move in to his homestead with her toddler daughter. That meant they needed more space, and so they found a 12-foot diameter yurt that they attached to the camper, which Zachary Fowler later tricked out with a cap of shrinkwrapped hay for extra insulation. It’s just another way that the Fowlers have used more creativity and love than money to build their unique, off-
gardening reservoir, pumping water out of it to water the garden, the blueberries and the apple trees. For their own use, they have a homemade water tower made of a reinforced tank atop stacked pallets that functions well when it’s not freezing outside and which is connected to the camper with a hose. “The rest of the time we say we have running water. You just have to run and get it,” Fowler said. “It’s a little more work.” There’s an outdoor kitchen, and a solar panel that is just strong enough to run some lights and charge some devices. At night, they fire up a gasoline-powered generator, so they can watch movies and “have all the lights we want.” This lets Zachary Fowler create and share videos to his YouTube channel, Fowler’s Makery and Mischief, dedicated to the innovations and inventions that have helped him both live off the grid and survive on his own in Patagonia. Neither thing is exactly easy, he said. Living off the grid demands both ingenuity and a lot of labor, but it’s been worth it to him and his family. “It’s a lot of work, living so off-griddy,” he said. “My dad says it’s funny, because I don’t like to work, and yet I chose this lifestyle that’s more work than anything. But it’s also so rewarding, t o get out there and make your own life. I love being outdoors and gardening. Everything about living off the grid is rewarding.” www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 73
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Learn how to
COMPOST AT HOME Composting habits reachable for anyone who has the desire. BY LAUREN ABBATE
74 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
AS SOON AS Kate Garland had a living space that allowed her the room to compost, she seized the opportunity to be able to return her food scraps back to nature instead of casting them to a landfill. “I take pride in the few bags of garbage that we produce as a household because I know how huge our waste problem is in the United States,” said Garland, a horticulturist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “I’m passionate about minimizing our footprint in that problem.” Composting is the process of organic matter breaking down and becoming a type of fertilizer people can use in their gardens or fields. For the last 15 years, Garland has regularly been composting her kitchen scraps, a trend that she notices is catching on. Depending on the scale that someone is wanting to compost, it’s a habit that almost anyone can pick up as long as they have at least a little bit of outdoor space. A home composter will want a bin with a cover, such as a trash can with a lid, inside of their kitchen where they can collect scraps. The collected food scraps can consist of anything that was once living—vegetable scraps, egg shells, discarded pieces of fruit. If you’re living in a more urban area, or have neighbors close by, Garland warns against composting items that contain fat, such as dairy products or meat, because the items may attract critters to your yard. However, if you live in a more isolated, wooded area, like Garland does, composting things like chicken bones is safe. Once a week Garland will empty her kitchen compost bin onto her compost pile outside. The compost heap in the yard doesn’t have to be anything fancy, though some kind of a fencing should be installed around the pile to keep out animals. Successful composting is all about balance. To keep a good moisture and carbon balance, Garland suggests having a large bin of leaves covered next to the compost heap. When you add food scraps to the pile, add two to three times the amount of leaves. Compost piles should also be regularly mixed and aerated. Garland doesn’t use her compost for gardening; instead, she spreads in on forested areas of her land, so she is not as careful about seeds from weeds in her compost. However, if someone wants to use their compost for gardening, they should be aware that for the seeds carried by weeds and animal manures to be killed the compost pile must reach a temperature of 130 to 150 degrees, according to Dave Colson, agriculture services director for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. “We started with a very lazy compost operation,” said Garland, “and I freely tell people that because starting just with a heap in your yard is so much better than putting that waste into the traditional waste stream. You’re allowing [the waste] to return back to nature, instead of having it go into a plastic bag in a landfill.”
Composting 101 1.
PICK YOUR LOCATION
CHOOSE A DRY, SHADY SPOT NEAR A WATER SOURCE.
2.
ADD THE INGREDIENTS
ADD VEGETABLE SCRAPS, EGG SHELLS, DEAD FLOWERS, GRASS CLIPPING, LEAVES, ETC. CHOP OR SHRED LARGE MATERIALS.
3.
ADD WATER AS NEEDED
KEEP THE PILE MOIST, BUT NOT WET, LIKE A DAMP SPONGE.
4.
KEEP THINGS MOVING
TURN THE PILE TO ADD AIR TO THE MIX TO HELP SPEED UP THE PROCESS.
www.bangormetro.com BANGOR METRO / 75
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
GARDENING tips for beginners GARDENING is a rewarding hobby that many enthusiasts credit with helping them to peacefully escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Though gardening can be both relaxing and rewarding, it’s not as easy as it may seem, and the more time and effort a person devotes to his or her garden the more likely it is to be successful. Gardening can be a little daunting for beginners who have little or no experience planting flowers or vegetables. But gardening need not be so intimidating, especially for those beginners who adhere to the following tips aimed at helping novice gardeners start their gardens off on the right foot. • DETERMINE WHAT YOU SHOULD PLANT. Where you live will go a long way toward determining what you should plant. While you can plant anything you can get your hands on, the United States Department of Agriculture as well as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have determined specific plant hardiness zones that indicate which plants are most likely to thrive in given locations. Maps of these zones can be found at www.usda.gov and www.agr.gc.ca. By adhering to the maps, gardeners can significantly increase their chances of growing successful gardens. When in doubt about what to plant, consult a local gardening center or seek advice from a professional landscaper. • THINK LOCATION WHEN BEGINNING YOUR GARDEN. Beginners with large yards have the luxury of choosing the right location on their properties to start planting. When choosing a spot, consider how much sunlight a location gets on a daily basis and the spot’s proximity to a water supply. If planting flowers, try to avoid planting in areas with heavy foot traffic so the flowers are less likely to be stomped. If you’re planting flowers to accent walkways, then consider erecting a barrier around the flower bed to safeguard the flowers from foot traffic. • GET STARTED BEFORE YOU PLANT. Preparing the soil a few weeks before you start planting can help the plants thrive down the road. Add some organic material, such as compost or fertilizer, to the soil roughly three weeks before planting. This helps the soil retain water and nutrients, which will help your garden thrive. • TIME YOUR PLANTING. When you plant is sometimes as important as what you plant. Some climates allow for year-round planting, but many do not. When buying seeds, the packaging might suggest what time of year to plant the seeds. Adhere to these suggestions or your garden might not grow much at all. In addition, keep in mind that many seedlings need significant light throughout the day in order to grow, so choose a time of year with ample daylight. • DON’T FORGET TO MULCH. Mulch can be as aesthetically appealing as it is effective. Mulch retains soil, helping roots to grow stronger, while deterring bugs and preventing weed growth. And many gardeners find mulch adds visual appeal their garden, and does so in a very inexpensive way. • CLEAN YOUR TOOLS. Beginners rarely recognize the importance of cleaning gardening tools before putting them away. At the end of each gardening session, clean your tools thoroughly, as soil left on your garden tools can play host to potentially harmful microbes that might kill your plants.
76 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
Flower
POWER DANDELIONS—you should be eating them. BY JULIA BAYLY
78 / BANGOR METRO May 2017
TO SOME, the thought of eating dandelions may seem shocking. After all, dandelions are more commonly known as pesky weeds on otherwise manicured lawns. To others, however, it’s no surprise at all. In fact, people have been enjoying their nutritional benefits for generations. Among the first signs of spring, this wild edible is packed with vitamins and other nutrients and can be part of three square meals a day. Plentiful in yards and fields once the snow melts, the greens are there for the picking. “That’s a good thing,” said Kate Yerxa, registered dietitian with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “Americans generally don’t consume enough fruits and vegetables, and dandelion greens are a great source of what those fruits and vegetables provide.” According to information provided by Yerxa, a threeand-one-half-ounce serving of dandelion greens contains 33 calories, 0.6 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, more than 12,000 units of Vitamin A, 18 milligrams of Vitamin C and 1.8 milligrams of iron. “They do have a strong flavor and some people do enjoy them raw,” Yerxa said. “They should be washed by submerging in cold water and agitating to get rid of the dirt, then scoop them up and put them on a clean towel and blot them or place in a salad spinner to remove any moisture and any additional dirt.” Boiled with a bit of bacon or lard is among the more popular traditional ways to prepare the greens, but with an increase in popularity of foraging for wild edibles, more cooks have crafted dandelion recipes that use the entire plant. The earlier in the season the greens or flowers are picked, the more tender and less bitter they tend to be. As for those “three meals a day,” how about starting the morning off with a cup of steaming dandelion root coffee with some dandelion cheese squares? For lunch, why not a fresh dandelion fruit salad? Then, finish the day out with dandelion flower pasta. “It really makes sense to eat the dandelions,” Yerxa said. “It’s a wild edible in Maine right outside the door.”
DANDELION CHEESE SQUARES 2 large eggs 6 tablespoons whole-wheat flour 1 pound dandelions, parboiled, chopped and drained well (squeeze out extra liquid) 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese 6 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups) ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 4 tablespoons wheat germ
DIRECTIONS: In a large bowl, beat the eggs and flour until mixture is smooth. Add dandelions, cheeses, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well. Pour into a wellgreased, 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with wheat germ and bake in a preheated, 350ºF oven for about 45 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes, and then cut into 1½-inch squares. Makes 54 squares. Recipe by University of Maine Cooperative Extension Publication Bulletin #4060, Facts on Edible Wild Greens in Maine
DANDELION FLOWER PASTA 10.6 oz semolina flour ½ tsp salt 0.7 oz dandelion flowers 2 Tbsp oil ½ cup water 1. In a bowl, combine the semolina flour with the salt. 2. In a high speed blender, combine the dandelion flowers, oil and water, and blend until smooth and no pieces remain. Pou r into the semolina flour, and mix until a dou gh forms. 3. Knead the dough for 5 minu tes, allow it to rest for 5 minutes, then knea d it further for 5 minutes. 4. Wrap the dough in plas tic or cove r with a damp towel, and allow it to rest at least 30
minutes. It can be refrigerated for a day or so if tightly wrapped. 5. Cut the dough ball into quarters , and use a pasta roller to roll it out into flat sheets, star ting at level 1 and rolling it dow n to level 5 thick ness, re-folding and rollin g it again if it is falling apart. The more you work it, the smoother it becomes. We like the fettuccine size cut for this firm dough. 6. Dry the pasta and store, or coo k in plenty of salted, boiling water, about 2-3 minutes, until al dente. Toss with butter or a sauce, and serve. YIELD: Makes about 4 servings, one pou nd of
pasta
Recipe by the3foragers.blogspot.co
D DANDELION/FRUIT SALA 1/4 cup herb vinegar 2 tablespoons brown sugar e oil 1 tablespoon canola or oliv sauce soy m diu -so low ons spo 2 tea 1 teaspoon curry powder 1 clove garlic, minced 5 cups loosely packed, torn dandelion greens 5 cups loosely packed, torn red leaf lettuce d, unpeeled 2¾ cups coarsely choppe us) apple (such as Red Delicio h fres 2 cups coarsely chopped orange sec tions sted 2 tablespoons chopped, toa almonds
DIRECTIONS: nex t five Combine vinegar and sk until whi wire a with stir ingredients; e. Combine well blended. Set asid apple and dandelions and lettuce, tos s gently. orange in a large bowl; gently to sing Add vinegar mix ture, tos s. ond coat. Sprinkle with alm YIELD: cups) 8 ser vings (ser ving size: 1½ ne Recipe by Universit y of Mai n nsio Exte tive pera Coo 60, #40 etin Bull ion licat Pub Facts on Edible Wild Greens
in Maine
m
LAST WORD
A FORECAST FOR ALL
SEASONS Chris Quimby is calling for April showers of french vanilla coffee to bring in May mostly sunny skies. BY CHRIS QUIMBY
DELETE YOUR WEATHER APP and rip your Farmers’ Almanac into tiny shreds, because I happily present to you now the first annual (or only ever in the event of laziness) Bangor Metro Unofficial Completely Unreliable 2017 Weather Forecast. With so many people growing tired of predictability, suffering under the grayscale burden of the doldrums of life, we need more intrigue and surprise! Sure, trained weather men and women and people can tell you accurately to the second what the weather will be, but where’s the fun in that? Do you read a book starting at the conclusion? Do you want to know how a movie ends before it even begins? Exactly. That’s why my 2017 Weather Forecast is a figurative crap shoot! Put the spark back into your relationship with the atmosphere by never again having any clear idea of how to plan your day outside! So let’s begin, shall we? You may remember last year, with its civil Presidential campaign and dry Maine conditions. Many lawns dried out and many wells dried up. Well, in my administration, I will fight for wetter weather, for yards green and lush and for productive mosquito breeding grounds. Yes, for my 2017 Weather Forecast, I predict 24 total inches of rain for summer. That’s about twice the season’s average, but I will spread that across more time than normal because this year—for the first time ever—I will sign an order to make summer not three, not four, but six months long! It’s sad nobody thought about this until now, but I have cut spring and fall both down to half-time to make room for these sweeping changes. But that’s not all. Through an agreement with NASA and Dunkin Donuts, I have made arrangements for winter to have more than the 3.5 hours of daylight we have become accustomed to. Now, through this special offer, winter will boast 20 straight hours of daylight each day! I know what some of you are thinking. How will I sleep with so much daylight? Honestly, this will not be a problem for most of America, who regularly fall asleep late binge-watching overproduced, superficial reality shows on Netflix before waking up soon thereafter to a quick fling with a Pop Tart chased down by a 55-gallon drum of coffee. And, for this promotion, that is where Dunkin Donuts comes in. Thanks to technology, each day will feature one hour of precipitation from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. that will consist completely of French Vanilla Iced Coffee (heavy at times) with one month of Pumpkin Spice from November through December. In addition to that, each weekend except one per month will be mostly sunny in the seventies. Only this will not be the mostly sunny you are familiar with. This mostly sunny will feature zero clouds. I am simply forced legally to call it mostly sunny rather than totally sunny because there will also be birds. But these birds will not poop. Again, thank you technology. And once per month, as mentioned before, a weekend will not enjoy sun. Instead the stretch will boast high winds, heavy rains (mostly water) and birds that do poop (and a lot, they were holding it in). Citizens of this fair nation should use this weekend to practice the national pastime of Complaining. It would also be a great time to schedule obligatory outdoor events that you really have no interest in, like dysfunctional family gettogethers and junk-filled yard sales. So enjoy your upcoming season, you wonderful people. There’s a 100% chance that this forecast will definitely, in some ways, look somewhat familiar to actual things that happen around you, given that you are in the right place at the right time and use your imagination. I guarantee. CHRIS QUIMBY is a Christian comedian, speaker and writer, morning news anchor and host of Soup du Jour on VStv, and owner of Chris Quimby iPhone Repair. He resides in Brooks with his wife and two children.
80 / BANGOR METRO May 2017