LA
METRO MAGAZINE SPRING 2020
A TAIL FOR THE AGES: How Togo found his way to Poland Spring Resort
Page 36
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MICHELLE HATHAWAY Meeting challenges for LA’s special needs children
ALTERNATIVE WELLNESS
Taking your health into your own hands
EXTRA PICKLES
LA’s pickleball craze is in full force
To everyone who is stepping up when it matters most, thank you. From health care workers on the front lines, to the community heroes who provide supplies and support to all, and those staying safe at home, we are all doing our part to protect the greater good. Because that’s what Mainers do.
WE STAND TOGETHER.
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editor’s note PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE SIMARD
It’s a wonderful thing to look outside and not see snow anymore. The temperature is warming up a bit and birds are chirping – all signs that we made it through another winter and we can enjoy the springtime. With the current situation in the world, spring doesn’t feel as exciting as it normally does. The health of our families and neighbors, and the well-being of the economy, are at the forefront of our minds. These are times such as we have never seen before and, quite frankly, the unknown leaves us all with an uneasiness and a sense of loss. As a parent of a high school senior, my heart aches for those losing out on their rites of passage into adulthood. But we are a strong community. People are still supporting local businesses, we are connecting via technology with our friends and loved ones, and we are working together to weather this storm. We are not “socially distancing” ourselves; we are only physically distancing. Now is the time, more than ever, for social closeness. We need to check in on our neighbors, call or Facetime friends and family, and take out the dusty old board games and hang out with the people at home! In these uncertain times, let’s celebrate our community. We are happy to share with you our story on Alternative Wellness, describing ways to keep yourself healthy and pain-free outside traditional medicine. We also highlight Michelle Hathaway, an unsung LA hero to children with special needs. A great read for the entire family is our story on Togo. You may have heard about a movie saluting this amazing dog, just released on Disney+. Did you know that Togo spent his final four years right here at Poland Spring Resort? While we are experiencing physical distancing, either grab your copy of LA Metro Magazine around town or find our digital edition online at LAMetroMagazine.com. There are still lots of great things going on in LA and you shouldn’t miss any of it! Our Twin Cities and beyond are going to come out of this situation stronger than ever because we all have a deep love for this area. This too, shall pass. And when we are on the other end of this situation, we will see the strength of our community in full force. Be well everyone.
TYLA DAVIS Editor-in-Chief editor@LAMetroMagazine.com
LA Metro Magazine is proudly printed in Lewiston, Maine at
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LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
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MEET THE
Contributors
CHELSEA Briggs
Chelsea’s passion for the arts began at a young age. She chased her love for digital and film photography while in high school. She decided to start her own business four years ago and has never looked back.
During her career, she has freelanced for L.L. Bean, and created social media content for many household brands. Among Chelsea’s favorite things to do are create, sing, travel, and spend time with her family.
PHOTOGRAPHER 6
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
BREWSTER Burns
Brewster was raised in Waterford, Maine, attended Oxford Hills High School, then graduated from Colby College. He became an English teacher at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, where he has remained since 1988. Christmas of 2012, he received his first camera, and quickly developed a love of the lens. Brewster freelances for some Maine newspapers and local magazines. He resides in Hebron, with his wife and two children.
PHOTOGRAPHER
TOBY Haber-Giasson
Toby hails from the bustling New York City media world, where she promoted live events like pay-per-view boxing, and published album reviews in Creem and Audio magazines. In LA, she coordinates events for First Universalist Church of Auburn, hosting the monthly Pleasant Note Open Mic, and staging their annual “Vagina Monologues” benefit against domestic violence.
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR & WRITER
PEGGY DeBlois
A native of Lewiston, Peggy began writing creatively as a child growing up in a French-Catholic neighborhood. A graduate of Bowdoin College, she began her career in journalism at PC Week in Boston, where she was the ghostwriter for the industry gossip columnist, Spencer the Cat. She has also worked locally as an English teacher and public relations consultant. A resident of Auburn, she recently finished her first novel.
WRITER
DAVID Fuller
On his eighth birthday, David Fuller’s favorite aunt gave him a camera. She couldn’t have known that, from that day, photography would grow into a passion, a career, and a ticket to experiences he would otherwise only have dreamed of.
DONNA Keene Rousseau
A Maine native, Donna has dedicated much of her career to assisting families as they navigate the world of eldercare. Her philosophy is, “Create good by approaching all things with an open mind and a generous, honest heart;” it has served her well, personally and professionally.
Fifty years later, David is a successful filmmaker, photographer, and creative director working for national and local advertising agencies, businesses, and educational and government clients. It was, as things have turned out, the perfect gift.
Writing is her happy place and her family is her heart.
PHOTOGRAPHER
JOSE Leiva
Jose started his photography career while in the Air Force during Vietnam. He moved to Maine in the late 1980s and retired from the Sun Journal a few years ago. He now works as a freelance photographer and exhibits his art locally. Jose lives in Lewiston, Maine, with his wife, Linda. Together they have six adult children, and four grandchildren who are a source of photographic inspiration.
WRITER
MICHAEL Krapovicky
Michael is a freelance writer and musician from Auburn. He graduated from the University of Maine at Presque Isle in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He has submitted stories and articles for various publications, and performs throughout New England as a solo guitarist and bassist. Michael enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending leisure time with family and friends.
WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHER
LISA Mayer
Lisa Mayer is a Clio-Award winning advertising writer from New York City who moved to LA five years ago. Her work has been published in national magazines, and she is currently writing two novels set in Maine. Lisa is the wife of Rabbi Sruli Dresdner of Temple Shalom in Auburn, and their twins are in the fifth grade at the fabulous Park Avenue School.
WRITER LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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volume five • issue two
SPRING 2020
in this issue features
quick reads
25
12
17
Social Hour: Eat, drink, paint, then go home.
DaVinci’s Italian comfort food
20 Alternative Wellness
Sound Check: Juke Joint Devils
43
48
LA’s Pickleball craze is in full force
61 Meeting challenges for LA’s special needs children
ON THE COVER
How Togo found his way to Poland Spring Resort
36
Nonprofit Spotlight: Sophia’s House
31 Reaching for third place at Side by Each
56 The 48th Annual Lions youth hockey tournament
CORE
Our
Crew
PUBLISHER & CEO
Jim Marston jim@LAMetroMagazine.com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Tyla Davis editor@LAMetroMagazine.com
Tim Rucker Sales
Tim@LAMetroMagazine.com
ADVERTISING SALES Jim Marston Tim Rucker Steve Simard
PRODUCTION MANAGERS Tyla Davis Jim Marston
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Toby Haber-Giasson
Steve Simard Sales
Steve@LAMetroMagazine.com
WRITERS
Peggy L. DeBlois Toby Haber-Giasson Michael Krapovicky Lisa Mayer Donna Keene Rousseau
PROOFREADERS Keith Davis Kayla Marston
Stephanie Arsenault Bookkeeper
billing@LAMetroMagazine.com
PHOTOGRAPHY Chelsea Briggs Brewster Burns David Fuller Jose Leiva
COVER
Cyndi Robbins, Poland Spring Resort Photographer: Jose Leiva
Tyla Davis
Editor-in-Chief/Graphic Design editor@LAMetroMagazine.com
LA Metro Magazine is published four times each year by LA Metro Magazine, LLC Editorial and subscription info: Call 207-783-7039 email: info@LAMetroMagazine.com 9 Grove Street, Auburn, ME 04210 Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements, unless otherwise noted, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or staff. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information presented in this issue is accurate, and neither LA Metro Magazine nor any of its staff are responsible for omissions or information that has been misrepresented to the magazine. No establishment is ever covered in this magazine because it has advertised, and no payment ever influences our stories and reviews.
Jim Marston Publisher & CEO
Jim@LAMetroMagazine.com
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LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Copyright Š2020 LA Metro Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission, in writing, from the publisher. Printed in Lewiston, ME, USA.
SOCIAL H UR
Highlighting great places to go and things to do in our communities.
Cre8tive Events: Eat, drink, paint, then go home! Written by Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by Brewster Burns
S
usan Begin is setting up the back room of Pedro O’Hara’s. Tables are covered with plastic and laid with 50 unusual place settings. There are paint brushes where the utensils should be. Instead of glasses, Solo cups are filled with murky water. And each place is marked by a plate of colored squirts. Paint Night is on the menu!
Begin demonstrates how to paint a wine glass
Paint Night 101 What exactly is paint night? Imagine a group arts-n-crafts session held, not in a classroom, but in a bar or restaurant. The host provides materials and model artwork, then walks patrons through the project, step by step. Patrons enjoy a night out with friends and leave with a memento of the night. This trend has been gaining momentum nationwide since 2012. Right here in LA, there are a handful of hosts, plus a pottery studio. One host is Susan Begin, whose story epitomizes the wild popularity of this trend. It started when Begin opened Cre8tive Earth, a cooperative art gallery, in Gardiner in 2014. “I was teaching art classes there and they started becoming popular. Soon I made more money with teaching than selling art. The brick-and-mortar building wasn’t making me money, so I would go to different venues, instead. I thought, ‘Let’s see how this works.’” And did it work? “It’s been six years.”
Susan Begin 14
For most of that time, she’s been booked almost seven days a week, but she now limits bookings to only four to five nights a week. She works with a dozen venues, five of which are located in LA: Pedro O’Hara’s, Marco’s Restaurant, The Pit Bar & Grill, Sea40 Japanese Cuisine, and Baxter Brewing Co.
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
It’s a win-win situation for all, as Begin explains it. “I bring in clientele on a quiet night, they buy food and drink, and I benefit from using the space.”
Cre8tive’s brand Amongst the field of crafting hosts, what makes Cre8tive different are three charms: choice, variety, and camaraderie. “People have different tastes,” Begin explains, “so I offer two options.” Begin does live demonstrations on two different projects, alternating instructions for each one. Tonight, she offers lovebirds on a plank and painted wineglasses. For hardcore crafters, this means a lot. “Sue does two at a time,” reports paint night regular Samantha McAvoy. “She has lots of energy, and there’s not a lot of downtime.” McAvoy brings her own art background to bear, yet this “ringer” finds inspiration and freedom with Begin. “You can change something if you have an idea. I stick pretty close, but I add little dragons and fairies.”
Variety Though her proven formula is a slam-dunk, Begin always strives to offer something new to her clientele. She simply asks them what they would like to make. The results have included string art, pebble stones, sea glass and sand, stained glass, wood chimes, sun catchers, and painted wineglasses.
By Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by Brewster Burns | Cr8tive Events McAvoy and her friend say it’s a $40-45 night out for each of them, with paint, dinner, and a tip. “We’re professionals with tough jobs,” says another woman wearing a Superman apron. “This is a stress reliever for us.”
The master’s work Begin is a natural at making things. “I was raised by my dad, an excavator, and my mom, a pipe fitter at BIW. They also did carpentry. It was the environment I grew up in.”
Samantha McAvoy’s lovebirds “People really enjoy using different media,” she observes. “I get bored, myself, so I like to incorporate new things. My basement looks like a craft store exploded!” Mary-Jo Romero follows Begin all over Central Maine for her brand of artistic expression and socializing. “Either I pick by venue or by project,” reports Romero. “Sue makes it fun, well worth the drive to Skowhegan or Waterville.”
Personality
Where did that background lead her? “I used to weld bridges, fabricate and install granite countertops and mosaic backsplashes. I have a piece in every state except Hawaii.” Her favorite media? “I love to weld sculpture and work with stone and glass,” confesses Begin, although she notes, “In this business, I mostly use canvas and paint.”
Life lessons “Paint night is about so much more than art,” Begin observes. “I want people to explore. It’s a learning experience.” She told of one client – a teacher with a perfectionist streak who wanted her painting to be just like Begin’s model.
The third charm is Sue, herself. Cre8tive groupies form a “second family,” encouraging, praising, and gently teasing in fun. Begin welcomes them in. “We’ve tried other people and they’re not the same. Sue makes you feel loved,” coos Jill Choiniere. “It’s her personality – she’s the draw.” Tonight Choiniere has brought her seven-year old granddaughter, Ariana, for her first paint night. Together, they follow Sue’s directions, putting color accents on their black tree branches. “Grammy, look! It’s like diamonds,” Ariana squeals while dabbing on white dots, then spreading them around. “It’s not just about art,” Begin observes, “it’s camaraderie, coming out for the night together to have fun.” That’s why she brought a bag of Mardi Gras masks and beads. She notices more and more people come solo, ready to meet new people. There are a few men among this roomful of women, and Begin increasingly sees men attending art events. How are they different as clients? Mostly, they don’t like to follow the model. “Men will always go rogue,” she laughs. “It’s fine, I mean they’re having fun.”
Promotion In between live demos, Begin is working the crowd. She’s constantly moving, offering advice about color and technique, and posting crowd photos on Facebook. “I’m always marketing, 24/7, setting up the next event.” Most events are open to the public, but she also does private groups, bachelorette parties, and fundraisers. Ticket prices vary by materials, ranging between $15-25. Children’s events are $10 per person at The Pit in Lewiston or IHOP in Augusta.
Mary-Jo Romero with beads and a brush “I asked her, ‘Can’t you make it different?’ and she said, ‘It would look nothing like yours.’ And I said, ‘Good.’ She thought about it, and said, ‘My students show me what they do and I say it’s not exact – but I get it now. It’s not supposed to be exact.’”
The secret? “It’s not teaching the art, it’s creating the environment,” observes Begin. “People want to come back when they feel welcome, have fun, and get a memento to take home.” Begin’s having a blast, too. She confides, “I can’t believe I get paid to do this.” Cr8tive Events www.Cre8tive-Events.com LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Italian comfort food in the Bates Mill Written by Peggy L. DeBlois Photography by Jose Leiva
Jules Patry, DaVinc i’s owner
H
omemade garlic knots, fresh soup, and brick oven specialty pizzas have been served in the historic Bates Mill Complex since 1996, thanks to the vision of Jules Patry, owner of DaVinci’s Eatery. This LA hot spot for lunch and dinner will celebrate 25 years in 2021.
Heritage space “This all started because I saw a need for a brick oven pizzeria in LA,” explains Jules Patry. Patry first opened DaVinci’s Eatery in 1996, in the Bates Mill Complex. He credits Tom Platz, local developer, and Steve Levesque, then with the City of Lewiston, for supporting his vision to create a restaurant in the Bates Mill and take a “leap of faith.” The atmosphere of the mill’s original brick and large wooden beams created the ambiance Patry wanted for his casual dining restaurant.
DaVinci’s lunch salad buffet soup, salad, and pizza buffet, available from 11 a.m.–2 p.m., Monday-Friday. The buffet is also offered for dinner on Tuesdays from 5-8 p.m. The space also includes DaVinci’s Café, which provides breakfast and lunch items in a grab-and-go format. These options make DaVinci’s a go-to destination for employees of the numerous businesses now located in the Bates Mill Complex. DaVinci’s Eatery also has a 60-seat event space, popular for business networking, showers, rehearsal dinners, and holiday parties. The restaurant offers limited off-site catering, with a focus on corporate events. Patry proudly adds that DaVinci’s Eatery has also recently become the exclusive caterer of events at The Gendron Franco Center in Lewiston.
Shawn Emery tosses a fresh pizza dough Remarkably, Patry entered the restaurant business without any previous experience. He recalls the biggest challenge was literally figuring out how to run the operation, from menu development to maintenance, in addition to the financial and human resource aspects of running any business. “This is not fine dining, it’s casual, comfort food at a good price point,” Patry says. “We’ve also had a core group of staff consistently delivering friendly service, so our customers feel we provide a good dining value.” The venture has proved to be quite a success.
DaVinci’s consistently works at refining the menu, keeping the staples (those garlic knots!) that their customers keep coming back for, but also changing with the trends. Some dishes have been on the menu since the beginning and remain top sellers, including Dirty Peas and Pasta, Chicken Parmigiana, Renaissance Lasagna, and Margherita pizza. About a year ago, DaVinci’s Eatery introduced Early Bird Specials, which have become very popular, especially for locals. These three-course dinners, priced at just $10, are served Monday through Thursday from 3-5p.m.
Raising the bar DaVinci’s Eatery recently introduced a small plate menu at Happy Hour, drawing the business crowd into the bar after work. The small plate menu includes a roasted tomato & spinach dip, served with crostini or fresh vegetables, Chicken Parm Poppers, Arancini (fried rice balls), and a variety of breads.
“We’ve seen consistent growth since 1996, even during the recession,” says Patry. When it was time for DaVinci’s to expand, the only location Patry considered was a larger spot in the Bates Mill Complex. In 2007, DaVinci’s Eatery moved to its current location, doubling capacity to 300 seats. “This community was not quite ready in 1996 to dine in the Bates Mill,” Patry chuckles, “but now, nearly 25 years later, the revitalization of the mills is a big draw for people. Today, our location defines us as much as our service and food – being here is part of the larger experience. Locals bring out-of-own guests here to see the town’s heritage, which is more interesting than any chain. We’ve become part of the fabric of LA.”
Comfort food The current location was designed to deliver new dining features, in addition to the full menu. One feature is an all-you-can-eat 18
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Andrew Ruderman pours one of DaVinci’s 21 beers on tap
By Peggy L. DeBlois | Photography by Jose Leiva | DaVinci’s “It’s a milestone, so it will be a special year for our customers,” he reports. “The best part of this business is the relationships,” he adds. “We have young parents come in with children and tell us they dined here as children themselves. One couple recently told us they got engaged here 20 years ago. A busy restaurant can be a challenging business, but the ‘people’ aspect is what’s rewarding.” DaVinci’s Eatery 150 Mill Street, Lewiston • www.davinciseatery.com
Michael Mecham delivers the famous garlic knots to a table Patry believes his bar offers the largest and most unique selection of craft beer in town, with 21 lines. “We’ve certainly earned the following of beer enthusiasts,” says Patry. DaVinci’s Eatery offers a Mug Club, where members receive a handcrafted, numbered 22-ounce Maine Mug. Members are entitled to “anytime filling” for the price of a pint, half-price appetizers, and $1 off all canned and bottled beer. The automated carousel that delivers personal mugs to the bar is always intriguing to new guests. As soon as the weather warms up, the patio seating at DaVinci’s Eatery offers a truly unique setting in the heart of Lewiston, complete with flower beds and a fountain, surrounded by the historic brick of the mill complex.
Scooters, anyone?
Says Patry, “People love to meet friends outside and enjoy the warm weather.”
Visitors to DaVinci’s Eatery will surely note the motor scooters decorating the brick walls.
Milestone anniversary
“I got my first scooter because I saw Jamie Oliver riding his scooter to the market on television,” explains Patry. Now a scooter enthusiast himself, Patry collects them, and also rides them whenever time and weather allows.
Patry agrees that marking the 25 anniversary of DaVinci’s Eatery in 2021 will be important, but he’s keeping his plans under wraps for now. th
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LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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Swingin’ The BLUES
Juke Joint Devils Written by Michael Krapovicky Photography by Brewster Burns
H
ere in LA, there is a band dedicated to the spirit of the “juke joint,” a ramshackle dive where music drove the crowd to frenzy. A double-bass creating a foundation around a solid drum groove, glass tubes glowing inside archaic amplifiers, and a wailing harmonica – all these are integral pieces of a Juke Joint Devils show.
Juke Joint evolution Over time O’Connell moved to Massachusetts, then Maine. Singing and playing harmonica with various groups brought good times and recognition, but O’Connell yearned to form his own outfit. The first iteration of Juke Joint Devils formed in 2011, and consisted of just O’Connell and multi-instrumentalist Gerry Byrne. Yet as time went on, and players came and went, O’Connell retained the name, and sought to achieve his ultimate vision with full-time bandmates.
Six-stringers For several years, George Stamboules was the first-call guitarist in the Juke Joint Devils. Though his teenage guitar heroes were Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers, Stamboules discovered the music of such figures as BB King, T-Bone Walker, and Tab Benoit.
Tommy O’Connell
Juke joint sound The Juke Joint Devils has evolved around the influence of Tommy O’Connell, a harmonica aficionado and lifelong proponent of the blues. O’Connell’s intimate knowledge of the American blues tradition, coupled with his uncompromising vision, has brought forth a distinctive roots-rock blues combo that bridges old blues and rock ‘n’ roll. “I was hooked from the time I first heard Tommy,” comments Rick Speer, friend and fan of the Juke Joint Devils (JJD) since their inception. “He just has a great feel for a wide range of blues styles, and delivers with both his vocals and his amazing harp playing.”
Rick Speer watches JJD perform at Gritty’s
“Tommy’s bands have always had energy, attitude, and an amazing sound!” avows George Stamboules. “You would find me in the front row, yelling and clapping when I could get to a gig.”
Harmonica blues Tommy O’Connell discovered a love for the blues listening to artists like Muddy Waters on underground radio. He started at age 15 in his native Connecticut, playing blues harmonica in the vein of Little Walter and James Cotton. When it seemed there was little work for harmonica players, he became a drummer. That changed significantly with the 1972 release of J. Geils Band’s “Whammer Jammer,” with a distorted harmonica playing the main melody.
George Stamboules “I met Tommy around 1996. I was starting out in the Maine blues scene, and Tommy was getting back into playing out after some years away,” recalls Stamboules. “We would play sets together at the blues jams, and invite each other to join when we had gigs here and there.” “George’s style is very traditional, but he’s created his own sound,” maintains JJD’s Andy Buckland, “He fits in with us really well.” Stamboules has cut back, to focus on a successful family business. “I fill in from time to time, and get added on as a second guitar player for some gigs,” says Stamboules. “I intend to remain part of the Juke Joint Devils family indefinitely.”
“I thought, ‘Thank God, the harmonica has finally come out with a mainstream rock blues band,’” O’Connell recounts. “With that song all over commercial radio, the harmonica was the star.” More groups began to form with harmonica players in the forefront, and O’Connell was poised to ride this newfound popularity of rock-inflected blues. 22
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Steve Lynnworth
By Michael Krapovicky | Photography by Brewster Burns | The Juke Joint Devils
Andy Buckland In his wake, Steve Lynnworth has become the band’s primary axe-man, and recording engineer, since Stamboules’ withdrawal as full-time guitarist in 2019. Lynnworth has played with Ronnie Earl and other blues royalty, and has shared stages with a Who’s Who of guitar players such as Johnny Winter and Dickie Betts. “Steve and George are both well-schooled in styles of blues guitar – West Coast, Jump swing, Chicago and Southern blues,” affirms O’Connell. “Luckily Steve was available to play with us more, just as George was able to play less.” “Honestly, the fun I’m having in this band is as good as it gets for me,” admits Lynnworth.
Rhythm section Andy Buckland became the group’s upright bass player after Byrne’s departure, and serves as the principal booking agent for the band. As a performing guitarist and bassist, Buckland played with numerous groups, including Acadian string band Boreal Tordu, and Matt and the Barnburners. O’Connell hired Buckland on the condition he play upright bass exclusively. Mark Horn had played drums with the Austin-based “Americana” band The Derailers, notably performing on The Grand Ole Opry, Austin City Limits, The Conan O’Brien Show, and A Prairie Home Companion. As a Nashville artist, he toured with Rockabilly Hall of Famer Sonny Burgess, NRBQ founding member Steve Ferguson, The Amazing Rhythm Mark Horn
Aces, and Carlene Carter. Horn moved to Maine, and played several gigs with Buckland.
Buckland is in charge of assembling promotional materials for the upcoming release.
“Mark’s kick drum has the same frequency range as the upright bass – no muffling at all, just a huge note,” says Buckland. “It sounds so good within the context of the band.”
“We are putting publicity items in place,” Buckland informs. “A really well-recorded album, a website, all that is in the works.”
O’Connell had found his rhythm section. “When you talk about the presence of an upright bass and the drummer locked in together... if you aren’t grooving, you’re dead,” insists O’Connell.
For the record The Juke Joint Devils are in the process of recording an album of original music at Lynnworth’s home. “’Sittin’ and Waitin,’ ‘Drink Drink Drink,’ and ‘Somebody Help Me’ are some of Tommy’s originals we’ve recorded,” explains Lynnworth. “There’s one of mine called ‘She Locked Me Out,’ and ‘Jump in the Kennebec,’ which we wrote together.” “We know what we want for a sound,” O’Connell emphasizes. “We don’t need anything overproduced, just raw and clean.” The band records with everyone in the same room playing together, and the best take becomes the album track. “We set up the way we do live, mic everything up and just go for it,” says Lynnworth. “I know Tommy’s fans are gonna love it. Hopefully it’ll win us some new fans, too!”
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That sound What’s important to the Juke Joint Devils about their sound? “Our music is not just twelve-bar blues,” asserts O’Connell, to quell a common misconception about the band. “There’s different tempos, different styles... we can change it all up.” What’s the band’s objective? “Do what we do, for the people that like it,” says Buckland. “We’re excited to bring people into the fold, young people who’ve never heard the stuff we do. You can see them moving and gyrating, asking us ‘What kind of music is this?’ They swing from the rafters!” The Juke Joint Devils plan to have their CD ready for their earnest fans during their annual Maine Blues Festival performance in June 2020. With monumental performances such as at LA’s Summer Block Party Make-A-Wish Benefit, Maine Blues Society’s annual events, and rocking the taverns and venues of LA and beyond, the Juke Joint Devils are an impactful force in LA music. www.facebook.com/Juke-Joint-Devil-Band-760501873965172/
Alternative Taking your health into your own hands Written by Lisa Mayer  |  Photography by Jose Leiva
I
f you are the one in the one-infive Americans who wants to live forever, read on. We have a few alternative wellness gurus, right here in LA, who might just help make that happen.
Struldbrugs Do you remember reading Gulliver’s Travels in high school? Gulliver sails around meeting all kinds of odd creatures. The most famous are the tiny Lilliputians, but he also meets folks called the Struldbrugs. Everyone feels sorry for the Struldbrugs, because they live forever – but they don’t stay young forever. Now, we’re the new Struldbrugs. We’re living longer but we won’t accept that aging means more visits to doctors, longer stays in hospitals, and even longer lists of medications. Instead, we are seeking alternatives that make us feel better, look better, and live better. And those options are right next door.
Keeping the doctor away Misty Edgecomb grew up with a single mom who worked double shifts. “I would rub her shoulders when she got home,” she says, now sitting on a cushy chair in the waiting room of M.E. Massage Therapy, her beautiful space in Lewiston.
Misty Edgecomb
“When I was a senior at Leavitt Area High School, one of my good friends told me she was going to go to massage school. I was like, ‘Oh, my God! YES!’”
Edgecomb graduated from the Central Maine School for Therapeutic Massage. A self-professed science nerd, she loves puzzles and games. She likes to figure out how things work, and how they are structured. How do the pieces fit together?
Edgecomb works on the back and shoulders of Cindy Scribner. “As a patient, you have to be your own advocate,” Edgecomb says. “And if you can manage your pain with massage, why not?” Most of her patients, about 90 percent, come to manage chronic pain. They start by coming weekly, eventually spacing out their sessions as their bodies respond. Some have very physical jobs, or jobs that demand repetitive motions throughout the day. Some come because it helps them sleep. Some come because when your body is relaxed, you can handle more.
“The human body,” she says, “is the best puzzle that exists.” And for the past 16 years, Edgecomb has been solving that puzzle for many, many people who deal with chronic pain or stress, or just find that massage makes their body run more efficiently.
Not everyone wants to take a pill Despite every other commercial on TV advertising a pill for every possible ailment, many folks are determined NOT to ask their doctors for medication. In fact, one in three Americans uses Complementary and Alternative Medicine, now known as CAM (medicinenet.com). In most cases, it’s in addition to, and not instead of, the treatments prescribed by their doctors. Massage is one of those complementary therapies.
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Edgecomb demonstrates a hand massage.
The American Massage Therapy Association (amtamassage.org) stresses how beneficial massage is for stress itself. They claim stress is reduced both physically and psychologically by massage. The Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic. org), the gold standard of Western medical care, has this to say on the role of massage in stress management: “Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain, and muscle tension.”
Nearly 80 percent of Breau’s clients suffer from such “beaver dams.” They swear they feel only a tingle as she expertly places the teeny tiny needles along their rivers – upstream, downstream. “The area that hurts isn’t necessarily where I place the needles,” she says. The first acupuncturist is considered to be Hua Tuo, a physician in the 2nd century, during the Golden Age of the Chinese Han Dynasty. He discovered many of the pressure points along the human body. Incidentally, Dr. Hua is also famous for first using anesthesia – wine mixed with cannabis. He would probably feel right at home among the new “green parlors” here in Maine!
Lauren Breau places an acupuncture needle in the ankle of Justine Vincent. And after all these years, hands-on in the massage business, Edgecomb previously worked at Cassiel’s Spa & Wellness Center in Lewiston and had her own space at the YMCA of AuburnLewiston, she can state with authority, “Stress is not good for you.” Insurance companies are finally starting to agree, and Edgecomb says that Workers’ Compensation Insurance is covering massage as part of the healing process. “You take your car in for an oil change and a tuneup,” she smiles, her warm brown eyes lighting up. “Massage makes everything run better, too.”
Running like a river Acupuncture, part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is designed to treat imbalances of the body and the mind. It has been around a long, long time – about 2500 years. “Think of your body as if twelve rivers were running from head to toe,” says Lauren Breau, of L/A Community Acupuncture. “Are you tired?” she asks. “Maybe there’s not enough water in the rivers. Are you overstressed? Maybe your rivers are overflowing.” And then – the best metaphor: “Your areas of inflammation? Those are like beaver dams in the river.”
Breau describes the twelve meridians that run through us, two thousand years after Hua mapped them. “They are the paths through which the Qi (pronounced “chee”) flows.” The Qi is a life force, and the ancients were just as eager as we are now for it to flow freely.
People come with pain, anxiety, and stress. Some have even been referred to the clinic by their own doctors, or primary care providers. Breau, herself, was referred to acupuncture by her mother.
Give it a whirl “Twenty years ago, I was returning from a year in England, and I wasn’t feeling like myself. My doctor said my tests were normal, but suggested a medication which I tried and didn’t like. My mother suggested acupuncture. I was hugely skeptical, but she convinced me to give it a whirl.”
“Jim” the acupuncture model.
Breau said it took just a few sessions until she “was feeling back to herself.” She said she didn’t understand it at first, and was “bewildered by what happened.” But Breau, a poetry lover, realized that perhaps TCM, with its flowing rivers, allowed for a more holistic, more poetic view of the human body. Since her graduation from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine as a Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Breau says, “I’ve had the honor of giving over 30,000 treatments.” The clinic is extremely busy, and Breau relates that working within the community model, “has given me the opportunity to treat patients from a wide variety of backgrounds.”
Julie Carpenter relaxes while Lauren Breau works on her legs.
The clinic is a nonprofit, and the fees for treatment are much lower than those of the private acupuncturists around town. “Most people come because they’ve heard of the clinic and want to feel better. Since we only charge $25 for a session, it lets them give it a shot.”
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And she is a big proponent of nutritional yeast, a byproduct of molasses which looks like a flake. “You can’t match it for B vitamins,” Horton says. Horton is a certified raw chef, but she is not a strict vegan. Vegans don’t eat anything that was produced by an animal, even if that animal wasn’t hurt in the process, such as a bee. But she makes an exception because, “Raw honey is so beneficial.” She makes every single thing she eats. And she shares her recipes and her raw enthusiasm with her clients. Nutritional therapy has not only given Horton back her life, she says,“It has given me a raise.” She says she used to spend between $40,000 and $50,000 a year after deductibles on healthcare. Horton remarks, “And I had good inurance!” And now that she has healed herself, she is healing others.
Kitchen as medicine cabinet She sits with each new client in her kitchen, surrounded by herbs and oils. “Tell me what your life is like,” she says, and asks “What meds are you on? Do you take supplements? I want to see the whole picture.” Many people come with headaches, toothaches, or chronic pain, and for those clients she recommends essential oils. She believes deeply in their power. “These oils have been around for thousands of years. If it’s natural, from the earth, the body will accept it more easily.” Cheryl Horton Breau adamantly believes that TCM is complementary with Western medicine, and that her role is not to replace your doctor. She says that patients know their own bodies, and they know what is right for them. “We’re here to make acupuncture more accessible for more people. We believe that opportunities to feel better should be available for everyone. Most patients leave our clinic smiling.”
Raw Enthusiast “I was on so many meds it was mind blowing,” says Cheryl Horton, founder of Life in the Raw, a nutritional health counseling service. “And my doctors told me I would never walk again.” Diagnosed with fibromyalgia at a young age, she also suffered from an undiagnosed, and therefore untreated, case of Lyme disease that totally debilitated her. “Finally, I said, ‘There has to be a better way. I’m standing up.’” It took seven years, but Horton discontinued all her medications. Now, her long silver hair shines, her eyes are bright, and she has a beautiful, natural, and ageless look. How? Everything she eats is raw. She starts each morning with overnight oats and almond milk, and adds fresh fruit. She makes her own cherry almond power bars, her specialty, from dried cherries, almonds, dates, and shredded coconut, food-processed and formed into bars. She uses a dehydrator to wilt spinach and kale. “I don’t want to cook the nutrition out of food until it’s dead.” 28
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Horton’s “medicine cabinet”
By Lisa Mayer | Photography by Jose Leiva | Alternative Wellness
Cheryl’s Guide to Oils
“Not every oil works for everyone – or the same way for everyone.” For example, lavender. For many, it is calming but, says Horton, “It winds me up.” And what about the biblical Frankincense? “Ah,” says Horton. “Frankincense is truly the King of Oils. It is wonderful for regenerating the skin.” She advises her clients to use only pure oils; if you plan to put them in your mouth, make sure they are suitable for ingestion. Despite having worked in the biomedical field for many years, Horton is a true convert to complementary and alternative medicine. She says her focus is to help people make better versions of themselves. “If you can maintain your health every day, maybe you don’t have to go to meds.”
Go like Gulliver In the book, Gulliver says that he would have liked to have been born like a Struldbrug, destined to live forever.
Lavender: good for stress, but not for sleeping. Lemon balm, also called Melissa: helps significantly with depression. Dab some on the roof of your mouth, if the oil is of high enough quality to ingest. Clove oil: really works for toothaches. Cinnamon oil: next to garlic, it’s nature’s best antibiotic. It boosts your immune system. Wild orange: use it on your little wild child to tone down those temper tantrums. Peppermint oil: good for headaches. Rub some on your temples and across your forehead. It really opens up your passageways and makes you feel better in seconds.
But remember, Jonathan Swift wrote the book as a satire. His Struldbrugs were hideous and cranky creatures, created to show the evils of eternal life without the eternal youth to go with it. One wonders what Swift would think now. Gulliver would be 294 years old! But with the right combination of modern and alternative medicine, oh, irony of ironies, Gulliver might be looking and feeling pretty good. M.E. Massage Therapy 185 Webster Street, Lewiston • www.memassagetherapy.com L/A Community Acupuncture 145 Lisbon Street, Ste. 400, Lewiston • www.lacommunityacu.com Life in the Raw Turner Street, Auburn • www.facebook.com/cheryl.lifeintheraw/
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REACHING FOR THIRD PLACE
at
Written by Michael Krapovicky | Photography by Jose Leiva
S
ide By Each Brewing Co. isn’t even a year old. But in February 2020, it charted in the top five Maine breweries, measured by Housemethod.com, for popularity on social media. Considering the number of Maine breweries has skyrocketed to well over a hundred since the first one in 1986, this is no small feat. How did they do it? By reaching for third place.
Hunter Bailey makes a peppermint latte
Owners Ben Low & Matt Johannes
Brainchild Back in 2018, senior Baxter Brewing Co. employees Ben Low and Matt Johannes imagined something new. “We wanted to be one of those third places, not work and not home, where people gather and have meaningful social relationships,” says Johannes. Their idea to be serving coffee at 7a.m., and pouring craft beer until 9p.m., has led Side By Each Brewing Co. to become that ubiquitous meeting place that could satisfy the tastes of both Maine beer aficionados and the general public. A year later, Side By Each Brewing Co. (SXE), the duo’s brainchild, was established.
Nimbility When it comes to the beer, SXE honors tradition, but also pushes boundaries. “We have a 10-hectoliter system, which is about eight and a half barrels, and a pilot system which is one barrel,” Low explains. “The pilot system allows us to have more variety on the tap lines; we can try different things without significant risk.” “It’s fun to be able to work at this scale,” Johannes opines. “I made up a word, nimbility, meaning we can be open to our customers’ input, implementing their suggestions quickly. Through patron feedback, and their own experience and creativity, SXE offers an extensive variety of beer throughout the 32
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seasons. Names like Sunshine on My Shoulders Lager, Galway Girl Irish Red, Snow Daze Imperial Stout, and Right Sideways West Coast IPA describe the beers’ characteristics in a clever and memorable way.
Innovations Another Side By Each Brewery Co. innovation is Community Supported Brewing. Members pay a fee for different levels of incentives, receiving an allotment of between two and eight pints a week, exclusive merchandise, guided tours, discounts, and more. “Folks are able to get a discount for a year’s worth of beer, given in weekly vouchers, plus lots of fun stuff especially for members,” divulges Low. “And we get a new friend to drink beer with!” SXE also has a no tipping policy; instead, workers are paid a decent hourly wage. “The employees know what their paychecks will look like when they see the schedule,” says Low. “Our wage policy helps keep our staff happy. They feel, as we do, that it is as much their company as it is ours.”
Collaboration Side By Each has frequently partnered with peers in the Maine brewing industry to craft collaborative offerings. The appellation of “Old Acquaintance” American barleywine, brewed in tandem with Lake St. George Brewing Company in Liberty, Maine, exemplifies SXE’s philosophy of friendship and brotherhood with their fellow Maine brewers. “Birch By Each was a blood orange wheat beer we created with Birchwood Brewing,” says Johannes. “Sweet Auburn, an India pale ale, was brewed to celebrate our city’s Sesquicentennial in
By Michael Krapovicky | Photography by Jose Leiva | Reaching for third place collaboration with Lost Valley Brewing Co. and Gritty’s.” “We also have worked with the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission (LAWPC), creating a Mexican lager called Lago Castaño, which is ‘Lake Auburn’ in Spanish,” adds Low. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Lago Castaño benefit LAWPC.
More than beer “If groups come in, and one person is not into beer, that’s fine. We have wine and cider on tap as well,” says Johannes. “We offer Coffee By Design’s hot or cold brewed coffee, and homemade sodas and chocolate milk for the kids.” They also offer espresso, chai latte, and many different flavor options for their hot and cold drinks. Hungry? Pinky D’s Poutine Factory serves up their unique version of the traditional Quebec dish, topping french fries with cheese curds and gravy. SXE’s kitchen space allows Pinky’s to expand their food truck menu with options like buffalo chicken, dill pickle dusted fries, and Korean BBQ pork available. Sandwiches, pretzels, tater tots, and many other appetizers and extras are also offered.
Road to brewing L ow and Johannes traveled circuitous routes to their brewing careers. Low left behind his postgraduate studies in Roman literature, to learn the art of brewing in Vermont, at the American Brewers Guild. Beginning at Gritty McDuff’s in Portland, Low transitioned to Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston, rising to director of brewing operations. “After working at Baxter for a number of years, I found I was more into the management of people than brewing operations,” recalls Low. Matt Johannes grew up in northeastern Kansas, attending college for technical theater and design. He traveled the world with Sesame Street Live! for four years, as a performer, roadie, and carpenter. “I ended up in Portland in 2011,” says Johannes. “I worked at Bull Jagger for a short time, then I worked for Ben at Baxter, finally as head brewer.” There the two became friends, and began fleshing out ideas for their own brewery.
Casey Peacock pours one of 16 beers on tap.
Willis Croninger creates a sample flight
Trevor Laliberte delivers the You’re So Vain raspberry sour beer
They brainstormed a name that would express the two communities of Auburn and Lewiston, having beer and coffee together. “Ben said to me, ‘What about Side By Each?’,” recalls Johannes of the Franco-American colloquialism meaning side by side. “The name summed up our intentions perfectly!”
Community focus Side By Each offers different events throughout the week to cater to their customers’ interests. SXE features a trivia night every Tuesday, games including a cribbage league, and karaoke once a month. They host a biweekly comedy night and live musical performances as well. Their Sunday Fun-Days are monthly events that support a local organization. In February, the Lonely Hearts Club event introduced their Chocolate Milk Stout and Raspberry Kettle Sour, featured a live performance from the River Comics, and raised money for Safe Voices, a nonprofit devoted to ending domestic violence. Another example of their community focus was sponsoring a Comedy Night, featuring Mark Turcotte, Karen Morgan, and
Larissa Chalou enjoys a macchiato Steve Scarfo, to coincide with the 5th Annual Summer Block Party organized by Uncle Andy’s Digest, a Make-A-Wish Foundation benefit in August of 2019. “We think community support and sustainability are a two-way street,” Low insists. “If we do what we can for our community and the people in it, the community will support our business. There are amazing people in our community doing incredible things and we’re happy to help them.”
Steady as she goes Low and Johannes have no intention of making drastic changes to the model they first put on paper in 2018. Plans for the first SXE anniversary event for April 2020 include food and drink specials, contests, beer releases, live music, and of course, more collaborations with Maine breweries. “In the next three to five years, we will keep reevaluating, and improve on the ideas we have,” states Johannes. “We’re going to keep brewing beer the way we want.” Alan Holbrook & Randy Heath share some laughs
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A Tail for the Ages: Written by Donna Keene Rousseau | Photography by Jose Leiva
Leonhard Seppala and his team of dogs (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
How Togo found his way to Poland Spring Resort
A
s innkeeper of The Poland Spring Resort, Cyndi Robbins knows many stories of the resort’s famous guests: Rose Kennedy, Babe Ruth, and Jimmy Durante, to name a few. But there is one that holds a special place in her heart: Togo. Memorialized in Disney’s new movie “Togo,” this sled dog became the resort’s beloved four-legged guest. His heroic adventures brought him from Alaska all the way to Maine in 1927, for a life in retirement at the Poland Spring Resort. Robbins is eager to share Maine’s special connection to Togo’s story, a tale that will tug at anyone’s heartstrings.
with his sled dog team for a mining project outside of Nome, Alaska, with instructions to keep Togo tied up for two days after his departure; he did not want Togo chasing after the team. That night, Togo broke free, jumping the seven-foot fence, catching his hind legs in the mesh wire. A kennel assistant cut the mesh to free him, but when Togo hit the ground, he was gone, running through the night, following Seppala’s trail. The next morning, Seppala noticed his team got off to a quicker start than expected; that is when he discovered Togo running loose ahead of them. In Togo-fashion, he nipped naughtily at the team, then darted off to chase reindeer. When Seppala finally caught him, he harnessed Togo where he could keep an eye on him, in a “wheel” position directly in front of the sled. Impressed by Togo’s focused resolution, Seppala moved Togo up the line throughout the day; by day’s end, he shared the lead position. That first day, Togo ran 75 miles in harness, unheard of for a young, inexperienced sled dog. “I had found a natural-born leader,” Seppala was quoted as saying, “something I had tried for years to breed.”
Great Race of Mercy In January 1925, there was an outbreak of diphtheria in the small town of Nome. Children were dying for lack of the antitoxin. Despite a quarantine, it was anticipated the mortality rate would be close to 100 percent, without treatment. The town was inaccessible by steamship or plane in winter; the only link to the outside world was the 938-mile Iditarod Trail. Nineteen sled dog teams formed a relay, which would become known as the Great Race of Mercy (or the Serum Run), to transport the antitoxin across the treacherous landscape. At that time, Togo was a seven-year sled dog veteran. However, at age 12, he was considered too old for the sled. Yet Seppala Togo (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
Young Togo To find out how Togo ended up in Maine, we have to go back to the very beginning. Togo was born in 1913 in a litter of pups belonging to the Alaskan kennel of Leonhard Seppala, a Norwegian breeder and racer of Siberian huskies from the Chukchi Inuit stock. Small in size, young Togo developed a disorder causing him painful swelling in his throat. His early days were spent in the care of Seppala’s wife, Constance. It was not expected that Togo had the makings of a sled dog. Despite his rough beginnings, Togo grew to become a mischievous “canine delinquent,” frustrating Seppala with his behavior and distracting his dog team while they were out on the trails. Seppala attempted to give away 6-month-old Togo as a pet, but Togo’s seemingly incorrigible nature won out. He escaped his new owner by leaping through a plate glass window and found his way back. Seppala was later quoted as saying, “A dog so devoted to his first friends deserved to be accepted.”
You can’t teach heart At eight months old, Togo would once again demonstrate that his survivor’s heart would not be denied. One day, Seppala left 38
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Leonhard Seppala with Togo (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
By Donna Keene Rousseau | Photography by Jose Leiva | A Tail for the Ages trusted him as his lead dog for this most important of races. They would endure temperatures of -45 degrees, 65 mile-an-hour winds, whiteouts, and ice breaks. As they traversed the frozen Norton Sound in a daring shortcut, Togo courageously swam through ice floes to deliver the antitoxin to Nome as fast as possible. Led by Togo, the team ran 261 miles on the most perilous leg of the journey, five times as far as any of the other 19 teams in the relay. The serum made it successfully to Nome, saving many lives. But it was another dog, Balto, who received the hero’s glory; his 55mile leg was the last, and journalists were on hand with cameras as Balto led his team into town. In truth, Togo was the hero by over 200 miles.
Maine connection Disney’s new movie, “Togo,” starring Willem Dafoe as Leonhard Seppala, tells the story of the Great Race of Mercy (or the Serum Run) and illustrates the undeniable bond forged between Seppala and Togo. However, it does not include the team’s adventures after the famous relay. LA Metro Magazine makes this connection, to explain how Togo came to live in Maine. When the true story of Togo’s contribution to saving the town of Nome became known, Seppala and his team received invitations to tour throughout the U.S. to tell their tale. While in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where Togo received a gold medal for bravery, Seppala met Arthur Walden, another famous musher, from New Hampshire. Walden had a team of dogs larger than the breed of Seppala’s team and he challenged Seppala and Togo to a sled dog race in Poland Spring, Maine. Game on!
Poland Spring Sled Dog Race The challenge race took place in 1927 on Middle Range Pond, a short distance from Poland Spring Resort. It was here that Seppala met Elizabeth Ricker, wife of Edward Payson Ricker, Jr., whose family history with the resort dates back to the 1700s. Ricker, a musher in her own right, participated in the race, driving some of Walden’s Chinooks, but she lost control of the dogs. The loose team caught up to Seppala, who held on to the dogs while Ricker caught up on foot. She was so impressed by Seppala and
Poland Spring Inn in the 1920s (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
his team that she proposed a partnership with him and the first Seppala Kennnels was formed in 1927 in Poland Spring. While Ricker and Seppala continued to race sled dog teams in New England and Quebec, Togo came to live with Ricker’s family at the resort’s Campbell Cottage and sire puppies in his retirement. Seppala was quoted as saying, “It was a sad parting on a cold, gray March morning when Togo raised a small paw to my knee, as if questioning why he was not going along with me.” The kennels played an important role in the history of the Seppala lineage and the Seppala Siberian Sleddog breed. Though the kennels were short-lived (1927-1931), their population, at its most productive, reached as many as 160 dogs. Of those, only eight were ever registered with the American Kennel Club. Togo is widely considered one of the fathers of the modern Siberian breed and a strong contributor to the much older Seppala Siberian Sleddog line. In 1960, Seppala said “I never had a better dog than Togo. His stamina, loyalty, and intelligence could not be improved upon. Togo was the best dog to ever travel the Alaskan trail.”
Gift beyond measure Though information about Togo’s years in Maine is sparse, Ricker did publish a book, Togo’s Fireside Reflections, told in Togo’s “voice,” regaling his sledding life. No longer in publication, the book is considered “the holy grail” for mushers, especially copies that feature Togo’s pawprint. In the book, Ricker includes a letter written to her by the game commissioner in Alaska to show “the high esteem in which Togo and his master are held in their homeland.” In the letter, the commissioner writes,
Elizabeth Ricker with Togo (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
“… I wonder if you realize what a beautiful gift you have been given…. Many of us would give a great deal to possess that LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes and his Seppala Siberian Sleddogs give Cyndi Robbins a sled ride across Middle Range Pond. famous leader…We in Alaska envy you the gift of this dog, Togo, but, find consolation in knowing the appreciation he will receive in your hands…Congratulations on your wonderful gift of the greatest little racing leader in the history of the Alaskan trail.” To ease Togo’s suffering, Seppala had his 16-year old friend “put to sleep” Dec. 5, 1929, at Togo’s home in Poland Spring.
Seppala had Togo’s body custom mounted and displayed at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. Later, a letter writing campaign, initiated by Alaskan students, succeeded in returning Togo to Alaska where the mounted skin sits in a glass display case at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters museum in Wasilla, Alaska. Togo’s skeleton is in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.
Honoring Togo’s legacy In honor of Togo’s history with Poland Spring, Cyndi Robbins hopes to one day bring sled dog rides to the resort. Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes, a musher from Fort Kent, came into the resort’s Maine State Building three years ago with the same idea. Hayes is exploring the possibilities with Robbins. Interestingly, Hayes’ sled dogs are descendants of Togo’s Great Race of Mercy team and he also owns a kennel where he raises Seppala Siberian Sleddogs. Sharing Robbins’ passion for Togo, Hayes has written a children’s book, The True Tails of Togo the Sled Dog, which tells the true story of the Great Race of Mercy and how Togo came to live in Maine. Robbins recently hosted a book signing for Hayes at her restaurant, Cyndi’s Dockside, at the water’s edge of Middle Range Pond. Before the book signing, Hayes took Robbins on her very first sled dog ride on the very pond where Togo raced all those years ago. Later, Hayes spoke to the gathering of Togo’s story and the sport of mushing. He illustrated the personality and characteristics of his dogs by introducing two members of his sled team, Polar Bear and Frost.
Memorializing a hero Togo’s story has inspired people far beyond Maine. “That same night at Dockside,” says Robbins, “I was in contact with a woman named Madison Parr, of Kansas City, Missouri. She, too, was enthralled by Togo’s story and said she wanted to raise money to have a statue of Togo placed at Poland Spring Resort.”
Hayes with Frost at a book signing at Cyndi’s Dockside. 40
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Their early conversations quickly turned into action. A website has been created, at both polandspringps.org and www.facebook.com, telling Togo’s story and of the campaign to create a statue in his honor at Poland Spring Resort. Interested donors can also find information at charity.gofundme.com.
By Donna Keene Rousseau | Photography by Jose Leiva | A Tail for the Ages Robbins and Parr have been in conversation about a potential student podcast featuring Togo’s story and the campaign efforts. Robbins has contacted the Canadian Sled Dog Coalition, who have indicated interest in donating to the project. Additionally, Poland Spring Preservation Society board members have begun to interview artists. Excited by this new endeavor, Robbins is determined to make Togo’s statue a reality. She anticipates the project will be a yearlong collaborative process.
everywhere can admire the tenaciousness and fierce loyalty that came wrapped in fur and answered to the great name, Togo. Poland Spring Resort 640 Maine Street, Poland • polandspringresort.com Poland Spring Seppala Kennels mushmaine.com
A tail for the ages For more than 40 years, Robbins has cherished the tale of Togo and his historical relevance to Poland Spring Resort. For generations of mushers, Togo will forever be the standard by which all other great sled dogs will be measured. As Seppala referred to him, Togo was “50 pounds of muscle and fighting heart.” Still, one needn’t be a musher to appreciate such a courageous and faithful hero. His is a story of not only saving the day, but of fighting and succeeding against all odds, of being the “underdog,” if you will. More importantly, however, Togo’s is a story of unconditional love, of the sled and for his humans – the kind of love that defies logic and knows no bounds. From the great state of Alaska to the hearthside in Poland Spring, Maine, people
Togo (photo courtesy of polandspringps.org)
Polar Bear, a Seppala Siberian Sleddog with Togo in his pedigree
Cyndi Robbins with Polar Bear
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EXTRA PICKLES LA’s Pickleball craze is in full force Written by Michael Krapovicky | Photography by David Fuller
P
ickleball is a fast-growing sport. An amalgam of badminton, ping pong, racquetball, and tennis, this sport is enjoyed by players of all levels. Safer and less strenuous than tennis, pickleball provides an excellent aerobic workout. But mostly, pickleball is fun!
A pickleball game in action at Poland Community School
Pickles’ ball Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. According to the official USA Pickleball Association website, pickleball was essentially invented to keep a few children busy one rainy day. Back in 1965, three friends spent their summer vacation together with their families outside Seattle, Washington. They couldn’t find proper badminton racquets, so they used ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball instead. Through experimentation, they lowered the net, fabricated homemade paddles with a bandsaw, and developed unique rules and dimensions for the game. The sport’s name is a misnomer, considering no pickles are used during play. It was actually inspired by a dog named Pickles, running away with the ball, as it often became “Pickles’ ball.” Whatever you call it, this sport is a winner. “Pickleball was made by families for families,” says enthusiast Sarah Lyons. “It’s accessible and inexpensive, and just a joy to play.”
Pickleball hotspots How did this worldwide phenomenon arrive in LA? Paul Amnott, a former Lewiston High School administrator, is credited with
bringing pickleball to LA. He and his wife discovered the sport while “snowbirding.” “We learned to play while we were in Florida, and fell in love with the game,” recalls Amnott. “When we returned to Maine in 2014 and approached both ‘rec’ departments, they were very receptive to starting a program.” Indeed, now you can get your pickleball on in LA all week long. The Auburn Recreation Department has dedicated three indoor courts to pickleball at the Hasty Community Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with newly painted white lines replacing tape. These courts operate September through June. Lewiston also has three indoor courts operating Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. “We’ve created three permanent lined courts in our gymnasium here in the Lewiston Memorial Armory,” states Jason Hanken, Lewiston recreation superintendent. “These indoor courts are open from mid-September to the first of June. We also put down tape lines at the Franklin Pasture outdoor tennis courts at Lewiston High School during the summer.”
Rules and regulations Amnott lays down the basics of pickleball. “Pickleball is a combination of badminton, ping-pong, racquetball, and tennis, played on a 44-foot long by 20-foot wide court,” explains Amnott. By comparison, a tennis court is almost twice as long. “Pickleball can be played as a singles or doubles game,” continues Amnott. “You can only score points when your team is serving.” Scoring is a big part of the game, he relates, because you must always use three numbers. “The first number is the serving team’s score, the second number the opposing teams’ score, and the third number is who is serving on your team – for example, 2-1-2,” says Amnott. Points are scored by bouncing the ball within the boundaries of the opponent’s court, if they fail to return it to the serving side, as in tennis. Games are generally played to 9 or 11 points.
Sarah Lyons 44
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Hanken says it takes a bit of time to get used to the non-volley zone near the net, known as “the kitchen,” which precludes smashing (tennis) or spiking (volleyball). The game has a twobounce rule, which neutralizes a serving advantage and lets the volleys last longer.
By Michael Krapovicky | Photography by David Fuller | Extra Pickles
Auburn Recreation Department Pickleball Group Front row: Norm Robert, Sarah Lyons, Debbie Gould, Rita Beaulieu, Connie Amnott, & Sylvia Latulippe Back row: Norm Duphily, John Hesler, Bob Jacques, Jan Jacques, Roger Bergeron, Bob Latulippe, & Paul Amnott (photo submitted by Paul Amnott)
Convivial group Darcey Gardiner, recreation specialist at the Auburn Recreation Department at Pettengill Park, notices the social side of pickleball. “I sit at the front desk to welcome all the pickleballers,” Gardiner observes. “The smiles, stories, and conversations are endlessly entertaining.” Hanken says the Franklin Pasture courts have become something of a “happening.” “If you drive by most summer days, you’ll find the courts filled with pickleballers, the sidelines filled with chairs for spectators, and the next teams up on the court,” effuses Hanken. “It’s really amazing to see the community that gathers there to spend their summer mornings.”
Diverse backgrounds Who’s playing this sport? Pickleball players are hard to typify. “Our program is aimed at senior citizens, but this group does not see age or gender. They enjoy getting together to be active and competitive,” says Gardiner of the expanding LA pickleball community. “We are seeing a wide range, from brand-new players who want to try it out for the first time, to people who are traveling to Maine on vacation who bring their pickleball paddles everywhere they go, in case the chance to find a group playing near them happens.” The program at Poland Community School, run by Poland Parks & Recreation, accepts all levels of ability but focuses on skill development and competitive play. “We welcome players of all levels,” attests Sarah Lyons, Poland’s volunteer ‘pickleball director.’ “People play for different reasons.
Dan Dube returns the volley while Helen Poulin looks on LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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There is ‘leisure’ pickleball, which is more about strategy. But at Poland, we find the ones who stay tend to be more on the athletic end.”
Field of pickles? Due to the sport’s broad appeal, the LA pickleball community is growing and is in need of space to accommodate the sport’s growing numbers. “One of the things we would like to see is permanent outdoor courts,” says Amnott. “There has been talk, but we have not seen any plans.” Like Amnott, Lyons is aware of the need for more pickleball real estate. “Currently, Poland doesn’t have access to an outdoor court – that’s a big need for us,” explains Lyons. “We cooperate with Oxford, to use their converted basketball courts.” Lyons remains hopeful, as she and Amnott continue to lobby for an outdoor LA pickleball home. “It’s like they say in the movie, ‘Field of Dreams,’” insists Lyons. “’Build it, and they will come.’”
Jan Jacques returns a serve
Where to play
Auburn Hasty Community Center, 48 Pettengill Park Road, Tues/Thurs, September through June, 8:30a.m.-12p.m. $2 Auburn residents/$3 non-residents (punch passes available) YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston, 62 Turner Street, Friday at 12p.m.
Lewiston Lewiston Memorial Armory, 65 Central Avenue, Mon/Wed/Fri 9a.m.-12p.m., $2 LA resident/$3 non-resident Franklin Pasture Tennis Courts (Outdoors) @ Lewiston High School, 156 East Avenue Tues/Thurs mid-June through August, 8:30a.m.-12:30 p.m. Poland Poland Community School, 1250 Maine Street Sundays 9a.m.-12p.m., $2
Poland Community School pickleball group 1st row: Julie Hayes, Bev Morris, Claire McDonough, Jill Drew, Rita Gilbert, Deb Gould, & Sarah Lyons. 2and row: Patty Wilson, Tim McDonough, Gene Gilbert, & Jan Jacques. 3rd row: Ron Baril, Helen Poulin, Norm Duphily, Jim Marston, Bob Jacques, Dan Dube, & Joe Drew. 46
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
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Dr. Michelle Michelle Hathaway
Meeting challenges for LA’s special needs children Written by Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by Brewster Burns
D
r. Michelle Hathaway is the founder and director of Margaret Murphy Centers for Children. She has grown this LA institution from just two children to its current student body of 250, and developed a broad range of services at multiple facilities. “In a public school analogy, I’ve become a superintendent,” she says. LA Metro illuminates the accomplishments of Dr. Michelle Hathaway.
Michelle Hathaway reads to children
Increased need
Hearing her voice
In 1999, one in 10,000 children was identified with autism, or autism spectrum disorder. Now, one in 60 children is being identified, across the country – a huge increase.
Hathaway graduated from Leavitt Area High School in Turner, then left to study psychology at Guilford College, in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Is this due to changes in identification, or in the population? The answer is: both.
A chance encounter in a laundromat during her freshman year piqued Hathaway’s interest in working with special needs children. It’s not what you think – the encounter was with a book called Let Me Hear Your Voice: A Family’s Triumph Over Autism by Catherine Maurice. This groundbreaking memoir about parenting two autistic children details the use of “applied behavior analysis,” a new field at that time.
“We have kids who would not have been identified years ago,” says Dr. Michelle Hathaway, director of Margaret Murphy Centers for Children. “But, also, there are more children with autism now.” According to Autism Speaks, a combination of genetic and environmental factors can lead to the four types of autism grouped under the umbrella term of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. “Not only has the incidence of autism increased,” reasons Hathaway, “but we now have students with a host of educational issues: lead exposure, for example, rare chromosomal disorders, significant emotional disabilities, and traumatic stress from foster care,” she enumerates. “Across the board, we are seeing an increase in special learning needs.”
Meeting the need Founded in 2000, The Margaret Murphy Centers for Children (MMCC) have become leaders in meeting those needs across the state. Their philosophy is grounded in the belief that every child has the right to effective education and treatment. That shouldn’t be a radical statement. But before the year 2000, equitable and appropriate education was simply not available to many children in LA with special needs. The John F. Murphy Homes had been serving the needs of local adults with developmental disabilities since 1954. In 1998, they launched a legally mandated program to provide in-home support to children with autism and significant disabilities. Little did they know that this startup program would spin off into a broad range of educational and clinical services.
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LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Hathaway trained with the technique during a summer internship. She helped her very first student, a three-year-old boy, to make phenomenal progress. Although he didn’t speak at all when she first met him, he could speak hundreds of words in just months. He also went from acting aloof to snuggly. “Relationships are an integral part of our approach,” says Hathaway of the science of applied behavior analysis. “When paired together, the results are often pretty phenomenal.”
Right place, right time Back at Guilford College, she focused her studies on children with autism. After college, Hathaway returned to Maine as a pit-stop on the way to graduate school. That’s when she got involved with John F. Murphy Homes (JFM). In January 1998, she was hired to work as an in-home behavioral health provider. Hathaway found herself in the right place at the right time; because of her internship, this young college graduate quickly became the trainer for JFM’s in-home support program. “My prior experience became critically important,” says Hathaway of her early rise. “When you can apply what you have learned, you become an expert in your field.”
By Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by Brewster Burns | Dr. Michelle Hathaway burgeoning preschool and elementary levels, and Charles Street switched to accommodate the middle and secondary students.
Learning toys in a classroom at MMCC
JFM fronted all initial costs; tuition and reimbursements paid it back. Public school districts pay tuition for each student they send to MMCC, and health insurance pays for speech and occupational therapy. Although MMCC is private, they are funded by public dollars and governed by the Maine Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services. Participating families pay for MMCC’s child care program (for children age six weeks to six years), and Child Development Services and private health insurance pay for inclusive and self-contained preschool for children with disabilities.
Broad range of services
Envisioning something new In one and a half years, the in-home program grew rapidly, from just two students to 27. Yet Hathaway didn’t have enough time, staff, or resources to serve all these children in their homes. At the same time, public schools started asking for help and consultation. She envisioned a program where students could access a center offering consolidated services, while providing ongoing professional growth opportunities for staff. JFM made Hathaway’s vision a reality. From MMCC’s opening in 2000, in a former nursing home on Charles Street in Auburn, it grew very quickly: 17 students at the end of year one; by year two, it doubled to 30. Intended for preschool through sixth grade, the school soon began to develop a middle and high school program. MMCC expanded to their Main Street location in Lewiston in 2003, for the
“We are known for working with autism,” notes Hathaway, “but we have expanded to serve a larger population, including those with developmental disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders.” As specific needs have arisen, so have targeted programs, under Hathaway’s leadership. She now oversees MMCC’s seven self-contained programs, a child care facility, and two satellite programs. How does she do it all? Hathaway credits her team. “On a daily basis, I’m amazed by my staff, working to keep these kids in school. All 432 employees – phenomenal site directors, amazing teachers, even our custodians.” She finds that college programs offering a degree in special education are not often geared toward MMCC’s population. Hence Hathaway provides seven weeks of training for all new staff before they work with students, which includes four weeks of learning best practices, before going in classrooms.
LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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“It’s just our culture,” says Hathaway. “Our systems are tailored to our program, so regardless of an employee’s background, we require training in the way we do things.”
Together, the curriculum coordinator, social workers, occupational therapists, and clinicians have designed programs to target both physical and mental health in the new gym and fitness area.
Over the years, Hathaway earned her graduate degree – a master’s in special education in 2003, as well as a doctorate in school psychology in 2007. These, coupled with her practical experience, have kept her on top of advances in her field.
Impact on LA
Hathaway is also “schooled” in the multiple licenses and permits needed for a special purpose private school governed by a public school system, for a child care facility, and a mental health day treatment.
It also has improved the lives of many children and their families, including its current student body of 250 children in nine locations.
Acadia Academy
“We meet the needs of children from 60 Maine school districtsfrom York to Oakland,” says Hathaway.
Charter schools are public entities, and must meet the needs of any child. They are accountable to the Maine Charter School Commission, not to the local school district. MMCC was a partner in developing a public charter school, which now operates as a separate entity.
They also work with local businesses to provide vocational opportunities for youth. These partnerships lead to student placement into actual jobs.
How did this come about? Over the years, Hathaway’s own children went through MMCC’s child care and preschool programs, along with her colleagues’ children. As the children aged out, they attended area elementary schools. “Our educators are also parents who believe one size doesn’t fit all children,” Hathaway explains. “We found choices for our own children were limited in some communities.” So when the charter school movement came along, they asked “what if?” MMCC’s employees brainstormed what a potential charter would look like. In 2013, Hathaway’s team wrote a proposal for A.C.A.D.I.A., an acronym for A Charter Academy for Developing Independence and Achievement. The school’s mission is to support the development of “the whole child” as each student develops academically, socially, and emotionally, in a safe community that requires personal accountability and meaningful participation.
MMCC is a major LA employer contributing to our local economy, with 430+ valued staff members.
Before MMCC existed, hundreds of Maine’s special needs teens and young adults were living out-of-state in residential programs. MMCC provides these services closer to home, and integrates the special needs population into our community. Twenty years ago, Hathaway recalls, some JFM board members feared the Margaret Murphy Centers would represent “a step back,” after years of working to integrate special needs students into public schools. Certainly, 20 years later, no one could view these achievements, all wrought by Dr. Michelle Hathaway, as anything but a giant leap forward for students, parents, and the LA community. Margaret Murphy Centers for Children www.margaretmurphycenters.org
The Maine Charter Commission rules called for a separate board of directors, so a board was assembled. Hathaway credits guidance from Board President Chris Brann as critical in opening Acadia. Board member Tracey Turner brought in her dad, David Gendron, of Gendron & Gendron, who purchased and donated Acadia’s building. Thus, Acadia Academy opened in 2016 as a public charter school for students pre-K to grade 5. Acadia contracts with MMCC to provide special education services, which Hathaway oversees.
New high school MMCC will open yet another facility in June 2020. Located behind Marden’s Surplus & Salvage in Lewiston, this new school will serve a total of 80 high school-aged students. Hathaway’s role here is to oversee development of this new program, and work alongside staff at the school. She also manages logistics for construction time schedules, furniture and equipment, and merging staff from two different facilities. The school features a pre-vocational training space where students can learn entry level tasks for employment: a laundry and recycling center, and a kitchen and office space. MMCC’s vocational coordinator works with local businesses, to place students for entry-level or volunteer work. 52
LA METRO MAGAZINE | SPRING 2020
Hathaway engages students
The Margaret Murphy Centers for Children – Locations Charles Street, Auburn
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Students in the autism spectrum, as well as those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, have access to campus services which also include the Rodman Road facility.
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For a century and a half, Harriman has maintained an unwavering commitment to deliver design solutions that make communities better places to live, work, and learn.
Integrated design Founded in Maine in 1870, Harriman is now the fifth oldest architecture and engineering firm in the United States. This impressive longevity is due, in part, to its unique integrated design services approach. By uniting the art of architecture and the science of engineering, Harriman delivers solutions that create lasting value for its clients.
FACES of
LA
Written by Toby Haber-Giasson
Photo © Siri Blanchette / Blind Dog Photo Associates
The firm now works across the Northeast from offices in Auburn and Portland, Maine; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Boston, Massachusetts. The Lewiston Auburn region remains a vital part of Harriman’s business and culture, and is still the home of its largest office. “We’re proud of our presence in the Twin Cities throughout our entire history,” says Harriman President & CEO Clif Greim. “The people and places of this vibrant region continue to be vital sources of inspiration.”
celebrate a curated collection of Harriman’s most important works, from historical treasures like the Kora Temple and Peck’s Department Store that were the work of the early founders, to the firm’s dynamic 21st century expressions. The book will be unveiled at a gala event later this year, to formally honor the sesquicentennial.
Building on the legacy
Documenting design
By honoring its past and embracing the future, Harriman is poised for continued growth.
To mark this momentous occasion, Harriman is currently collaborating with Maine State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., on a book about the firm’s work and history. The volume will
“We’re excited to build on Harriman’s legacy,” says Mark Lee, principal partner, “and amplify its impact for our clients and the communities in which we work.”
FIRE IN THE HEART ICE IN THE VEINS Written by Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by David Fuller
A
s a long, storied tradition played out recently at Auburn’s Norway Savings Bank Arena, this LA event is the longest-running youth hockey tournament in the country.
Opening ceremonies at the 48th Annual Lions Tournament
Tournament time
Lions roots
LA’s best young hockey players have gathered at these games for decades – almost half a century, to share the joy of the game. In many ways, this year was no different.
How did this tradition begin?
The 48th edition of the Lions Youth Hockey Tournament attracted 450 players, ages 4-15, to play roughly 50 games over the threeday Presidents’ Day weekend in February. According to Denise Gilbert, tournament director and Maine Gladiator scheduler, teams from Augusta, Gorham, Portland, Waterville, and Henniker, New Hampshire, joined the local Maine Gladiators teams for a fun-filled weekend of competition. When opening ceremonies kicked off, one by one, teams from each division took to the ice. They proudly displayed their unique banners for cheering friends, fans, and family members in the stands. Then came the dignitaries, including Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque, to add pomp and gravity to the event. The South Denise Gilbert Portland U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Tournament Director Coast Guard displayed the flag, and the Fairview School Choir sang our national anthem. Then the ceremonial puck was dropped – and they were off! Teams rivaled from 7 a.m.–7 p.m., all weekend long. Sunday featured wall-to-wall youth playoffs, capped off by the coaches’ game. Monday, teams played championship games, and hundreds of attendees took to the ice for an open skate. On that final night, awards were given to winning teams and runners-up; special awards and scholarships were given to deserving players and coaches for their outstanding play and sportsmanship. And then it was done. Another Lions Tournament in the books.
Players stand to honor our nation’s flag
Driven in large part by the city’s robust Franco-American population, hockey has always been big in Lewiston Auburn. The community’s rich history of hockey dates back long before arenas, when children ventured out onto frozen lakes with nothing but sticks and flattened soda cans. Parish hockey teams played on outdoor rinks and held games at winter carnivals. In 1958, the Catholic parish of Ss. Peter & Paul built the Central Maine Civic Center (now known as The Androscoggin Bank Colisée), on the site of the former St. Dom’s Regional High School Arena, giving teams an indoor venue to practice and play. Andy Guerin, former president of the Lewiston Area Youth Hockey League (LAYHL), remembers how the tournament began. More than 50 years ago, the LAYHL was formed by parents and volunteers with a love for the sport. The league provided a feeder program for the high school hockey teams by training young players. Grouped by Catholic parishes – Holy Cross, Holy Family, St. Joseph’s, St. Louis, Ss. Peter & Paul, and Sacred Heart, youth hockey programs went up through the eighth grade; after that, kids played for one of LA’s high schools – St. Dominic Academy, Edward Little, or Lewiston High School. In 1972, the league planned their first tournament, as a way to keep kids occupied during school vacation week. Members of the local Lions Club offered financial and volunteer support for this six-day hockey extravaganza, which ran from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. all week. The Lions’ gift of time and treasure earned the moniker “Lions Tournament,” which is still used today. Denis Berube, of Auburn, played hockey for St. Louis Church that first year. He recalls his excitement, as a nine-year old taking part. “All the teams paraded out on the ice with their banners, the cheerleaders too, until the whole ice surface was covered with kids.” The Lions Tournament was the highlight of the season. “All week, your parents would drop you off at 8 a.m., and you were busy all
By Toby Haber-Giasson | Photography by David Fuller | The 48th Annual Lions youth hockey tournament
Coach Denis Berube hands out medals
day,” recalls Berube. ”You could hang out with your friends at the rink, play hockey, buy a snack – it was a more innocent time.”
Jay Dufour is another Lions alumnus. He recalls the Lions tournament was such a premier event that a local television station televised the games.
There were just as many girls at the Lions as boys. Though girls didn’t play hockey back in the day, all the teams had cheerleaders at each age level, according to Guerin, and these squads all competed at the Lions Tournament.
Like Berube, Dufour gives back, too. Says the director of goalie development, “It means a lot to people my age to pass on the tradition to the young ones.”
Changes over time The scope has changed, from six days to just three. The venue has changed, from the Androscoggin Bank Colisée to the Norway Savings Bank Arena. And the cheerleaders have gone on to their own competition; now girls can play hockey in the Lions Tournament.
Fear not – that tradition shows no sign of fading. See you at the 49th Annual Lions Youth Hockey Tournament, next year!
Coach Jay Dufour
Maine Gladiators www.mainegladiators.com
Even the sponsor has changed; the Lions Club gave way to The Fortin Group, and now to Spectrum Healthcare Partners. But the Lions name endures; even though the Lions Club is no longer the host, the name is so widely recognized that it will never change. Five years ago, the LAYHL travel and recreational teams joined forces, first becoming the Titans, and now the Maine Gladiators. The combined program makes its home at the Norway Savings Bank Arena, the region’s only dual surface ice arena, which opened in 2013.
Love of the game Denis Berube has come full-circle, from competing during the Lions first year, to coaching for the past 25 years. “I work with ‘Learn to Play’ kids. It’s fun to see them have the same experience I had,” Berube says of coaching. “I do it out of a sense of community responsibility. Someone did it for me.”
The Yellow Mites team skates with their championship trophy
Girls U6/8 game action LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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Highlighting the good work of nonprofit organizations in the LA community
Sophia’s House Expanding on the good work of The Center for Wisdom’s Women
Written by Peggy L. DeBlois | Photography by Chelsea Briggs
T
he Center for Wisdom’s Women, in downtown Lewiston, has served as a vital community resource for two decades. Expanding upon its mission to provide safe haven for women in adverse situations, it has recently added a longterm residential retreat called Sophia’s House.
Klara Tammany with Sophie, the namesake of Sophia’s House
Inception It all began in 1999, when three Roman Catholic religious sisters from The Daughters of Wisdom opened a women’s refuge in Lewiston. They chose the “B Street” neighborhood, the area surrounding Birch, Bates, and Bartlett Streets – one of the poorest districts in the state. “It was originally called ‘Wisdom’s Center,’” explains Klara Tammany, executive director. “Their religious order works to honor and serve Wisdom, or Sophia in the Greek translation of scripture, as the feminine face of God.” Wisdom’s Center served over 1,000 women in its first nine years, providing an invaluable community resource for local women in dire financial circumstances, or in abusive living situations.
“The Center has existed as a weekday drop-in center,” says Tammany, “with a mission to provide a safe and sacred opportunity for women who have experienced adverse life situations or trauma to heal, to become more resilient, and to enrich each others’ lives.” The Center functions as a grassroots collaborative, offering classes, programs, activities, meals, support groups, art therapy, games, free hygiene products, and clothing. The Center serves about 20 women daily. Consistent visitors become leaders, while others visit only when in need.
Herban Works Due to their adverse living situations, The Center’s women have few options for employment. These survivors could not easily get jobs, especially as they worked to transition through recovery.
New Center
The meditation room at the Center 62
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In 2008, when the Daughters of Wisdom were unable to continue the work, volunteers found another way. From their efforts, The Center for Wisdom’s Women emerged. This nonsectarian organization functions as a spiritual support, honoring all faiths.
Processing calendula for Herban Works
By Peggy DeBlois | Photography by Chelsea Briggs | Sophia’s House
Communal dining room Tammany learned about Thistle Farms, based out of Nashville, TN. Thistle Farms is a highly successful women’s recovery program whose mission aligns with The Center’s. Thistle Farms provides a second chance for women who have survived trafficking, prostitution, and also incarceration and addiction. Tammany modeled Herban Works after Thistle Farms’ successful social enterprise wherein survivors make nurturing bodycare products for women. “As it grows, Herban Works will provide our community of women meaningful work, business skills, and increased confidence in a small, contained environment,” explains Tammany. Tammany worked closely with Deb Soule, of Avena Botanicals in Rockland, a world-renowned herbalist. Soule recommended growing calendula to make healing products. Calendula is known to have anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, and is widely
Hallway leading to the common area used as a comfort for women’s health issues, including as a salve for nursing mothers and as a relief for both menstrual cramps and hot flashes. The Center began growing herbs in their parking lot. As the enterprise grew, they developed partnerships with Whiting Farms and local Somali Bantu farmers. They hope to begin working with the Women’s Center at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham to develop a program on-site there, as well. Herban Works products are sold at The Center, at the Lewiston Farmer’s Market, and shops around LA. All products are priced as a donation, as 100 percent of the proceeds are invested back into the project. In addition to the income from Herban Works, The Center is supported by financial contributions from many local businesses, churches, and foundations.
Sophia’s House The struggles of many women need more effective and longterm solutions. Once again, Tammany found inspiration in Thistle Farms. “Thistle Farms has been providing long-term support communities in the form of residential services in a therapeutic setting for over 20 years, and they have done it more successfully than anyone else,” says Tammany. “We set about to replicate their model of providing a safe and supportive long-term living space. We are one of about 50 affiliates in the country trying to do this, and we are the first one in Maine.” Tricia Grant, Program Director at Sophia’s House
Sophia’s House offers an intensive two-year program in three phases, with support systems that help women to become more resilient and recapture control of their lives. Tammany explains LA METRO MAGAZINE digital edition @ LAMetroMagazine.com
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Herban Works products
that the mission of Sophia’s House is to “support and empower women survivors of trafficking and exploitation, through holistic healing, including recovery from addiction or incarceration.” Sophia’s House provides that support in the form of safe, rentfree housing for two years. There is also help with: medical, dental and mental health care, skills training, finding employment, and adjusting to life in a healthy community. Although there are no accommodations for children, Tammany says they can arrange visits and help the women work toward family reunification. The program has six beds for survivors, along with five apartments for women who provide support and mentorship. Sophia’s House receives referrals from state and county jails, and various recovery programs in the area; women can also self-refer.
Women in need Tammany explains that women who come to Sophia’s House can trace their situations to adverse childhood experiences which just kept accumulating and cycling. These women need more than six weeks of recovery or medication to break those cycles. Tammany offers a prototypical story she commonly hears: a woman has experienced assault and abuse in her home, so she flees. She finds herself homeless and without food, so she trades sex for food or a roof over her head. She becomes addicted to drugs, lands in prison, is released, and the cycle starts all over again because she has no resources or support. Tammany emphasizes that many of the women are survivors of local domestic trafficking, women who grew up and lived in this area their whole lives. “It took a whole community to wound them enough that they ended up where they are, and it will take a whole community, and time, for them to recover,” says Tammany. “I’m ready to invest what it takes to help people turn their lives around.” The Center for Wisdom’s Women 97 Blake Street, Lewiston • www.wisdomswomen.org
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Gala Celebration September 13th at Gendron Franco Center Celebrate the opening of Sophia’s House. The gala fundraiser will feature the performance group Women in Wings opening for singer/songwriter Carrie Macomber. A reception will follow. More details and tickets are available at www.wisdomswomen.org.
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