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winter 2017 • vol. 20, no. 4
ZEN AND THE ART OF HACKY SACK digging for roots
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forever green
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once upon a winter
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wedded in waterford
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editor’s note
Probably the best part of publishing Lake Living these past twenty years has been how much I have learned in the process. Not only am I informed by the people I interview, but there’s almost always research involved in writing their stories, to the extent that it’s occurred to me my Google profile might be a bit concerning based on my search history. Then there are the articles that others write. Those are perhaps most informative. When I first read Leigh Macmillen Hayes’s “Forever Green,” I was not just taken by how much I didn’t know about evergreens, as I was surprised by what I thought I knew. It turns out, those bonsai-like trees I thought were Jack pines all these years were really red pines. It also made me think about how important it is to share this information. I was fortunate to have a woodsy grandmother who happily bestowed her knowledge of nature upon me, but what if others are not so lucky? What if no one teaches them that white pine needles are bound in bunches of five? Or that an easy way to remember this is to spell W-H-I-T-E with the needles? As Leigh points out in her article, “Often white pine, hemlock, balsam fir and spruce saplings can be observed growing together, and a perfect classroom situation evolves.” It’s such a wonderful metaphor for what we humans can learn by observing and appreciating the nuances that exist within our own species. Our collective differences have the power to both define us and unite us. Now there’s a learning moment we could all get behind. Laurie LaMountain Editor & Publisher Laurie LaMountain Staff & Contributing Writers Leigh Macmillen Hayes, Justin Ward, Pam Ward, Susan Connolly, Perri Black Photographers Lisa Thurston, Leigh Macmillen Hayes, Pam Ward Graphic Designer Dianne Lewis Proofreader/Copy Editor Leigh Macmillen Hayes Lake Living is published quarterly by Almanac Graphics, Inc., 625 Rocky Knoll Rd, Denmark, ME 04022 207-452-8005. lakeliving@fairpoint. net www.lakelivingmaine.com ©2017. All rights reserved. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent from the publisher. Annual subscriptions are available by sending check or money order for $20 to the above address.
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winter 2017 • vol. 20, no. 4
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6 zen and the art
of hacky sack
by laurie lamountain
8 digging for roots
by leigh macmillen hayes
10 wedded in waterford
by laurie lamountain
12 forever green
by leigh macmillen hayes
16 think before you drink
cover photo lisa thurston
by laurie lamountain
18 once upon a winter
by the owners & staff of bridgton books
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Zen and the Art of Hacky Sack
by laurie lamountain
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Other tips for improving your game are the following: stay relaxed while kicking, practice regularly, set goals for yourself, don’t bogart that bag, don’t say “sorry” because everyone makes mistakes—especially while learning, and (my favorite) get used to ending up with a sack in weird places.
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friend of mine recently gave me a hacky sack. She’s been making them on a daily basis and is honing her playing skills as part of her process. Eye/hand coordination has never been a strong suit of mine, but the other day we spent about an hour kicking one of her crocheted creations back and forth. The basics of hacky sack are these: “The object of the game is to keep the sack off the ground for as long as possible. If every player gets a touch to the sack before it hits the ground, it is called a hack. If every player gets two touches before the sack hits the ground, it is called a double-hack and so on and so forth.” It got me thinking about how we relate to one another. You can’t be disconnected and expect to keep the ball in play. Interconnectedness depends on awareness of each other. But in a world in which social interaction consists of texts and tweets, it’s become increasingly challenging to feel truly connected. Or has it? change the course of a miserable day—for Another friend of mine suggested I write the better. Truly, the best way we have to an article about the random relationships fight random acts of violence is with intenthat enrich our lives. She was struck by how tional kindness. By rejecting the perception brief exchanges with the mail lady and the that the world is no longer a magical place, UPS guy have the capacity to significantly we make it better. Conversely, by buying improve her day. I know what she means. into the idea that we are racing toward There are days when a smile directed to ruination, we make it so much harsher. me by someone in the supermarket parkSpiritual teacher and author Eckhart ing lot can unlock me in a way that feels Tolle says it much more eloquently: “When both familiar and foreign. The smile that you no longer perceive the world as hostile, it brings to my face lingers long enough for there is no more fear, and when there is me to pass it to the person behind them. no more fear, you think, speak and act Double-hack! differently. Love and compassion arise, There may be more of us than there ever and they affect the world. Even if you find was, but we still have the capacity to relate yourself in a conflict situation, there is an to each other on a level that breaks down outflow of peace into the polarities . . . This the defenses of modern life. At a time when means, you often experience a collapse of fear and anger are high, it’s gratifying to the polarities . . . No person, no situation know that human kindness is alive and well; is made into an ‘enemy.’” that a brief exchange with a stranger can
My mother put it much more succinctly: “It takes two to make an argument.” The most basic rule of hacky sack is to respect all other players. It’s a good rule and one that applies to politics as well as it does to the playground. Other tips for improving your game are the following: stay relaxed while kicking, practice regularly, set goals for yourself, don’t bogart that bag, don’t say “sorry” because everyone makes mistakes—especially when learning, and (my favorite) get used to ending up with a sack in weird places. Do you see where I’m going with this? The etiquette guidelines and rules that apply to hacky sack can just as easily be applied to life. I’m guessing I’m not alone in feeling saddened by the lack of civility and kindness we currently extend to one another, so why not impose some new (old) rules and see if we can’t get along better? Perhaps the best way to begin is by replacing social media with actual human interaction. Eye contact and conversation will forever trump the abbreviated alienation of tweets and twitters. And while we’re at it, we should probably stop calling each other names. On a recent appearance on the Commonwealth Club of California, Van Jones, author and CNN political contributor, very astutely pointed out that whenever his kids are overly confident about winning a game, they inevitably lose. And, afterwards, they systematically blame the other team: “The other team sucked, the referee cheated, the turf was messed up, Comey, the Russians . . .” Jones then proffered that, as a good parent, it’s up to him to let them have their sour grapes moment on the car ride home, but quickly follow up with this essential question: “Was there anything we could have done differently?” He went on to say that if we continue to call people names and disparage them for their divergent views, we are feeding what we’re fighting. “A beautiful resistance would be a revival, or renewal, of the commitment most of us came into the world with: that everybody counts, everybody matters, we all deserve a good life, and we’re not going to leave anyone out.” Basically, if I heard him right, he was making the case for employing emotional intelligence, respect and compassion as the means of engaging one’s opponents. It matters how we speak to each other. “I don’t think we’ve been having the
right conversation among ourselves. I think that we have invested too much confidence in the politics of outrage and accusation and confrontation.” While Jones was specifically addressing the current political divide between progressives and conservatives in our culture, the message applies to all of humanity. Only by practicing inclusion and intentional kindness, can we hope to function as a healthy whole. “We need each other. People are so lonely, they’re so isolated, they’re so scared, so freaked out . . . and your phone is not helping,” he added. When our dog Che passed away in September, we were saddened beyond words, but that didn’t stop the world from turning and UPS from delivering. When Bob parked his truck at the end of the drive and strode up to the door with his usual broad smile, he handed me the customary two dog treats he’s been leaving our dogs for the better part of twelve years. I could have just taken them and gone on with my day, but instead I told him that we would only be needing one treat from now on. Through a tearful exchange that included his sharing with me how he and his wife decided to cremate their beloved beagle so that they could continue to take her with them on road trips, we recognized in each other the willing and dangerously wonderful risk we humans take in loving. You simply can’t convey that with an emoticon. There is a contagious quality in kindness that makes it more powerful than cruelty. If humans witness an act of cruelty, they will almost always counter it with collective kindness and compassion. And while it’s painful to be faced with cruelty and violence on an all-to-regular basis, I, for one, believe that how we choose to react to it can be our best defense against it. It’s interesting that sexual predators and racists are suddenly being called out for their past trespasses against others, like rats fleeing a ship. Maybe it’s consequence related to my favorite rule of hacky sack? I refuse to live in a nostalgic haze that yearns for the past, laments the present, and fears the future. I think our future could be better than our past ever was, but so much depends on how we treat one another. So, I offer my small audience a challenge: stop texting and have a real conversation, smile at a stranger, and, most importantly, respect all other players. Triple-hack! h
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I
Digging for Roots
blame my mother for my quirky idiosyncrasies, but at the same time, I give thanks for the many lessons she taught me. And one was the value of the family story. Many years ago, after my father had died, she decided to research his ancestry. This was in the pre-PC age, and writing lengthy letters and making phone calls were among her passions. Through the “Genealogical” page in Yankee Magazine, Mom discovered a name and address, wrote a letter and began her journey into the past. She also contacted all of Dad’s living siblings and their offspring, though only a few actually contributed anything to her efforts. One, her brother-in-law Ed, took Mom’s notes and turned them into works of art, with sketches denoting his parents’ and siblings’ occupations and preferred pastimes, plus brief notes about such. A couple of my cousins added to Mom’s research by visiting local town offices, libraries and cemeteries. In a letter dated October 15, 1991, she wrote to one of my cousins, “I hope over the future years more family history will be uncovered and added.” Sadly, Mom never completed Dad’s story or had the opportunity to do the same
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by leigh macmillen hayes
for her own family, though she did visit Ellis Island in hopes of viewing any records of her mother’s arrival from Germany. Again, to my cousin, she wrote, “I did get an address to write to in Massachusetts. However, I do not know what date she came from Germany, what boat she and her family departed from. Recently, I found out the German spelling of her last name was ‘Taube’ and that became ‘Toby’ when the person recorded it at Ellis Island.” While I’d always had an interest in the family history, it wasn’t until about fifteen years ago that I started to delve into the research and I have to admit that it’s been a sporadic search at that. My husband also caught the family tree bug, and so we joined Ancestry.com and have read many cemetery stones, peered at numerous records on microfiche, and met some delightful “new to us” relatives along the way. One such visitation occurred during a trip to Nova Scotia. Allen had been given a letter dated in the early 1990s that included a few stories about Hayes relatives. It was sent to one of his second cousins in Massachusetts from a man who lived on Hayes Road in East Berlin, Nova Scotia.
On Google Earth we found the location of the road, and off we went one Sunday while vacationing in Lunenburg. There were only two houses on the dirt road and one looked empty, but he spied two people sitting on the front porch of the other. And so, he walked up the driveway and explained that he was looking for a Borden Conrad, the letter writer. The woman on the porch said that would be her husband, who was still at church, but would be home in a couple hours. They exchanged phone numbers and two days later we walked the Hayes property with Borden and his wife, as he explained to Allen that their shared Great Great Grandfather Hayes had farmed beside the ocean. We filled our souls with sights and sounds and smells that were part of GGG Hayes’s daily life as we toured the family homestead and visited the church where Great Great Grandmother Hayes had played the piano. What Allen found most curious was that Borden said had we gone to the community church for the Sunday service, he would have pointed to most of the parishioners and said, “You’re related to him, and her, and him,” stating with each how the connection existed.
As we’ve walked the land where various ancestors lived, we’ve felt a connection to the past. They’ve become more than facts on a piece of paper. Instead, they seem to gain flesh and blood as we peek at where they were born, grew up and died. Locating a house, walking a field they once farmed, visiting their old job site, it’s all a moving experience. We’ve enjoyed many such experiences as we traveled. And we’ve hit many dead ends. That’s where having a local genealogical research library comes in handy. Here in western Maine, we are fortunate to have such in Fryeburg: the historical society’s Kendal C. and Anna Ham Research Library has long documented the cultural, social, political, economic and military history of the people of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In a barn-board clad room adjacent to the historical society’s Osgood House on Portland Street, shelves and file cabinets house personal collections of books, journals, letters, photographs, and maps, all archived for public access. Several computers are also available for use of programs such as Ancestry.com. Research Library Director Linda Drew bubbles with enthusiasm at the prospect of helping others delve into their family’s past. “Start with you and work backwards,” she says. I had done that, but stumbled at the tip of a branch when trying to locate more information about my great great maternal grandmother, Maria French Collier. I want to make certain her date and location of birth and ascertain that I have the correct names for her parents. And then, move beyond them to complete the tree as far back as possible. Censuses are helpful as they provide a variety of information such as names, age, sex, occupation, place of birth, immigration year, marital status, etc. But, the information recorded all depended upon the census taker, thus spellings may differ from one form to the next completed ten years later. For instance, Linda reminds me, Maria’s name may have been listed on a census record as Mary, and even her surname may have been spelled differently, perhaps Colier or Collyer. And therein lies the trick. It’s a time consuming task, but Linda cautions, “Verify, verify, verify.” She’s referring in particular to the information on Ancestry.com, for some of the facts available may be about a person with
Once you feel confident with your findings, Linda points out that there are a variety of generation charts from which to choose in order to create your family tree. And when you really feel ambitious, there are fancier charts on which to write the names of your ancestors in a way that it really does look like a tree with you as the taproot. a similar name, but different birth place or date. “You may have the same ancestors as others making a tree, but until you know who begot whom and when, you can’t be certain.” It’s in the verification process that the research library is especially valuable. Though the center doesn’t have many Connecticut town histories or vital records, and that’s where Maria lived in the 19th century, they do have a vast collection of books from Maine and other states. Nonetheless, Linda checks the four or five references for Connecticut, but we come up empty-handed. According to Linda, that’s okay. “Keep that person in the back of your mind. You may come across something while researching others.” So just what are some of the tricks of the genealogical research? She pulls out a file from a class she taught on the very subject. Within the file are various forms to complete. One is entitled “Source Summary for Family Information” that came from Ancestory.Com. She points out that jotting down the source is extremely beneficial so you can put your finger on it if you have a question in the future. You might also use notecards to complete this task. For fun, Linda typed in my maternal grandfather’s name on Ancestry.com and his story popped up on the screen, for the website has developed a timeline based on information people have verified. Though I never knew my grandmother, I did know Grampy when I was a young child and Linda and I found a photograph of him on the timeline that I instantly recognized. It turns out one of my cousins had loaded it into the site since I’d last looked. Vital records are extremely helpful, but for some, those were either destroyed or burned. The latter was the case with my maternal grandmother, who left Germany during WWI. And that’s why Mom couldn’t find more information about her. I’ve since found the manifest from the boat she was on for her trip to the United States. Visiting cemeteries can also open doors or should I say add more leaves to the tree. The Maine Surname Index/Maine Cemetery Records comes with these in-
structions: “Copy only what is on stone. Write surnames in CAPITALS . . . Place additional inscriptions and/or comments on back of form. DOUBLE CHECK.” Double check is right up there with Linda’s “verify” motto, for it’s just as easy for us to jot down the wrong date or make a sloppy entry we can’t read at a later time. Obituaries also prove valuable in a genealogical search because they often include full names, dates of birth and death, place of each, parents’ names and siblings. Plus, they help tell the story of that particular person, with anecdotal information. Once you feel confident with your findings, Linda points out that there are a variety of generation charts from which to choose in order to create your family tree. And when you really feel ambitious, there are fancier charts on which to write the names of your ancestors in a way that it really does look like a tree with you as the taproot. I still don’t know everything about Maria French Collier and her past, but I know a delightful place to spend more time conducting some research—on other relatives for now. The Kendal C. and Anna Ham Research Library includes family files to glance through, several complete collections including The Mayflower Descendants; 125 research CDs; microfilm, postcards, proprietors maps, wills and probate records, and the internet. Use of the internet is free for genealogical research and includes access to several genealogy websites. All research material must remain at the library, but there’s a large table upon which to spread books and papers, and copies can be made for a minimal charge. If you can’t get to the library , but would like some information, send an e-mail to fryeburg_historical_society@ne.twcbc.com. And check out their Web page at fryeburghistorical.org. Click on the genealogy page and you’ll see the complete listing of their collection. Though the library is closed for the winter, Linda is available to schedule appointments. Like Mom, I’ll probably never finish our family story, but time spent digging for my roots has brought me closer to the past. h
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by laurie lamountain
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arch is an important month for Julie and Brian Sullivan. Not only were they married in March twenty-five years ago this coming spring, but Julie’s birthday is on March 31st, which happens to be the same date they closed on Bear Mountain Inn this past spring. Prior to becoming the inn’s fifth owners, they took the radical route of selling their house, buying an RV and hitting the road for fifteen months on a quest to find their next business venture. At the time, they thought it would be an RV park but, twenty-seven states later, they naturally gravitated back to New England and the concept of becoming innkeepers emerged along the way. Hospitality wasn’t a great leap for either of them. For twenty-three years, Julie was co-owner in her family’s third-generation agri-tourism business outside of Boston. From mid-July until Christmas, she spent seven days a week at the orchard coordinating day-to-day operations, as well as booking entertainment and managing corporate and special events. Mostly, her job was about “making people happy.” Brian, who is owner/partner of a Boston-area graphic design and marketing firm, jokes that if you marry into Julie’s family, you have to swear to work on the farm. He would work from his Boston office during the week, where he handled a lot of the orchard’s print and IT marketing needs, and have fun working at the orchard on weekends. Julie notes that he was the chief birthday party wagon driver. Believe it or not, those skill sets all come in handy at the inn. “But we still need Claire,” adds Julie. Claire Burgess, who drove up from Massachusetts to meet with us, provides consulting and business development experience to the mix. She’s the person who answers the question: How are we going to get people here? As a team, they recognize that diversification is key to making a business work, so while their focus is on weddings, they have also hosted college and family reunions, girls’ weekends and bachelorette parties. Yoga, wellness and corporate retreats are other functions under development. Elopements and renewal of vows ceremonies are also popular. With such a large waterfront property, they have the latitude to accommodate a
range of groups. Guests can enjoy swimming, kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding on-site, and hiking, horseback riding and golf are just a short drive away. Nearby camps Pinecliffe, Wigwam and Fernwood Cove hold their camp weekends at Bear Mountain Inn, and Bridgton Academy is just down the road. In fact, Claire was staying at the inn for her son’s graduation this past spring when Julie and Brian learned that she specializes in marketing boutique hotels and inns. “It’s the perfect place to disconnect to reconnect,” says Claire. The inn itself has eleven guest rooms, including two-bedroom suites and large luxury suites with an in-room jacuzzi and fireplace. There is also a separate cottage, as well as a fully-equipped post-and-beam apartment overlooking the pond for larger groups. All told, they can accommodate thirty-six overnight guests. They have recently completed a major renovation of the barn (think romantic rustic chic), and have added walkways and outdoor patios that create a seamless transition between the inn and the 25 acres of breathtaking property that surround it. The barn can accommodate up to 130 people, but for outdoor weddings they can host as many as 250. Weddings are done on a buy-out basis so that the wedding party can enjoy exclusive access to the property for
their event. Because of this, Julie and Brian have a 40+ person policy for weddings. Claire explains that the beauty of the wedding buy-out is that it’s the wedding party’s own private experience. If they want to make s’mores by the fireplace overlooking the pond at night, or show up for breakfast in pajamas, it’s all good. When it comes to packages, there are none; each wedding is a custom experience. In the abscence of a wedding planner, Brian and Julie are happy to faciliate with their own wedding coordinator. With so much talk of weddings, it’s inevitable that we talk about marriage and how working and living together presents its own set of challenges. Especially as innkeepers, where you are tied to the business as much as to each other. “I tell Brian, don’t be surprised if I take a vacation without you now,” Julie teases. Ironically, moving from a large house to an RV for fifteen months was good practice for what they’re doing now. They now have more room than ever, but instead of being on-the-road-on-their-own, they are something of a captive audience. It’s testament to the strength of their marriage that they are comfortable in either situation. In this latest venture, they are wedded to the work, wedded to each other and they “do” weddings. The four of us joke that there’s also the marriage with self—and if you get that one right, the others usually follow. When it’s time to turn from table-talk to a tour of the recent renovations, I’m impressed with the level of respect and coordination they extend to one another. Julie’s excitement about putting their stamp on the inn by redecorating all of the rooms in country modern over the winter, Brian’s thoughtful assessment of things from his marketing background, and Claire’s big picture view of the possibilities make them a well-rounded team. Of course, no team is complete without a dog, and Mackenzie, BMI Official Greeter, has reminded me that the inn (and this story) would be incomplete without her. She also wanted you to know that the cottage and apartment are petfriendly, so your furry family members are welcome as well. h For more information about wedding and other event packages, call 207-583-4404 or visit www. bearmtinn.com
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FOREVER GREEN text and photographs by leigh macmillen hayes
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ccording to a Cherokee legend, one cold season an injured sparrow knew he could not fly south with his family, so he sent them off and went in search of a place to survive. Sparrow asked Oak to shelter him among its leaves so he might heal and greet his family upon their return in the spring. But being a crusty old tree, Oak didn’t wish to have a winter house guest and so he turned Sparrow away. Downtrodden, Sparrow approached Maple. Sweet as she might be, Maple also turned Sparrow away. And so it went. Sparrow was turned down by each tree he visited, until there was only Pine left to ask for help. Pine listened to Sparrow’s pleas and his heart heard Sparrow’s plight. And though Pine knew his leaves were tiny and more like needles, and his branches not as many as the others, he welcomed Sparrow to join him for the cold season. As hoped, Sparrow healed and greeted his family the following spring.
PITCH PINE CONE
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Creator heard and saw all that had happened and called a great council of the Trees. In his address, he rebuked them for they’d been given so much and would not share the least of what they had with Sparrow in his time of need. Therefore, from that day forward, when cold came upon the land, their leaves would wither, die and blow away. Creator then spoke to Pine, praising him for being the least among the trees, and yet giving so much. And so, Pine was honored to remain forever green. The Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), strikes me as the majestic tree of our forest. Of course, it was once even more majestic. In the 1600s, the British Royal Navy blazed all of those two feet or more in diameter and within three miles of water with the broad arrow indicating they were to be cut, harvested and sent to England for ship masts. The blaze became known as the Kings Arrow in honor of King George I. At that time, the trees may have been 300-400 years old and over 200 feet tall. The oldest and tallest white pines in our
WHITE PINE NEE DLES
current landscape are 80-100 years old and maybe about 100 feet tall. The three to five-inch white pine needles are blueish-green and bound in bundles of five. That’s easy to remember for you can spell both the tree’s name W-H-I-T-E with each needle or M-A-I-N-E for the white pine is our state tree. In addition, the arrangement of branches is another important feature of this tree for they are arranged in whorls radiating from the tree’s trunk like spokes on a bicycle wheel, with each whorl representing one year’s growth. On younger white pines, the bark has a greenish hue, but as the trees mature the bark turns dark gray to reddish-brown and forms into thick, vertical scales with furrows between. Upon the flattened ridges of the scales, look for a pattern of horizontal lines reminiscent of the lines on notebook paper. Red pine (Pinus resinosa) is a favorite of mine because of its bark, which reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle. Ranging in colors from faded orange to mottled red and grayish brown, its flaky flat scales hug the tree. In a perfect world, red pine would produce three needles/bundle to spell R-E-D. Alas, the world isn’t perfect, nor is that the case with this tree. Instead, it has two dark green needles that are twice as long as those on a white pine and quite stiff. In fact, while a white pine’s needles are soft and flexible, bend a red pine needle and it will snap in half. Because of the needle arrangement on these two members of the Pinus family, from a distance I can name them. To my eyes, a white pine’s branch tips look like bottle brushes, while a red pine’s remind me of the brush Bert used to
RE D PINE BARK
sweep chimney’s in Disney’s Mary Poppins. Another common pine in our area of Maine is pitch pine (Pinus rigida). This one is easy to confuse with red pine because the bark looks similar in color, though it strikes me as forming thicker plates. The name, pitch, refers to the high amount of resin within this tree. It’s the needles of pitch pine that also add to its identification for they grow in bundles of three, like a pitchfork’s tines. The unique thing about this tree is that not only do the stiff, dark yellow-green needles grow on the branches, but they also grow on the trunk. If you spy a tree that you think may be a red pine, scan upward and if you see green needles along the trunk, then you’ve discovered a pitch pine. Pitch pine is an important species for it is the only pine that is well adapted to fire and can even resprout. Finally, for our native pines, and I can only think of a few local places where I’ve seen these, including along the Foster Pond Outlook Trail at Bald Pate Mountain in South Bridgton, is Jack pine (Pinus banksiana). It seems to prefer the coast and central northern Maine. But . . . walk Loon Echo Land Trust’s trail at Bald Pate, and see if you can spot them. Jack pine has two yellow-green to dark green needles in each bundle so an easy way to remember its name: Jack and Jill. I don’t know about you, but I love mnemonic devices. One last way to differentiate the pine trees is by their cones. Cones are the fruits of the trees and they consist of scales that protect seeds. When conditions are right, the scales will open to release the seeds,
which have wings much like a maple samara, allowing them to flutter off in the wind and find their own spot upon which to grow. White pine is easy to ID for it produces long, narrow cones, often coated with white sap. Red pine cones are about two inches long and egg-shaped on short stalks. You can barely see the stalk of pitch pine cones that tend to be clustered together, but their key feature is the rigid prickle atop each scale tip. On Jack pines, the cones are about two inches long and slightly curved like a comma. Before I move on to the other evergreens, I need to make one point. Members of the Pinus family produce pinecones. All other evergreens produce cones, but they aren’t pinecones because they aren’t pine trees. Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) grows almost as abundantly as white pine. Often white pine, hemlock, balsam fir and spruce saplings can be observed growing together, and a perfect classroom situation evolves. The hemlock is easy to ID once you realize its characteristics. To begin with, and especially noticeable in younger trees, is the drooping terminal shoot. In fact, all of the branches droop, providing the overall effect of a graceful tree. Those sturdy, down-sweeping boughs also hold snow, thus creating the perfect spot for deer to hunker down under on a winter night. Another mammal that takes advantage of the hemlock is the porcupine. If you spy nipped twigs on the ground surrounding a hemlock, then it’s best to look up and make sure you won’t become a pin cushion should the animal fall. The half-inch hemlock needles taper to
a dull point. You may only see this with a hand lens, but each needle is attached to the twig by a short stem, aka petiole. And the needles extend outwards from both sides of a twig, thus giving it an overall flat appearance. The bark on a hemlock, initially grayish and smooth, becomes cinnamon brown and scaly with age. I also enjoy looking at the inner bark that might be exposed by an injury, for it features various shades of reddish purple. Hemlock cones are petite in comparison to pinecones, at only .75 inch in length. In the spring, their scales are blue-green, maturing to a tan by autumn.
HE MLOCK STE M
HE MLOCK
WHITE PINE CONE, RE D PINE CONE, HE MLOCK CONE
RE D PINE CONE
PITCH PINE
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BALSAM FI R
SPRUCE
INNE R BARK OF HE MLOCK
While the hemlock droops, a balsam fir (Albies balsamea) stands straight and tall as it forms a spire with a symmetrical crown. Like the hemlock, the needles are flat, but they differ in that they attach directly to the twig, are about an inch in length and some have a notch at the blunt end. The upper side is a shiny dark green, while the underside is silvery-blue. The pale gray to green-brown bark of balsam fir is also different than the other evergreens. It has raised dashes, aka lenticels. All trees have lenticels that allow for the exchange of gases. On some trees, however, the lenticels are more noticeable. Balsam fir bark also is riddled with bumps or resin-filled blisters. Poke one with a stick and watch the pitch ooze out. Beware, it’s very sticky. And it smells like Christmas. One other unique characteristic of a fir tree is that the cones point upward rather than dangling down. That, in itself, offers an easy ID. The next family, the Picea or spruces, I find more difficult to distinguish in a crowd. Like balsam fir, the leaders or top sections point skyward giving it an overall pyramid shape, but its the idiosyncrasies within the family that sometimes stump me. The one thing I am certain of is that they are spruces if their needles are sharp and pointed. Shake hands with a branch and if it hurts, it’s a spruce. White spruce (Picea glauca) is also known as cat spruce for the cat-like odor of its needles. The blue-green needles are about .75-inch long, square in the cross section and sit atop a woody peg. The light-gray to yellow-brown twigs have no hairs, which becomes an important point in this family. Spruce bark is broken into irregularly-
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NORTHE RN WHITE CE DAR BARK
shaped scales in general, and white spruce bark is gray to reddish-brown. One of its other features is the cylindrical cone, which is about two inches in length, oblong or cigar-shaped with rounded scale margins. Red spruce (Picea rubens) features needles that are similar in length to a white spruce, distinctly four-sided and atop a woody peg, but sharply pointed and shiny yellow-green. The needles all point toward the tip of the twig. The twig is one of the important factors for red spruce twigs are orange-brown with fine rusty hairs that lack glands. But again, a hand lens is necessary for this determination. Red spruce cones are between one and two inches long, and oblong with the widest part in the middle. Ripe cones are quite shiny and the scales, though stiff, do not have noticeable margins on their tips. Black spruce (Picea mariana) is typically found across the state, but it prefers wet feet. As with all three spruces described here, its needles are square-shaped and stiff. Of the three, they are the shortest at a half inch in length, but also grow atop woody pegs. And unlike the other two, they are blunt-pointed and softer to the touch. Another clue that you are looking at a black spruce is the twigs, which are slender, brown and pubescent. Some of the brownish hairs are tipped with glands. The cones of a black spruce are the smallest of all ranging from a half inch to an inch and a half. Unlike the other two, they are spherical with rounded scales that have irregularly toothed margins. Again, I’m brought to things to remember when trying to determine whether
I am looking at a fir or spruce—firs are friendly, spruces are spiky. Fir needles are flat, spruce needles are square. The only cedar tree native to western Maine is the northern white cedar. Whenever I sniff its fragrant scent, I’m reminded of my mother’s cedar chest and the treasures it stored. Northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) is also known as eastern arborvitae. Its scale-like leaves appear opposite each other along the twig and have short, blunt points. The cones are about a half inch long, oblong in shape and borne upright on the branches. Their scales are leathery, redbrown and notched. They also have a small spine on the tip. Again, the bark is fibrous, red-brown, which weathers to gray and features a diamond-shaped pattern. This small to medium-sized tree looks like a pyramid with a broad base and rounded top. It often features several main trunks. As much as I’d like to include tamaracks in this discussion, I can’t for they are different. A tamarack or Larix laricina is a native deciduous conifer because it sheds its needles each fall, after they’ve turned a golden yellow. I know how easy it is to look at the winterscape and think that everything looks the same in the almost monochromatic mosaic we call the woods. My hope, however, is that you’ll develop a sensitive eye to the subtleties exhibited by these trees and begin to see their patterns and nuances—and celebrate the fact that they are each different and yet all are forever green. h
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Think Before You Drink by laurie lamountain
M
y friend Jamie tells me the most prevalent form of trash littering the streets of his Brooklyn neighborhood is discarded water bottles: “A liter of Poland Spring water retails for about $1.87 at most NYC bodegas, and is, according to its manufacturer, the Nestlé Corporation, the most commonly scanned commodity in New York City. They’re everywhere!” You’d like to think that all those healthconscious hipsters would extend their awareness to the environment and dispose of their plastic water bottles properly. In Maine, we have a bottle law that encourages recycling. If you read the fine print, you’ll find that New York is included in the list of states that have redemption laws, but that’s grist for a separate article. Let’s just say for the sake of this article that the bottle bill isn’t working so well in Jamie’s Greenpoint neighborhood. They’re not alone. Each year, the U.S accounts for more than 35 billion plastic water bottles that are not recycled. Dig beneath the landfill and you’ll find that bottled water has much broader implications than its attendant waste. It takes a lot of energy to produce all those plastic bottles and even more to transport them to retailers. That single-use plastic bottle of water comes with a considerable carbon footprint. To put it into perspective, each time you use a plastic water bottle imagine 25% is filled with oil – that’s how much oil was used to get that bottle in your hand!
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According to a peer-reviewed energy analysis conducted by the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Oakland, California, the energy footprint for a liter of bottled water is up to 2,000 times the energy cost of treating and delivering the same amount of tap water. The authors conclude that “given an annual consumption of 33 billion liters of bottled water in the US, we estimate that the annual consumption of bottled water in the US in 2007 required an energy input equivalent to between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil or a third of a per cent of total US primary energy consumption. We estimate that roughly three times this amount was required to satisfy global bottled water demand.” The abstract goes on to report that “long-distance transport can lead to energy costs comparable to, or even larger than, the energy to produce the bottle.” Then there are the emissions . . . Despite it’s dismal environmental report card, it’s not difficult to trace our seemingly unslaking thirst for bottled water. A push for healthier lifestyles, with water replacing sugary soft drinks, and on-the-go lifestyles have led to bottled water outperforming all other beverages. Marketing and convenience are key drivers, but a growing concern over the quality of water from municipal supply systems is fueling it. Think Flint, Michigan. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 77 million Americans are served by
water systems that violate testing requirements or rules about contamination in drinking water. It’s not surprising that they opt for bottled water. But in a Bloomberg Businessweek article titled “Nestle Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For,” author Caroline Winter points out that “bottled water isn’t necessarily more pure than tap. In the U.S., municipalities with 2.5 million or more people are required to test their supply dozens of times each day, whereas those with fewer than 50,000 customers must test for certain contaminants 60 times per month. Bottled water companies aren’t required to monitor their reserve or report contamination, although Nestlé says it tests its water hourly.” We’re fortunate to live in a region where water is plentiful and pure. My idea of bottled water is filling my glass water bottle at the tap. I joke that it’s pure Poland Spring water (their property in Denmark abuts ours), but even in Maine, water quality is not what it used to be. Even so, I can’t bring myself to buy bottled water. It turns out I’m not alone. An inventor in Ireland who became dismayed by the number of empty and half-empty plastic water bottles thrown in the boot of his car decided to do something about it. He invented and patented a thumb-sized, portable water filter that provides continuous purification through an advanced ceramic core. The key structural component of the core is a natural mineralized powder known as diatomaceous earth (DE) that is sourced in deep water lake beds in the Pacific Northwest. When combined with other food-grade ingredients, it is formed and high-fired into a high-porosity ceramic with millions of microscopic pores that adsorbs impurities at the same time that it releases healthy trace minerals in a natural pH balancing act. Unlike carbon filters that capture impurities (as well as valuable minerals) only as water passes through them, the porous structure of DE works like a magnet to continuously attract soluble and particulate matter, at the same time that it raises water’s mineral content and pH level. Kent Atherton, CEO of Bloc Enterprises, LLC, the company that markets and distributes GoPure products, refers to it as Nature’s filter. The ceramic is treated to protect it from microbial infiltration and subsequent blockage of its channels and functionality. Odors, especially chlorine, are eliminated. The result is cleaner, better tasting water.
Another problem with carbon filtration is that if they are not changed regularly, the filters can become overloaded and actually reintroduce bacteria and impurities into standing water. Then there’s cost. The initial six-month cost for a carbon filtration unit is up to four times more than a single pod that provides 24/7 filtration for up to six months. Additionally, a carbon filter maxes out at about 40 gallons, compared to the 264 gallons for the pod. To keep it in pristine condition, simply rinse once a week to remove any adsorbed impurities. To take the guesswork out of when to replace your GoPure pods, you can sign up for a subscription that will auto ship every six months. A really important advantage to the pod is that it makes it possible to safely store water for up to six months. Contamination has always been an issue with stored water because it degrades over time. Even unopened bottles of water continue to degrade. Drop a few pods in a 5-gallon container of water and you’ll have a ready supply of fresh drinking water for the next power outage. I first heard about these ingenious little filters from a friend who is a heart transplant recipient and vigilant about her health. Well water is not an option for her and tap water has its previously cited issues. The GoPure Pod has made her life simpler and safer. Her enthusiasm convinced me to try them. Two things happened. My husband has two Nalgene water bottles that he takes with him everywhere. While it’s great that he’s so conscientious about hydration, I’ve always considered those bottles suspect. When I popped a GoPure Pod in one of them, it wasn’t long before I noticed that it looked a whole lot clearer than the one sitting next to it on the counter. Then, because it wouldn’t be fair to filter our own water and not the dog’s, I ordered a GoPure Pet filter for Coda’s water bowl. His bowl remained noticeably cleaner between washings and he started drinking more water! In case you’re wondering, I don’t own stock in GoPure and, though I’d welcome them, they are not an advertiser. My support comes from the fact that they address an essential human need in an environmentally responsible and economically equitable manner. Not only do they eliminate the problem of plastic production and disposal, they bring the cost of a liter of water down to about two and half cents. Compared to the whopping $3,740 cost of the equivalent 2,000 bottles of Poland Spring water at the Brooklyn bodega, it’s a no-brainer. h
...because it wouldn’t be fair to filter our own water and not the dog’s, I ordered a GoPure Pet filter for Coda’s water bowl. His bowl remained noticeably cleaner between washings and he started drinking more water!
lakelivingmaine .com 17
Once Upon a Winter BOOK REVIEWS FROM BRIDGTON BOOKS
JUSTIN’S LIST With no frost until November, my vegetable garden had an especially bountiful season this year, and Maine writers continue to produce an abundant harvest of great books as well. A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline depicts the life of Christina Olsen, the woman on the grass in Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting. The hardships of working a Maine farm in the mid-1900s are taxing, particularly for Olsen, who suffers from a muscular degenerative disease. She and her brother continue to run their farm as their parents did before them, shunning modernity and improvements. Kline’s vivid descriptions of Olsen’s stoic world go hand in hand with Wyeth’s painting style of somber realism. This is obviously not a happy, feel good novel, however, it is not a total downer either. It will move you in other ways and I guarantee you will never view Wyeth’s painting in the same manner after reading. The Great Fires of Maine also took place around this time, and New Hampshire author Anita Shreve has woven her latest novel, The Stars Are Fire, around those events. Grace has two very young children and another on the way when her husband disappears while fighting the fires in York. How will she make ends meet as a newly single mother? Shreve fans who are accustomed to her storytelling won’t be disappointed. Most of you have by now heard of Paul Doiron and his wonderful Maine myster-
ies featuring Game Warden/Guide Mike Bowditch. His latest work, Knife Creek, is set right here in western Maine. Not as many readers, however, have discovered Bruce Coffin. Coffin was a Portland detective for twenty-seven years before he hung up his badge and picked up his pen to write crime novels. Among The Shadows and Beneath The Depths both take place in the Portland area, and are well-plotted thrillers featuring detective John Byron. As a former insider, Coffin adds an authentic feel to his stories without getting bogged down with too much detail. Triumph over adversity is a powerful theme, and we have a local hero in our midst who has “made good,” and deserves high praise for her new memoir. In After the Eclipse, Sarah Perry has written the story of her life and the loss of her mother, Crystal, who was murdered in Bridgton in 1993, when Sarah was just twelve years old. To say that Sarah has had a difficult time since then would be a gross understatement, but somehow she graduated from college and grad school and got her autobiography published by industry heavyweight Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book is about Crystal’s life almost as much as Sarah’s, and I learned so much more from her story than I did from reading the papers and watching television news reports following the murder. Sarah’s rendering of her mother and family was not always in a positive light, but it always rang true, and the memoir brought back many memories of Bridgton in the early 1990s. The Dry by Jane Harper is an outstanding mystery set in Australian Bush Country. Due to a long-term drought, farmers are having a rough go of it with some going under, so when a farmer kills his wife and son and then turns the gun on himself, financial
woes are suspected. But when Aaron Falk returns to his hometown for his old friend’s funeral and is asked by the family to look into things, not everything appears to line up. With its unexpected twists and turns, this number one best seller in Australia is a top-notch page turner! I’m not usually a fan of disaster stories, but The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism by John Bacon was riveting, and took place right in Maine’s back yard. Halifax, Nova Scotia, was an especially busy port during the First World War, and through a series of unforeseen events and mishaps, The Mont Blanc, a ship with over 2,700 tons of explosives, caught fire and eventually exploded. The city was decimated, with over two thousand dead and nine thousand injured. The explosion was one-fifth the power of Hiroshima, and there were many side stories of courage and valor before and after the event. Boston and the rest of New England were quick to help with the relief effort by sending doctors and supplies, and this served to strengthen our alliance and goodwill with Canada, which up until then had been suspect. The author gives a good background of what was going on at the time with the war in Europe, and also the history of Canada/U.S. relations, which were very poor even as we became allies in the Great War. A cross between A Man Called Ove and The Rosie Project, readers will love Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Scottish debut author Gail Honeyman. Eleanor lives a rote existence with no friends and very few social skills. How did she get this way, and will her new office acquaintance, Raymond, bring about any changes? She must find a way to open her heart if she is going to survive. Sometimes funny, and other times sad, you will be rooting for Eleanor in her quest for healing and happiness.
SUE’S SELECTION A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. This is a powerful, memorable novel set in India during the turmoil of The Emergency. The mid-seventies was a period of great political unrest for India; a time when the corrupt thrived and the innocent were persecuted. People acted against their beliefs just to survive each day and care for their families. Mistry captures the emotions of those times as he tells his story of the widow, the student and the tailors.
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bridgton books hours m-sat. 9:30-5:30 sun. 11-4:30
PERRI’S PREFERENCES “Movers are there at the beginning point of accumulation and all the points to the bitter end, so we tend to develop a Buddhist view of attachment.” – Finn Murphy I am a military brat; therefore my formative years involved frequent relocations. Every year or so, a bunch of guys in a big van would come, pack up all our stuff, haul it hundreds—or even thousands—of miles, and deliver it to our new house in a new town. Although moving was always stressful, I was fascinated by the movers. I remember when I was about eight I told my mom I wanted to be a mover when I grew up. She said she thought I could do better—sadly, I think I have proven her wrong. I heard Finn Murphy interviewed on NPR about his book The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road and I bought it immediately. It turned out to be my favorite read of the season. In the 1980s, Murphy dropped out of Colby College after his junior year to become what is known in the trucking industry as a “bedbugger,” traversing the country thousands of times to help families and their stuff transition to new lives. Now known as the “Great White Mover,” he shares his adventures hauling stuff in this funny, poignant, and surprisingly philosophical book, which is a must read for anyone who has entrusted all their worldly possessions to perfect strangers and prayed for them to be delivered safely at the other end of a move. Like many of you, I am subservient to perfect little furry killing machines that take out billions of birds each year and have become the number one invasive predatory
mammals on the planet. I am talking about our beloved, cuddly house cats. The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World, by Abigail Tucker, is a fascinating, well-researched journey through the history of the so-called “domesticated” cat and its entanglement with humans. From pampered purebred champions to feral felines and lazy windowsill snoozers, house cats have enslaved humans as their willing pawns for furthering their agenda, although we don’t really know what that is. All cat enablers (like me) should read this book as they quietly sing “Soft Kitty” to the supposedly innocent, purring furball snuggled up on their lap and accept the fact that we are hopeless captives of their undeniable charms. Night Stories is an elegant gift book of short stories by predominately Maine writers who were inspired by the exquisite paintings of Maine artist Linden Frederick. Encouraged by Richard Russo (one of the writers whose work appears in the book), Frederick painted fifteen studies and then each collaborating author chose one to write about. The paintings, which seem to be a combination of Maxfield Parrish, Edward Hopper, and Dozier Bell, all depict atmospheric evening scenes in small towns, usually with illuminated windows or neon signs. No wonder writers Lois Lowry, Tess Gerritson, Anthony Doerr, Lily King, and Elizabeth Strout (among many others) were inspired to produce such intriguing stories related to this evocative artwork. The book is a perfect present for those who love both art and literature.
Each character in The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota is a ‘runaway’ of sorts, struggling to create a new life in an often inhospitable contemporary England. Some are escaping cultural prejudice in India, while others are trying to extricate themselves from difficult situations in Britain and abroad. Four individuals are tenuously connected and their stories intertwine in ways reminiscent of A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. This is a compelling and rather grim, although not totally hopeless, portrayal of the complexity and costs of immigrant reality in what the Washington Post described as “The Grapes of Wrath for the twenty-first century.” Food historian Laura Shapiro believes that every woman has a food story and she relates some of them in her latest book, What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food that Tells Their Stories. Learn how a Cockney housemaid became the highly sought-after caterer to a king; why Eleanor Roosevelt served such ghastly meals at the White House; and what Eva Braun ate at Hitler’s mountain retreat while the rest of Germany was practically starving, as well as how food affected William Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy, British author Barbara Pym, and Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown. These are not the usual “foodie memoirs,” but rather fascinating revelations about the women, their situations and their times. Can you judge a book by its cover? Maybe; sometimes. In her lovely extended essay, The Clothing of Books (which was actually first delivered as a speech), Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri ponders the purpose and importance of book covers and how they relate (or don’t) to the text they encompass. She claims, “the right cover is like a beautiful coat, elegant and warm, wrapping my words as they travel through the world, on their way to keep an appointment with my readers.” She also says a bad cover “is like an enemy.” Read this and “discover” why.
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learns from failed attempts and if her passion for building is reignited by it. Wishtree By Katherine Applegate Ages 8+ Red is a 200-year-old oak tree with strong roots deeply seeded in the middle of a quaint neighborhood. Folks call Red the “Wishtree” because people from near and far write their wish or dream on a fabric scrap and tie it to an available branch. One day, a new family moves into the neighborhood and Red discovers not everyone is welcoming. The message “leave” is maliciously carved into Red’s trunk, and Red and his adorable animal friends are determined to make the situation right.
PAM’S PIC KS FOR KIDS & YOUNG ADULTS Wild Zoo Train by Carmela Coyle Ages 1+ Toot toot! The train conductor yells, “All aboard,” as the enthusiastic children rush for an available seat. One inquisitive girl, grasping a zoo map in hand, is determined to follow the train’s course, but questions the destination when they arrive at the first stop and the mysterious location is clearly not marked on the map. Stop after stop, the frustrated girl searches for familiar landmarks on the map to no avail. How far will this mysterious train go? Hold on tight as the train speeds through several continents only slowing to view the wildlife and then a final blast to the.........? If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy & Greg Newbold Ages 3+ Drawing a snowman is easy, right? Three circles of various sizes stacked on top of each other, plus two black circles for the eyes and an orange streak for the nose, and voilà, you have a snowman.
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What if Pablo Picasso painted a snowman? What would it look like? In fact, what would a snowman look like drawn by some of the most famous artists in the world? The Newbolds have taken existing paintings from 17 accomplished artists, across several centuries, and modified them to show each one’s possible interpretation of a snowman. Have fun with this book and try to identify the artist before it is revealed. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty Ages 4+ Rosie Revere dreams of becoming an engineer. Her curious mind is full of grand ideas. Trash that is useless to others is valuable to Rosie and in the late evening hours she measures, twists and attaches various pieces to make useful gadgets such as helium pants, a hotdog dispenser and a cheese hat that keeps snakes away. Rosie hides her inventions under her bed after an uncle laughs at a failed creation. One day, Rosie’s great great aunt, who spent her youth building airplanes and told Rosie she had done everything in life but still wanted to fly, pays a visit. Find out the lesson Rosie
Refugee by Alan Gratz Ages 13+ Three children, all refugees fleeing their homelands during turbulent periods of history, have one thing in common and that is to escape. In 1938, Josef and his family awaken to Nazis snatching Josef’s father from bed. Jews were no longer welcome in Germany and Josef, his sister and mother need to find a way out. Isabel and her family live in Havana, Cuba, in 1994 and are also in a perilous situation. Dictator Fidel Castro is starving his own people and taking away their human rights. The only way to escape their demise is on an overcrowded blow-up raft. Bombs explode around twelve-year-old Mahmoud and his family in Aleppo, Syria, in 2015. Fleeing to Europe is their only hope for survival. Follow these three brave and desperate children and their families on their risky journeys, which miraculously come together in the end. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green Ages 15+ Billionaire Russell Pickett goes missing and a hundred-thousand dollar reward is offered for his return. Besties Aza and Daisy are determined to reap the reward but the road to the truth is not always smooth. Being a teenager has its challenges, and Aza’s OCD and nagging mental illness makes being a “normal” teen nearly impossible. Fortunately, Daisy is tolerant of her oddities and their commitment to their lifetime friendship prevails. Hands down this is my favorite John Green book and a must read. h
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vintage • new • renewed 150 main street
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