Lake Living Fall 2013 by Laurie LaMountain

FREE

fall 2013 â&#x20AC;˘ vol. 16, no. 3

Hiram Works: Bringing New Use to An Old Mill

in transition lakefront retreat adaptable apple tuning up after the fall

lakelivingmaine.com

Hebron Academy College Prep Beyond Expectations hebron, maine • grades 6-12 and PG • www.hebronacademy.org

Creating a better environment . . . one yard at a time.

Clement Bros. has been designing, installing and maintaining quality landscapes in the Lake Region area for over 30 years. We are committed to using natural products and best management practices to ensure a safe environment. We specialize in creating outdoor living areas utilizing stone and native plants with an emphasis on low maintenance. Property watch, pest control & snow removal services are also available to complete your full service needs. Email us at mark@clementbros.com or find us on the web at www.clementbros.com.

207-693-6646 Locally-owned and family-operated in Naples, Maine, since 1977.

Timber Harvesting • Selective Harvesting • Timberstand Improvement

Forest Management • Maine Tree Growth Plans/NH Current Use Plans • Harvest Plans • Free Timber Assessments • Timber Marking

Residential Land Clearing and Road Work • View Cuts • Road Building • Excavation and Sitework

Western Maine Timberlands is a full service sustainable timber harvesting and forest management company servicing Maine and New Hampshire landowners. We pride ourselves in working closely with landowners to ensure your goals are met. Working with us eliminates multiple contracts and high commissions—generating a higher return to you the landowner. Our staff includes a licensed professional Forester as well as a Maine Master Logger. Why choose anyone else? Call us today for your Free Timberland Assessment and find out what your land holds for you. Reach us by phone at 207-925-1138 or e-mail us from the link at our Web site:

Members of: Professional Landcare Network and Maine Landscape and Nursery Association Certified DEP Contractor

lakelivingmaine.com

editor’s note

Editor & Publisher Laurie LaMountain Contributing Writers Leigh Macmillen Hayes, Perri Black Contributing Photographers Ethan McNerney, Barbara Freeman, William Cullina, Brian Vanden Brinken, Hannah Cole, Karen Doviak, Shirley Field 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. www.lakelivingmaine. com e-mail: lakeliving@fairpoint.net ©2013. 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.

lakelivingmaine.com

fall 2013 • vol. 16, no. 3

hannah cole

ethan mcnerney

pietree orchard

william cullina

Change is not something we humans readily accept, but it’s something we often need. If there’s a theme to this issue of Lake Living, it’s transition. Just as the seaons change with enduring regularity, so must we. A friend once pointed out that we’re naturally aligned with the season in which we are born. I thought about that and had to admit that my Aries self is at its highest point when spring starts to assert itself; when everything is pregnant with possibility. I love the beginning. But I also love the slow slide into the darker, latter part of the year. Fall is an opportunity to go deeper and deal with the impermanence of life. When I smell the first woodfire of the season, turn from salad to soup, open the sock drawer to access which ones are without holes and begin to settle into a less frenetic way of experiencing life, I allow myself to let go. I’m always surprised, and yet somehow resassured, when I walk familiar trails in the morning and catch the whiff of decaying leaves that signals the end of the year. Somewhere in its scent is the hint of an adventure waiting to be born. This year is especially poignant for me, as it marks the end of many things I love, but I have to believe that the end of something portends the beginning of something else; that after falling down I will spring back. It’s in that spirit that I let myself fall . . . like an apple from the tree . . . and trust that it will land where it should, and, if unharvested, sow the seeds of future fruit. Happy fall. Laurie LaMountain

6 hiram works

20 tuning up

10 in transition

22 the adaptable apple

14 a lakefront retreat

24 after the fall

interview by laurie lamountain

by leigh macmillen hayes

by perri black

by leigh macmillen hayes

by laurie lamountain with naomi king

by laurie lamountain

18 your other home

by perri black

cover photo by barbara freeman, coastal maine botanical gardens

The Place to Shop for the Season Ahead!

A wonderful mix of women’s clothing and accessories, both for every day and special occasions. You’ll also find tasteful homewares and decor, including lovely “Made in Maine” items. Fashionable jewelry and accessories, bargain books, an array of affordable and fun finds—so perfect for holiday gifting!

CRAFTWORKS main street , bridgton • open seven days • 9:00 am

6:00 pm • 207.647.5436

lakelivingmaine.com

Hiram Works:

Bringing New Use to An Old Mill interview by laurie lamountain photos by ethan mcnerney

hey hope to bring life back to an old lumber mill now, like many others in Maine, dormant, awaiting a new destiny. The way that Dan Dolgin relates to the abrupt end of Thomas Hammond & Son, Inc. in 2009 reads like a modern-day parable. “The cat crossing the road is not, in itself, an accident. It’s the cat crossing the road at the same moment the car speeds through and hits a slippery oil slick that creates the accident.” Nearly two years into a downturned economy, when lumber retailers were not only not placing wholesale orders but were instead asking for buy-backs, Thomas Hammond & Son’s main lumber mill in Hiram burned to the ground. It was the confluence of these two events that marked the end of a three-generational business established in the 1920s and housed in Hiram from 1947 on. A long-time customer and supporter of Hammond & Son’s conscientious business practices, local contractor Henry Banks contacted his friend Dan Dolgin to see if he had any interest in buying the 19-acre property and bringing it back to life as a multi-business campus where tenants could benefit from pooling their talents and resources. Dan and Henry would seek out like-minded enterprises and serve as business incubator for their tenants, offering modest rents and Web marketing for tenants who would deliver quality “Made in Maine” products and services. In May of 2013, Hiram Works, LLC, bought the mill site at 22 Hampshire Street in Hiram, and launched it as “a platform for creative business.” (www. HiramWorks.com) When I called owner Dan Dolgin to see if I might interview him about Hiram Works for Lake Living, he was quick to caution that he didn’t want the article to be about him; that if I could make it about the concept they were cultivating, he was on board. I met with him and Henry Banks on an early August morning and we toured the site and talked about their plans for it. Interior of Kiln no. 1

lakelivingmaine.com

Lake Living: How did this whole concept, the idea of a business collective, even come to be? Dan Dolgin: Henry is 100% to blame, so I’ll let him talk about that. Henry Banks: I had this idea 20-some years

ago. I bought a property in Bridgton with the hopes of doing just this, but it wasn’t the right property. To come into a family operation that’s got almost 100 years of history is a much better fit.

dld

(left) Ben Dietrich’s workshop (top) Former gas station that Dianne thinks would make a great bakery

LL: Where did you come in Dan? How does that all fit? DD: Henry and I have been friends for some time. In fact, my son Sam worked for Henry one summer doing contracting work, and I knew about his project in Bridgton. Then he called to say there was a mill, out of business and available in Hiram, for what he thought was a fair price, and would I be interested in buying it and working with him to develop it? I said, sure, I’d come see it. I thought it was beautiful as soon as we walked in. It is falling apart in some respects, although the buildings are generally very good structurally. Cosmetically, it needs a considerable amount of attention, and it is a residue of something that isn’t here anymore and in that sense it looks like sort of the detritus of a prior civilization. But it’s beautiful! LL: I also like what you said earlier about this plant being like Pompeii because even though some of it has gone to seed, it’s so apparent that this was once really active. That it was a vital, vibrant working entity. HB: You wouldn’t believe how different it was. It was humming every day I came down here. It was forklifts at high speed going back and forth, back and forth, and the sounds of the saw. LL: You were a customer for many years? HB: I was and I’d usually buy an entire lift because it was a wonderful mill that would basically sell to me wholesale. To come to the place where they made it, they dried it, they planed it. It was so refreshing. I couldn’t have imagined that it would fall into such trouble, but the Hammonds said they were very happy with the outcome that Dan and I are gonna try to do—this building as a platform for Maine business. They did it themselves, and their father did it and their grandfather.

LL: So let’s talk about your concept and what you envision, what your ideas have been. DD: The ideas are changing all the time, but the principle that I think is unchanging is that we want to have a group of tenants create a community. I think that probably means at least six, it could be eight or ten, probably not more than that. That’s not people, that’s enterprises—each one of which may have several people working there. If we have 25 people working here in five years and we haven’t lost money, I will consider that a fantastic victory. I was very pleased when I saw a quote from Amar Bose, the founder of the Bose sound system, in his obituary a few weeks ago. Bose was a professor at MIT and an enormously talented, creative man. He said that if his company had been run by MBAs, he’d have been fired five times, and the reason why it became such a success and worldwide enterprise was that he was doing things that were not short-term, clearcash benefit, but were passions, dreams, that in some instances didn’t pay off, but in other instances after a slow, long start ended up being very valuable. That seems to me to be what we’re confronting here. This is a big transformation. This is not simply taking a retail space and refinishing it a little bit for another tenant and trying to get your money back immediately. We’re trying to build a community. LL: I know you have one tenant taking space in here presently. How did you get that tenant and how are you going about getting others? Do you have a tactic or is there a plan in place? HB: I knew Ben Dietrich, who is a cabinet maker, and I happened to know that he was going to build a local kitchen. I said, “That shop of yours in Lewiston must not

make a whole lot of sense for building in Brownfield. You might want to look at a space that I can get you into.” He came and looked at the space and thought it was perfect, so I think he’s going to be the perfect sort of pioneer. He is high quality, he wants to help build a community, he does carpentry in a small shop that’s entrepreneurial, and he wants to grow. LL: Because he sees what you do in the potential of this place? DD: He does. Part of our job here is not just to find tenants, but to qualify the tenants. The point is to build a community who are valuable to each other and thereby create greater value together than any one of them has alone. That means they have to have a spirit of cooperation, that they have to have a sense that they’re participating in building an adventure together, that they’ll help out, maybe lend a hand if needed, and that there isn’t an adversarial landlord/ tenant relationship but a sense of building something together. LL: : This gets back to your earlier comment about the balance between common sense and passion, and it seems like anybody coming in here has to understand that, because it can’t just be this utopian vision of a business collective. DD: This is distinctly not not-for-profit; it must have an organic business base, which is economically solid. Business incubator is a phrase commonly used for some of the firms who work in Silicon Valley and other technology centers to support young, technology-oriented entrepreneurs who are seeking to develop businesses and cutting-edge services. I think it’s a very healthy model. You start with a very good idea and with very good people. It’s commonly said that after you lakelivingmaine.com

A portion of the 19-acre plant that was Thomas Hammond & Son from 1947 to 2009

The planer mill

have a top-down driven good idea, the first three criteria are the people—the people, the people, the people. That’s what we want to do here. We’ve got to find the right people to do this. If it goes well, we can support them by charging very modest rents. We can provide them with resources they may not have themselves. We have the notion that we could make “Made in Maine” a tremendously valuable asset of Hiram Works. LL: You made the distinction, too, about the difference between mass-produced and custom quality goods. HB: The size of the place defines that, I think. There’s never going to be an enormous business here. We’re much more interested in the small, starting stages of things. I think that’s almost by the nature of where we are on this 19 acres that is in a very small town. The businesses here would do quite customized, small runs of things, rather than any kind of mass production. DD: We have to lead with our strengths.

lakelivingmaine.com

Our strength is not going to be 5,000 workers in a 100,000 square-foot plant. Our strengths are the natural resources, the talent of the people in the small-firm, entrepreneurial spirit, their craftsmanship, their quality of work, their individualized custom effort—that’s the stuff we sell. Those are premium items. LL: When you first began, wasn’t the model concentrating on wood products and custom wood making? It seems that has gotten broader. HB: It has gotten broader. It never imposed any limits, but the first thought, of course, was what was here. Now other things are coming to mind, like a bakery and blacksmith. There’s a thing that goes along with finding the right people. It’s also finding the right mix of trades, if you want to call them trades. You can have a really healthy biological system with everyone having their own niche. When I need a metal bracket because of what I’m doing with my woodworking, I know exactly, 150 yards away, who is going to make that metal bracket just for this one project and there’s a cooperation there. The bakery that produces food for tourists can also provide bread for lunches right here. So there’s a lot of interconnection that can happen. DD: There’s a wonderful balance to be had here. We’re not looking for a series of people who each supply something to each other. You pointed out the great Maine spirit of individuality—we like to work on our own,

we don’t like to be confined, we don’t like to be told what to do—but we also like to work with other people, and this campus provides just that kind of opportunity. LL: That almost creates a third entity, because when you have people working together there’s that energy that comes out of it that you don’t get on an individual basis. DD: That’s how it works! We’re each individuals and then Hiram Works is the community. And we hope that we’ll have a place that in five years, in addition to having some people working in several different shops, is its own attraction. That people will say, “You should find a place in Hiram Works. It’s a cool community. That’s the place to be.” HB: Each person or business will have its own separate space, so there’s a togetherness but there’s the ability to concentrate on what you’re doing, to close the door when you need to. All of this is really design-based, when you think what architectural design can do. That’s what’s going to be one of the really important things here. Ben will be in his space, that’s his space. He’s going to start to get used to it and do certain things. And then you build the next little pod. They’re for specific use and yet they all benefit each other. You have both separation and community. LL: And there’s an exponential aspect to it. Because once Ben comes in, he’s gonna tell other people about it and it starts to create this hive, if you will.

DD: Listen, if we have somebody who’s a loner and doesn’t really want to participate, that’s not necessarily fatal, but we can’t have people who are not friendly or make it unpleasant to arrive. We’re not saying you have to be “Camp Game” to come into the community, by any means. LL: You can be an introvert! (laughter) DD: That’s what the incubator is all about. We try to help each of these individual enterprises. We give them a better sense of how good they are at something – maybe better than they realize—give them that opportunity that they haven’t had—and then when they see others doing similar things they may be generating a little more success from that, we may be able to give them the benefit of serving the same needs together. It’s a business community that’s perhaps a little more enlightened and cooperative than the usual image of competitive business. LL: How would you describe your respective roles in this whole adventure? DD: At this point I own the enterprise and Henry’s got an equity incentive in it. We are certainly willing to consider selling to the tenants at some point. We want to apply to ourselves internally the same rules, the same goals, that we’re describing for the community. Henry and I are both to some extent loners. We do our own things. We also love working with other people who we think are smart and productive. In my case, I always want to work with someone who is better than I am, so Henry’s a perfect match for me. He’s got a huge reputation, well earned, for his knowledge of building trades and quality use of natural wood resources, but also for how well he works in society, how well he plays with others. Nobody has a bad word to say about Henry. My background is in finance and law and business, so I try to contribute things that might be of value on that side. We have complementary skills and interests and if we can apply that same rule to ourselves in running Hiram Works that we’re hoping will work for the larger community, the trick always is to put the best foot forward among us. If I think I should build and lift a joist, we’re going to be in trouble. And if Henry starts saying, let me describe to you whether you should capitalize this or treat it as an operating expense for tax versus book purposes, he’s not gonna have fun. So every time we look

at something we’re going to try and figure out, who’s the best person to handle this. LL: Like you said, it’s a balance between common sense and creative vision. HB: Vision because to succeed in business you need to be onto the next thing, really. DD: In the process of talking with people and soliciting ideas, we’ve come up with all kinds of things. We’ve had conversations with some people in forest protection, including Bob Perschel, executive director, and Alec Giffen, Maine Coordinator, of the New England Forestry Foundation, which is a large, old enterprise that has a million acres of New England—many in Maine—under protection. They want to see those forests maintained so that New England keeps its unique heritage and character, but they also want see it economically productive. We have talked about ways that we could integrate their forest processing with a campus like this that makes use of that forest product, and shows that we can have a full cycle, from the natural resource to the community, in a productive, healthy economic web. Additionally, one of our mutual good friends was interested in using one of our kilns for an aquaponics project. Aquaponics, I learned from him, is the activity of simultaneously farming freshwater fish and fruits and vegetables. So there is a possibility of setting up a business that would have 12-month-ayear farming in Maine of freshwater fish and fruits and vegetables without using unhealthy processes. For reasons unrelated to this project, he is unable to see it through, but he left us with an idea. Our job is to take an idea and try and find people who might know more about it than we do, people who could run it. Henry and I are not going to run an aquaponics process. We’re not going to run the planer mill. We’re not going to run any of these businesses. What we’re going to try and do in this best-foot-forward theme is find high-quality, energetic, talented people to do those things. LL: And I’m hoping this article will maybe capture the interest of some of those people. HB: If somebody sees this and decides to be one of the tenants, it’s life changing. That’s what we want. I keep saying it would be very nice to have a young couple who wants to do organic growing, because if they’re young and they make it work,

they’ll have their lives to live off the benefit of having put in that huge amount of effort it will take to get started. LL: But I can also see the benefit of having multiple ages, because the people who produced those moldings and the people who know how to run an old planer like that, that’s not computerized, they’re here but, frankly, they’re a dying breed. DD: The one significant operating piece of the plant that’s left is the planer mill. It’s old equipment, but we understand that it works perfectly well, and there are some enormously talented people who worked it for 25, 30 years, and learned the craft from people who worked it 25 years before them. If we add on a best-foot-forward basis the facilities we’ve got here, the reputation this facility had for a long time, and the quality of people who know how to do it and are still available to do it, we may be able to revive the planer mill and do something that is not only traditional, it’s exactly what was done in part of the facility. This project doesn’t depend on that, but it is one of the highest and best uses of the premises. Most likely we’re going to have to be the packagers, the producers, the finders and help with the business project. We dream of people who are creative and thoughtful and who know something about something—it could be any number of things—and say “this [Hiram Works] would be great for that purpose.” LL: I get this vision of a Bruegel painting with all these people engaged in all this activity in one place and I love it! DD: Yours is a Renaissance image. Mine is actually Richard Scarry. Remember those wonderful Richard Scarry books? I read them to my kids. He drew and described just those images. He would depict a whole town with a hundred things going on. There’d be a railroad train going by, there’d be people running around, boats going along the shore and loading and docking. Very complicated images. That’s just what we have in mind. R For more information about Hiram Works, LLC, visit www.hiramworks.com. To learn more about leasing space for your business, call Dan Dolgin at 207-221-2794 or e-mail info@hiramworks.com

lakelivingmaine.com

william cullina

In Transition

Day Trip: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens by leigh macmillen hayes

utumn color, mild breezes, a little peace and quiet—all ingredients for a fall getaway to see Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in transition. As the landscape begins to change, there’s still plenty of color at this idyllic hideaway in Boothbay, Maine. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens began as a grassroots effort by some local visionaries in 1991. After an extensive search, they purchased 128 acres on the coast in 1996. At that time, while continuing to raise funds and awareness, they began extensive building of the gardens. The doors officially opened in June 2007. Today, the gardens encompass 248 acres situated along the Back River. Walkways meander throughout the property—many are handi-

10 lakelivingmaine.com

capped accessible. Free docent-led walking tours are offered twice a day on Thursdays and Saturdays until Columbus Day. Guided tours for a fee can be arranged for your group, or you may explore the gardens on your own. Cart tours are also available, and shuttles run continuously to several areas of the gardens. During the fall, the rhythm changes at the gardens. While it’s family-oriented in the summer, empty nesters and retirees take advantage of this most beautiful time of the year. When you visit, you’ll be struck by the tapestry of seasonal plants, shrubs, trees and art work that display their rich and vibrant hues against the crystal clear blue sky. Each tableau is a unique showcase intended to stimulate all the senses.

“We really plan so we’ve got plants in flower carrying well into October,” says Bill. The vast palette of colors and textures is intentionally spread around so no one place is particularly seasonal...

william cullina

barbara freeman

that give good fall color,” says Bill. “Our planting designs really incorporate woody plants with annuals and perennials so they all work together.” There are lots of asters, monkshoods, mints and other perennials that bloom late. Expect to see annuals still in flower until the first hard frost hits around Halloween. Bill tells me that people are often surprised to see annuals still in bloom, but because of the location by the ocean, these and the tropical plants continue to thrive. Even some roses last into the fall. Ornamental grasses add another beautiful dimension to this living work of art. The color typically peaks around Columbus Day. From the beginning, there’s been a conscious plan to always have something to see—including the splendor of seed heads. For that reason, plants are left up for as long as possible.

william cullina

barbara freeman

William Cullina, executive director of the gardens since 2011, has authored five books and is a recognized authority on North American native plants. He says that people are often surprised with the riot of color found at the gardens during autumn. “We really plan so we’ve got plants in flower carrying well into October,” says Bill. The vast palette of colors and textures is intentionally spread around so no one place is particularly seasonal (except the rhododendron garden). Though there isn’t the heavy concentration of sugar and red maples, oaks and ash trees that we are familiar with in western Maine, these species have been planted at the gardens. They provide an eye-appealing contrast to the spruces, firs and pines that naturally dominate the landscape. In addition, “there are quite a few shrubs

lakelivingmaine.com

Garden Tips from William Cullina

Enjoy the transition as flowers go through the cycle of life and death. Let your plants go through the natural senescence. It can be pretty in its own right. When you get the fever to purchase plants, do some research. Rather than choosing all plants that are in flower at that time, look for fall-blooming plants to incorporate into your garden. “They may look like a little mound of green leaves,” says Bill, “but it’s worth the wait.” Flowers to enjoy in the fall include asters, monkshood and ornamental goldenrods.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is introducing its first ever pumpkin extravaganza to expand the offering of seasonal events. With 2,500 pumpkins, plus flowers, scarecrows and all things fall, they’ll create displays to tickle your fancy. The pumpkin displays will be located along easy walking areas. Adult and children’s programs and activities will focus on the theme and give you some take-away ideas. Ever played pumpkin croquet? The Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 23, 2013, will feature the annual frozen turkey hunt. This event is intended for the younger set, with a little help from their adult counterparts. Apples are hidden throughout the gardens;

12 lakelivingmaine.com

each with a colored sticker attached. Some of the stickers mean a prize of a frozen turkey. Others win different prizes, including pie mixes. This fall, plan a day trip to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, dress appropriately for the weather and bring your camera. The photo opportunities are endless. Stroll the garden paths or hike along the woodland trails to the waterfront. Amble along the pathways and relax on a bench at this restorative and tranquil haven while you surround yourself with the color and beauty of the gardens in transition. Getting there: It takes about two hours to drive

from western Maine to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Follow back roads through Casco, Gray, New Gloucester and Pownal to Freeport. From there, turn left onto either Routes 295 or 1 North. Continue on to Bath and follow Route 1 North, crossing the bridge in Wiscasset. Soon after, turn right onto Route 27 South toward Boothbay. After 9.3 miles, bear right at the Boothbay monument, across from the town common and gazebo. Go straight at the stop sign immediately ahead. After 0.25 miles, turn right onto Barters Island Road. The entrance to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is on the left about one mile ahead. R

william cullina

Use more cold-tolerant annuals that add fall color.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens 200 Barter’s Island Road, Boothbay GPS coordinates: N 43*52.54548, W 69*39.5454 207.633.4333, www.MaineGardens.org Open Daily year-round, 9am-5pm (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) Admission charged: April - October Special rates: Groups of 10 or more (contact Niki Dabrio Janczura, ext 110) Dogs allowed in parking areas only

First Place Watercolors, Best In Show, Western States Horsemen’s Conference, Sacramento, CA Pizzazz 22”w X 28”h Original watercolor

Award Winning Artist

Diane Snow Re g i o n a l L a n d s c a p e s & W i l d l i f e A r t

Yellow Farm 705 Foss Road Limerick, Maine dianesnow207@yahoo.com (207) 956-1492

Limited Edition hand-signed and numbered Giclee’ Reproductions & Printed Notecards Available Commissions Welcomed

lakelivingmaine.com

Making the Most of A Lakeside Retreat by perri black • photographs by brian vanden brink and hannah cole

rchitect John Cole has strong family links with Maine and has spent many summers vacationing at the Pleasant Point Inn in Lovell. He has also worked with numerous clients across Maine to design elegant, customized waterfront homes in the lakes region, as well as his own personal “architect’s retreat” on a small pond in Fryeburg. Before meeting with him, I had checked out his Web site, www.johncolearchitect.com, so I was surprised when he replied to my email for directions to his house by saying I should “look for the purple tower” on his cabin. I had visions of a bright violet, high Victorian turret standing out in complementary colored contrast against the pine trees, which did not seem to be in keeping with the style of the homes I’d viewed on line. In fact, when I arrived at his house, I discovered the tower was a small two-story addition in a lovely, muted royal purple (as he described it) that blended harmoniously with the tree trunks on the lot and set the tone for the building’s interior. Cole bought the cabin in 1994 after seeing a “For Sale” sign

14 lakelivingmaine.com

pointing to a wooded road that led to what was once a summer camp for boys. He followed the road until he reached some tennis courts, where he turned off toward three cabins on the lake. The middle one, which was originally the residence for the nurse at the boys’ camp, attracted him immediately and the close proximity of the tennis courts appealed to his enthusiastic interest for the sport. The “architect’s retreat” started out as a seasonal 800-square-foot grandfathered cabin with extensive north-facing lake views located right on the lake–step out of the back door and you are practically in the water. Cole describes the cabin as “pretty drecky” when he bought it, but he used it as a vacation home for two years before beginning renovations. He likes to take time to study a house and its lot, learn how the light is cast during the day, and get used to the feel of a place before he starts making any changes. In this way, he works with the existing characteristics and boundaries of the land and the structure instead of imposing something too foreign or extreme. The location is beautiful, but because of the shoreland zoning

ordinance, it presented a number of challenges for expansion. Fortunately, as an architect, Cole embraces such situations and considers them puzzles to be solved. The overriding factor to be tackled when building or renovating any house near a body of water in Maine is the state’s strict

Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act that was ratified in 1971. The main purpose of these regulations is to protect and preserve the environment around all bodies of water including lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers, streams and the ocean, and also reduce the impact of human development on natural areas.

The state has established minimum regulations for the shoreland zone, which is within 250 horizontal feet surrounding any body of water or wetland, and each municipality can implement even stricter rules if the residents vote to do so. There are also regulations related to safeguarding the natural appearance and characteristics of lakes, rivers and coastal areas by taking into consideration the visual impact of a structure with regard to the view from the water. The basic state laws can be found on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Web site at www.maine.gov/dep/land/ slz. Links to some municipalities are also listed here, but you can read the specific zoning regulations for those that are not by going directly to the individual town Web sites. Setback, or a structure’s distance from the high water mark, is the primary consideration for shoreland building. The state mandates that any sort of new construction must be at least 100 feet away from the water’s edge. Existing structures within 100 feet of the water, built prior to 1989, can only be expanded by 30% of the original structure’s area or volume, whichever is less. Everyone who owns or intends to buy and/or build on a shoreland lot should carefully research the town’s comprehensive plan and ordinances and talk to the local code enforcement officer to determine what is and is not allowed. This also applies to those who have extant or grandfathered structures on their lakeside property, and can avoid possible fines, legal action or orders to dismantle what one has built. Cole’s first priority was to efficiently expand the existing structure as much as allowed by law. This involved enlarging the floor plan to include a screened-in porch and extra kitchen space, allowing for more light and maximizing the impressive views. The addition of the porch took up most of the allocated expansion space and a bit more was consumed by the small gable added in the living room to provide more light. The remaining allowance is occupied by the aforementioned purple tower comprising the kitchen and Cole’s satellite office above it. He cleverly angled the tower at the corner of the building, which saved nearly 10% of the expansion space. This relatively small addition opens up the whole living/ dining area and gives the impression of a much larger room. In the end, he now has a 1000-square-foot home with plenty of space for his needs. A main consideration, especially for lakelivingmaine.com

older, traditional lakeside cabins, is light. Cole says that most older camps tend to focus on their lake views, with all the windows facing the water and little thought given to backlighting. This means that light only comes into the building from one side, resulting in a cave effect and a very dark interior. In order to avoid this in his own house, especially as it features a north-facing view, Cole installed large windows on three sides of the upper part of the kitchen tower he uses as a work studio and extra sleeping space. He carefully observed how the arc of the sun hit the house and the site during the day and aligned the windows into what he calls a “light scoop” that captures the light and brightens the house all day. These, plus the three additional windows in the living room gable, make the house very airy and light. The arrangement of interior space is also a major component of any house design. The layout of a vacation or second home will usually differ from that of a primary residence because it is generally used for different purposes. John Cole says he likes working with clients who are creating a

16 lakelivingmaine.com

second home because they are often more relaxed about their requirements. Many tend to be less attached to preconceived ideas and more open to creative options. He says he likes to “pull out of them what makes them tick” and help them express their personalities and passions in their new home. For example: building bookshelves in interesting, unexpected places for those with an interest in reading or creating unique viewing stations for avid birdwatchers. Compact floor plans are important in a 30% expansion. Given that older camps are usually small, hallways and stairs can eat up 20-25% of the expansion area without adding any functional benefit. Cole designed a ship’s ladder to access the tower loft and reconfigured hallways to add space to the two existing bedrooms. Cole says it is important to consider how the house will be used and what is actually required to meet those needs. He doesn’t really like to use the word “room” to define all the areas within a house and prefers to think about multiple uses for spaces to cut down on square footage and improve efficiency. If you want space for a home office,

do you really need a separate room or could an alcove somewhere in the house serve the purpose just as well? Or, if you are designing a holiday home, would a daybed in a bay window suffice as sleeping quarters for an overnight visitor instead of an entire guest room? His little house only has two official bedrooms yet can comfortably sleep about ten people on vacation who will probably spend most of their time on the lake and in the woods anyway. Designing and building for optimal ventilation, heating and cooling is also something to think about, especially as energy costs continue to rise. Windows and openings on opposite sides of the house promote crossventilation and take advantage of breezes off the lake for natural cooling, while double-glazed windows and well insulated walls keep the heat in or out as required, depending on the season. Cole says he always encourages his clients to eschew mechanical air conditioning and take advantage of natural air flow to cool their house instead. Finally, the exterior color of the house is a significant aesthetic factor that impacts neighbors in the area, as well as the previously mentioned view from the water. Lakeside camps were traditionally painted dark green or brown to blend in with the surroundings, and natural wood and darker colors are still preferred today. I recently experienced a first-hand view from the water on a pontoon boat cruise and was amazed at how well most of the lakeside homes, especially the smaller cabins, were camouflaged, some of them virtually disappearing after offering a fleeting glimpse from one particular angle. Soft, natural woodsy colors such as brown, green, gray and, yes, even shades of purple, are excellent choices for achieving this effect. Cole also discourages the use of white windows or trim in wooded settings so the house will blend in rather than contrast with the natural environment. Owning, or even just staying in, a home on a Maine lake is the aspiration of many who visit the state. They dream of a rustic, peaceful view of gently rippling water, majestic shady pine trees, and warmly glowing sunsets serenaded by crickets chirping and the occasional cry of a loon. It has been this way for generations and, if those lucky enough to own property on the water respect the environment and abide by the established regulations, the lakes in Vacationland will remain this way for many generations to come. R

Boundary Surveys • Topographical Surveys Sewage Disposal Designs • Land Use Permitting PO Box 113 • Lovell, ME 04051

207-925-1468 e-mail: blissinc@fairpoint.net

lakelivingmaine.com

your other home by perri black

many visitors to maine dream of owning a second home in the state and some even hope to make it their primary residence one day. True to its nickname Vacationland, Maine is known for its seasonal properties, many of which have been handed down through several generations of a single family. Waterfront houses on lakes, ponds, rivers and along the coast are highly prized but often pricey, while antique farmhouses, woodland cabins, and other inland retreats are generally more plentiful and affordable. There is also usually a range of vacant lots for sale on which to build your vacation dream home. Whether you are designing a new abode or renovating an old one, a vacation home, by definition, is apart from one’s primary residence and used during specific times of the year. It may eventually become a permanent address, but in the meantime it acts as a place to get away from one’s normal routine, relax, be yourself and enjoy time with family and friends. A true vacation home offers the opportunity to be creative and indulge in your particular interests without the urban concerns of resale value or worrying about keeping up with the Joneses. Allowing the layout and interior decoration to evolve over time is also part of the quintessential Maine “camp” experience. Traditional summer camps were often owned by one family for many decades, and each generation added its own unique stamp to the house. The following tips are points to consider when purchasing or building a second home: if you are building a new home, spend some time studying the site, including the trees and other vegetation, rocks, angles of light, shadows, etc., to determine the perfect spot to construct your home. think carefully about how you want to use the property. Will you

A soft carpet of fragrant pine needles is a luxurious alternative to a suburban lawn and requires virtually no maintenance.

18 lakelivingmaine.com

only be there during the summer or will you stay there year round? Will you be hosting a lot of guests or using it only as a private family retreat? Will you eventually retire there, hand it down to your children, or rent it out when you are not using it? These factors will determine how big your home should be and how much individual privacy is required, as well as how much you’ll need to invest in upgrades, such as heating and cooling systems.

live in your other home for a while before you begin to make changes. Get

a feel for the property and observe it throughout the seasons; see how the light hits it and how air moves through it; study the views from all the windows; discover your favorite places both inside and out.

determine what is really essential during a vacation. Do you really need

all the modern necessities you have in your primary residence? Can you live without a dishwasher, washing machine or dryer if you will only be there in the summer? You could always do dishes by hand, use the laundromat in town and hang your clothes out to dry. Some people even decide to do without indoor plumbing! Consider allowing only minimal electrical

create your vacation home in stages.

Maybe you can start small, then gradually expand and renovate as function requires and money allows. For example, if you eventually want to retire here but right now have three young children, you can choose to enjoy your cabin as a rustic summer camp for an active family. As the kids grow up and priorities change, you can expand the cabin to accommodate your changing needs, perhaps upgrading it to a year-round, primary residence for when you decide to retire.

a proper vacation does not include mowing a lawn or fussing with yard

work. Minimize these tasks by leaving much of the lot as you found it and landscaping with rocks and indigenous flora. A soft carpet of fragrant pine needles is a luxurious alternative to a suburban lawn and requires virtually no maintenance.

forego a lot of cleaning and housework. Beyond a basic level of

cleanliness, camps are supposed to be a bit messy. They are venues for many activities that may bring some of the outdoors in, so plain wood floors that are easily swept and small area rugs in strategic places are the only floor coverings you need. You can always hire someone to do a thorough clean at the beginning and end of the season, or make opening and closing the camp an annual family ritual.

decorating the interior is an excellent way to explore your

creativity and express your passions and interests. Try creating decorative arrangements of objects collected from walks in the woods or down country lanes. Display continually evolving collages of family vacation photos taken over the years or develop a small library of books related to the local area and other topics of interest. Refinish or repurpose second-hand furniture to use in the house or even paint a mural on an empty wall to commemorate a special event.

don’t worry about formal interior decoration or trying to impress

the neighbors. Focus on comfort and creativity and personal expression. Look for inexpensive second-hand furniture to facilitate relaxation, down time and napping. Nothing should be too precious; clutter related to ongoing activities is okay as long as there’s enough clear space to eat and sleep.

include decorating your getaway

as part of the whole vacation experience. Organize outings to explore local junk shops, antique stores and auctions in hopes of bringing home unexpected treasures. Make an adventure out of hitting the yard sales in a particular area and poking around the “resale” store every time you recycle and dispose of your trash.

rethink the meaning of “vacation”

and make it a time to do what you love with the people you love. Creating your own special space to “vacate,” indulge your interests, reconnect with family and friends, and most importantly, relax, is what it’s all about. R

brian vanden brink

appliances and having no television. I would also suggest foregoing a computer and other electronic gizmos and opting for reading real books (not e-readers!), but that might be too extreme…

Live in your other home for a while before you begin to make changes. lakelivingmaine.com

karen doviak shirley field

Tuning Up by leigh macmillen hayes

ertha, as the Holbrook pipe organ at the South Bridgton Congregational Church has been affectionately nicknamed for generations, is small with only a single manual or keyboard of 56 keys and a single octave pedalboard with just 13 pedals. Most organs have two or more manuals and their pedalboards usually encompass three octaves. She may have been intended as a “psalm organ,” used only to assist parishioners as they sang the psalms. The present church in South Bridgton was completed during the 1870s. Following the addition of the organ built by Edwin Lafayette Holbrook of East Medway, Massachusetts, and gifted to the church by Colonel J.P. Perley and Squire Samuel Perley, a dedication ceremony took place in July of 1871. The ceremony included a recital with Mr. Holbrook in attendance. In 1892, Bertha was moved from the choir loft to her present location behind the pulpit. “She’s temperamental,” says Natasha Proctor, organist since 1984. “Sometimes I’m wondering what she’s going to do and then she settles down. She adjusts to the weather and really likes rainy

20 lakelivingmaine.com

days.” Natasha speaks of the organ like one would talk about an accomplished singer. Bertha is known as having “tracker action,” meaning there is a direct mechanical connection between the keys and the valves under the pipes, something today that is both rare and unique. “From the time the organist pushes a key,” says Natasha, “it’s all mechanical to get air to the speaking pipe. This happens through a series of leathers and pulls.” Today’s organs are all electric—push a key and everything happens automatically. So automatically it seems, that the organist doesn’t need to remain in front of the organ. The Holbrook pipe organ provides Natasha with a direct and intimate connection to the instrument. For about 75 years, Bertha’s wind power was produced with hand-pumped bellows, which required manual pumping by one person who sat hidden off to the side. The organist gauged how much air would be needed for a particular hymn and pushed a lever ringing a bell to stir the bellow pumper. (see sidebar story)

shirley field

South Bridgton resident Paul Field’s older brothers and sisters remember pumping the organ during services in the 1940s and ‘50s. In the mid part of the 20th century, the pumping bellows were disconnected and the organ was equipped with a new electric blower. To the parishioners’ credit, the hand pump has been preserved and remains in place. The artistry of making pipes has not changed over the last 600 years—they’re made to last forever—and Bertha has 336 of them in various combinations of tin and lead. Due to general wear and tear and some squirrels that wreaked havoc on her internal structure, Bertha has required some work over the years, but she remains relatively in her original state. More recently, however, Natasha and the congregation realized that it was time to restore Bertha’s wind chest. After all, she’s been singing since President Ulysses S. Grant was finishing his first term. In addition, the plan included building a catwalk behind her to accommodate organ tuner Nick Orso of Nick Orso Organ Services. Heretofore, he had to lean over the facade comprised of show pipes that don’t actually produce sound, but do bare decorative painting that was a Holbrook trademark.

liked going to church in South Bridgton. God did not seem so dark and mysterious there as He did at St. Martin’s in Providence, and with the exception of the minister seated behind the pulpit, I could see everyone, even Charlie Johnson who pumped the organ and Clara Berry who played it. Nellie March played the organ, too. They used to wear elegant bonnets beset with flowers and ribbons and flowing chiffon that often trembled with a life of their own when their wearer worked the stops and keys. It would make me want to

At the same time, it was obvious that the foundation sagged below Bertha’s alcove. With that in mind, a decision was made several years ago to raise funds and simultaneously tackle both the restoration of Bertha and sagging foundation. In Bridgton, Maine 1768-1994, An Updated Bicentennial History, it is noted that the Ladies Circle of the South Bridgton Church held a fair in 1871 to help furnish the new building. “There was a supper—rolls and butter, coffee and a piece of cake at five cents each—within reach of all comers. Strawberries with sugar and heavy cream were sold separately: Charles Gibbs bought nine dishes!” In that same tradition, the parish has hosted numerous community suppers followed by musical shows. These are potluck affairs and everyone is known for his or her own specialty dish. There is seating for 80, which usually sells out. Natasha and other parishioners provide the musical entertainment with a different theme each month. Though it’s a small church, most members are extremely active. But, it’s equally clear that they cannot afford to finance projects without help from others. Through these suppers continued on page 26

giggle, but I knew I should not. A few times I could not help it. The Reverend William Richmond (we, with fond irreverence, nicknamed him “Wee Willie Richmond”) once gave what he deemed a rousing sermon. It was to be underscored with a glorious organ response, but when he threw his hands up in the grand gesture of exaltation and Clara went to respond with a magnificent chord, no sound came out of the organ at all. He threw his hands up in the air again, and Clara hit the keys again, the flowers on her hat trembling

wildly. Still, not a note came forth. Finally, from behind the curtain came a contented but stentorian snore. Reverend Richmond scurried up the steps to wake up Charlie Johnson abruptly. I dissolved into a fit of stifled glee but was greatly relieved about the status of my immortal soul to see that even my mother was smiling. After Nellie and Clara, Wilhelmina Farrand played the organ for years, but by then fancy hats were out and the organ was electrified. Reprinted from Narramissic—Hard to Find by Margaret E. Normann © 2010

lakelivingmaine.com

The Adaptable Apple

by laurie lamountain with naomi king

ands down, the most versatile member of the fruit family is the apple. While other fruits may be restricted to dessert status, the apple can hold its own in any course. Some of its versatility is due, no doubt, to the many varieties. From tart, early-bearing Lodi to sweet, mid-season Cortland to spicy, late-season Ashmead’s Kernel, Pie Tree Orchard in Sweden has 42 varieties of apples to lend their own unique flavor to each and every course on the menu. “We love the heirloom varieties! We are also tremendously excited by some of the modern, disease-resistant varieties—great flavor and greater resilience are tough to beat! The important thing to remember about apples is that each variety has its own characteristics and it also reflects the year and the land where it is growing. Treeripened fruit has flavors absent from fruit picked early and ripened in storage. By tree-ripening our fruit, we are presenting it at the fruit’s maximum flavor development to our customers,” says Pie Tree Orchard’s business manager Naomi King. R Early-Bearing

Dudley Winter a juicy, aromatic apple with firm but tender flesh, for fresh eating and cooking Jersey Mac an early McIntosh type, tart and tender Lodi a tart apple, the Lodi is the first to harvest and a terrific sauce and fresh salad apple Orange Sweet a sweet, finegrained yellow-fleshed, crunchy apple Paula Red a firm, white-fleshed apple, neither sweet nor tart, good for eating fresh and for applesauce Red Gravenstein a juicy, tart apple, Red Gravenstein is a terrific cooking apple, for sauce, pie, and cider, as well as eating fresh William’s Pride sweet, spicy and crisp, a favorite early apple for fresh eating and pies Vista Belle white-fleshed apple offering tart flavor with hints of berries and a crisp crunch

22 lakelivingmaine.com

Mid-Season

Cortland a sweet, white-fleshed dessert apple, Cortland is an allpurpose delight, fresh or cooked Cox’s Orange Pippin considered the finest dessert apple, aromatic & subtly flavored, sweet apple and pear flavors with excellent crunch Freyburg this German variety is Cox’s Orange Pippin x Golden Delicious creating a sweet, pear-like apple, perfect in mixed fruit desserts and any recipe calling for pears Gingergold a mild, sweet apple with a spicy crunch, on the drier side, with strong notes of ginger, excellent fresh, for pies and for cider Honeycrisp a sweet-tart, firm dessert apple, Honeycrisp are best fresh Liberty an all-purpose apple, equally good fresh, cooked or baked, sweet, sprightly, and snappy

McIntosh a tart, tender whitefleshed all-purpose apple Nod Head sweet, somewhat spicy with enough acid to be zesty, Nod Head is a great fresh eating apple and baker Pinova a sweet dessert apple with notes of honey and pear, stores well SnowSweet concentrated pure apple flavor with notes of honey and a crisp acidic finish, a cousin of Honeycrisp and a fine allpurpose dessert apple. Starkey mild sweet taste of autumn with pure apple flavor, a late-keeping apple Stark’s Jumbo a giant variety, sweet, mild and juicy Virginia Crab like other crab apples, it is astringent, good for jellies and home cider production

Brock aromatic, crisp, sweet and good for pies, sauce, and fresh eating, Brock keeps well until mid-winter Egremont Russett nutty, dry, and balanced, sweet-tart flesh reminds tasters of pears, excellent for salads and with cheeses Esopus Spitzenburg since the late 18th century, an excellent aromatic and tart dessert and culinary choice, with excellent flavor that improves on storage Golden Delicious large, yellowskinned and very sweet, for sauce and fresh Hudson’s Golden Gem mediumfine grained white flesh, sweet apple with pear overtones; great baker Keepsake strongly aromatic, mellowing with storage, this winter apple is best eating in January or February Late Season Macoun firm-fleshed, sweet Ashmead’s Kernel tart and spicy almost berry flavored, juicy allwith pear and pepper notes, purpose apple, an old Maine pie Ashmead’s Kernel is an apple favorite eating adventure in flavor Mutsu a sweet apple with honBaldwin a bright red winter eysuckle notes, Mutsu packs a apple, tart, hard, excellent lot of juicy flavor into every bite keeper, cider and pie apple Nova Spy a type of North Spy Black Oxford an excellent with vanilla notes, excellent in storing apple, it is a perfectly cider and pies balanced, sweet-tart hard apple Red Spy a red sport of the with a dry, almost spicy finish; Northern Spy excellent baker

Northern Spy juicy, crisp, sweettart, great for desserts, pies, juices, cider Red Delicious sweet and best eaten fresh Reinette Simirenko firm and tart, crisp and a good all-purpose apple Rome Beauty a cooking apple, this large sweet, mild flavored apple holds its shape well when cooked, perfect for baked apples!

Wagener crisp, juicy, and tender, an all-purpose apple Westfield Seek-No-Further originating in 1796, this apple is balanced, honeyed tart, sweet, juicy, crunchy, all-purpose Winesap firm, crisp, slightly tart, a favorite for pies Wolf River a giant of an apple, terrific for drying and canning, moderately tart, tender and juicy

Pick-Your-Own Apples Farmstand Vegetables Fresh Baked Goodies Gluten-Free Options 803 Waterford Road Sweden, ME 04040 (207) 647-9419

pietree@pietree-orchard.com • www.pietreeorchard.com You-pick hours are subject to change due to fruit quality, availability and weather. Calling ahead is recommended. Detailed directions to the orchard can be found on the Web site.

apple-squash soup

2 medium butternut, acorn, or other moderately-sized winter squash 2 medium apples 2 medium onions 1 tbsp olive oil 5 c vegetable broth 1 tbsp rubbed sage 1 tsp salt (more or less to taste) 2 c apple cider Peel, seed, and cut squash into 1” pieces. Peel, core, and chop apples (Naomi’s favorites in this recipes are Liberty, Cortland and Ginger Gold). Heat olive oil in a stock pot. Add onions, sliced into crescents, and sauté until soft and starting to turn golden. Once onions are golden, add squash, apples, vegetable broth, rubbed sage and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking 20-30 minutes, until squash pieces are soft. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, reduce apple cider by boiling, until ½ - ¾ cup liquid remains. Puree the squash-apple mixture in a blender or food processor. Stir in reduced cider. Adjust salt, pepper, and sage to taste. Sprinkle each serving with a dash of paprika.

pork normandy

1 to 1-1/2 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch-thick slices 5 tbsp butter 4 medium Golden Delicious apples (about 1-1/2 lbs.), peeled, cored and sliced 1/3” thick 1 tsp sugar 2 large shallots, chopped 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried 1/4 c Calvados or apple brandy 1 c heavy cream 1/4 c apple cider

Place pork slices between plastic wrap. Using mallet, pound pork slices to 1/4inch thickness.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and sugar to skillet and sauté until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in another heavy large skillet over high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add pork to skillet and sauté until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate; keep warm. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme and sauté 2 minutes. Add Calvados and boil until reduced to glaze, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in cream and cider; boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat apples, if necessary. Arrange a few pork slices on each plate. Spoon sauce over. Top generously with sautéed apple slices and serve immediately.

tart apple cole slaw

3/4 c mayonnaise 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 1/4 c packed light brown sugar 1/4 c apple cider vinegar 4 tsp celery seeds 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne 4 c shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 head) 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded 1/2 c grated Reinette Simirenko or other tart, late season apple Combine first 8 ingredients in a bowl, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Set aside. Combine cabbage, carrots and apple in a large bowl. Stir in the sauce mixture, tossing to combine. Chill for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Makes about 5 cups.

ginger gold apple crisp

1/4 peck (approx. 2-1/2 lbs.) Ginger Gold or other favorite yellow apples 2 tbsp diced crystallized ginger 1/4 tsp ground cloves 4 tbsp vanilla sugar* 1/4 c apple cider or apple juice 5 tbsp melted butter or, for vegan variation, soy margarine 1 c whole wheat flour or, for gluten-free variation: 3/4 c brown rice flour and 1/4 c tapioca starch 3/4 c light brown sugar 1 c rolled oats 1 c chopped pecans (optional) 1/4 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 9x13” baking dish. Wash, core and thinly slice apples. Toss with crystallized ginger, ground cloves, vanilla sugar and apple cider or juice and transfer to baking dish. Mix remaining dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and add melted butter or margarine, tossing well to create a fine crumble topping. Spoon topping over apple-ginger filling and bake for 60-75 minutes, until filling is soft. Cool slightly before serving.

* Vanilla sugar is granulated sugar that is infused with vanilla flavor. It can be purchased at specialty food stores or online. Alternatively, you can prepare your own vanilla sugar by combining 2 cups granulated sugar in a jar with the scraped seeds of one vanilla bean. Allow to infuse for a few days before using.

lakelivingmaine.com

After the Fall by laurie lamountain

Fall: To come down because detached, pushed dropped, etc.; move down and land forcibly (apples fall from the tree). The season when leaves fall; autumn.

was walking my dogs on the morning of the summer solstice, when I stopped to talk with a couple of young men who were roofing one of the summer camps on Long Pond in my hometown of Denmark, Maine. “W hat kind of dogs are those?” asked one of the men. Prepared to launch into the usual answer, I was interrupted by the other young man’s response. “They’re Catahoulas, aren’t they?” Surprised by the fact that someone recognized a breed not well known to New England, I said, “Yes, they are. Litter mates. Rescued post-Katrina.” We went on to talk about their tandem tendency for hunting, the reason I had one on a leash and the other free. After about what was probably only three minutes, my dogs and I continued to walk homeward. A habitual list-maker, I had on my mind the many things I needed to do in the day ahead of me, distribute magazines, shop for food, etc., when I decided to run the rest of the way to make up for what I considered lost time. Clad in my inappropriate Merrell footwear, I broke into a full run down the dirt road leading home, until my foot rolled over a stone the exact size and shape of a Yukon Gold potato. My body lurched forward on the downhill stretch and landed sharply on my right side, involving ankle, knee, elbow and shoulder, with the full force of my entire body concentrated on my shoulder. I lay there for a moment, processing the extent of the fall and conscious of the fact that I still held the leash in my hand. Che, who was on the end of it, looked back at me with a look that said, “What’s the matter with you? Let’s get going.” I felt instantly nauseous from having heard the crack in my shoulder. “I just broke my collarbone,” I said to him, to which he turned tail with a complete lack of sympathy.

24 lakelivingmaine.com

We walked the two-thirds of a mile home with me cradling my broken wing and stifling the urge to deposit the contents of my stomach in the newly bloomed sweet fern lining the edge of the road. Once home, I called my husband and told him I needed a ride to the emergency room. After forty-five very long minutes, he arrived and delivered me to Bridgton Hospital to wait for the confirmation of what I already knew. By the time we left the hospital it was two o’clock. So much for making up for lost time. There’s not a lot you can do for a broken collarbone. X-rays, a sling and a prescription for Vicodin were what I left the hospital with. By then, the realization of what I couldn’t do for the foreseeable future included, but was not limited to: drive (my car has a standard shift and I’m righthanded), distribute magazines, type, do yoga, paint the house, run, make love, make bread, cook dinner and do the dishes. When friends heard about my fall, they almost unanimously agreed that maybe it was Nature’s way of telling me to let go; stop trying to run everything. While they were probably right on, it didn’t make me feel any better. In fact, it put me on the defensive by suggesting I’d somehow brought this on myself. I maintained that the fault lay with the rock that rolled. Sleeping was the hardest. Trying to get comfortable was a lot like meditation for me: difficult. Then the waterworks of June ended and July came on like a cat in heat. My fashionable black sling made me feel like a trussed-up turkey set at 350˚. I had an appointment with my acupuncturist scheduled for the 18th of July and figured I’d need to reschedule, but he beat me to the punch by calling to say he needed to reschedule. I told him what had happened, and he responded by asking me if I knew what Rudolph Steiner had to say about broken bones. I told him that, not

laughing like the proverbial hyena and only did I not know, but I had no idea who finding myself in touch with a version of me Rudolph Steiner was. He then launched into I hadn’t encountered for a very long time. an explanation of how Steiner believed broI became very slow. Showering, getting ken bones were the result of issues working dressed, making a meal, etc., reached epic their way through the astral and etheric proportions. I began to appreciate what it body out into the physical body as a means entails to get old. And I also began to appreof egress. I responded, “So, you’re saying ciate the gift of slowness and deliberation. this is a good thing,” to which he happily There’s a book I read a long time ago, responded, “Oh, you should celebrate!” titled The Discovery of Slowness, that I reSo, I did. For about a day. Then I started called for its powerful message about “the to feel really sorry for myself and had a importance of insisting, gently and stubcouple of days when I was reduced to tears bornly, on one’s own themes, the motifs of at the injustice of it all. It’s not easy for a one’s own life.” I got that in slowing down control freak like myself to stop managing we have the opportunity to experience things, but then something miraculous things more fully. By concentrating on the started to happen. Left with the unquestask at hand, we tionable inability become the task to “do things,” I at hand. All of began to let go— He then launched into an explanation of how my limited expolike apples from Steiner believed broken bones were the result sure to Buddhism the tree. of issues working their way through the astral came into play. I looked up and etheric body out into the physical body Healing takes Rudolph Steiner as a means of egress. I responded, “So, you’re time and will not on the Web and saying this is a good thing,” to which he happily b e r ushed , e s found a lecture pecially when it h e ’d g i v e n i n responded, “Oh, you should celebrate!” comes to the old, 1918 that had invisible wounds this to say: “We we carry within us, and my collarbone put can season ourselves to be watchful human me in touch with some of those as well. beings by paying heed to many things . . Without my usual laundry list of tasks to . we can discover that in reality no single distract me, I was able to devote time to the day passes without a miracle happening in more important work of being. In the end, our life. This last sentence can be turned, I chose to see my accident as a necessary, and we can also say: If on some day we find if not lucky, break. no miracle in our life, then we have merely Ten weeks have passed since my fall overlooked it. Try one evening to survey and my collarbone in now healed, but as your life and you will find in it some event the days begin their slow descent into fall, of slight or great or middling importance I’m hoping I can hold onto this lesson in of which you will be able to say: It came letting go that I fell upon at half-past ten into my life and took effect in a truly reone morning. R markable way.” He also had this to say: “This is something that can be a beginning, and of itself leads on and on, until finally we do not explore only into what it meant in our life when, for example, we wanted to go out, say, at half-past ten one morning and at the last moment somebody turned up and stopped us . . . we are annoyed at being stopped, but we do not enquire what might have happened if we had actually gone out as we had planned. W hat is it that has been changed?” Then, a dear friend lent me her dog-eared copy of My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell, which I highly recommend to anyone needing laughter as medicine, and I spent several days on the couch, lakelivingmaine.com

When in Windham . . .

continued from page 21 over the course of years, the parish has raised money to rebuild the church steeple and fix the roof. Two years ago, the organ/foundation project became the focus of the community meals. Along with private donations, $20,000 was raised. Natasha is tickled with the realization that the parishioners and greater community recognize just how special Bertha is and don’t want to lose her. They value restoring the organ for its own sake. “The early Congregational Church did not allow music in its services, believing it to be a distraction from worship,” says Pastor Vance Jordan. “Yet, there is something primal and eternal about blowing wind through tin and wood pipes to make ‘A Joyful Noise Unto the Lord.’ Bertha had been missed this summer. Under the gifted and loving hands of Natasha, she prepares us for worship, adds a final AMEN to our prayers and sends us out into God’s mission field with joyful music to fill our hearts. Our work will assure that Bertha will continue to be part of the ministry of the church for generations to come.” This past spring, Nick Orso directed parishioners as they dismantled Bertha, taking her apart piece by piece over the course of several days. Each piece was meticulously marked and placed in boxes. To accommodate the catwalk behind the organ, the frame had to be moved forward, which required lots of measuring for proper placement. And in August, in a similar manner she was restored to her former glory. The origin of “It takes a village” is uncertain, but at the South Bridgton Congregational Church the parishioners know the true meaning of this proverb. The recent refurbishment and reconstruction of their beloved Holbrook pipe organ and the firming up of the back end of the church foundation has been made possible because of the greater community. Bertha is now ready to let the world know that she still has a sense of her place—as far as her voice is concerned. R Trilogy for the End of Summer 1 Hydrangeas herald summer’s end: Faint blush on ivory globes foreshadows fall color while foliage reminds of spring’s virginal green; Complex construct for consciousness: a simple hydrangea bush holds past and future in present beauty. 2 No warning from the hummingbirds— for seemingly endless weeks thrumming at summer’s nectar, darting in and out of our awareness; one September morning—gone. 3 The last of the lilies unfurled today, unfolding daily until suddenly the spectacle is past; color hangs limply, dying on drying stalks. Life within without notice, like some lakeside neighbor, can pack up and move out. —Sharon Smith Abbott

26 lakelivingmaine.com

lakelivingmaine.com

• Superior Quality • Reliable Service • Certified in Erosion Control Practices

Commercial & Residential Services Sitework & Road Design/Construction 207.452-2157 www.khiellogging.com 28 lakelivingmaine.com

ANDY BUCK

Building Custom House and Barn Frames Since 1987 Providing High Quality Timberframes for General Contractors and for the Owner/Builder Life Member of the Timber Framers Guild

97 Kimball Corner Road Naples, Maine 04055 (207) 935-1123 CustomTimberFramer.com

lakelivingmaine.com

At K&W Aggregates at Frost Mountain in Brownfield, we have all of the gravel, stone, loam, and quarry products you need for your next lawn, driveway, or landscaping project.

Screened Loam Crushed Stone Crushed Gravels Sand Reclaimed Asphalt We deliver throughout the White Mountain foothills and lakes region of western Maine. Call for delivery and pricing.

207-452-8888

Kandwaggregates.com

30 lakelivingmaine.com

lakelivingmaine.com

Bridgton Urgent Care

Because bumps and bruises and ‘just not feeling so great’ can happen…even on vacation. Bridgton Urgent Care for minor emergencies. Bridgton Urgent Care for walk-in medical care. Including: Colds, flu-like symptoms, hay fever, minor allergies, bruises, bumps, skin lumps, bronchitis, coughs, cuts and lacerations, earache or ear pain, muscle aches, blisters, sinusitis, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, insect bites and stings, muscle aches, sore throat, sports injuries, sunburn, eye irritation, joint pain. It’s always best to call your doctor when you need medical care, but when your doctor isn’t available Bridgton Urgent Care is for walk in care today. Our team of healthcare professionals will care for you as quickly as possibly and follow up with a record to your regular provider.

Open Monday through Friday 5PM to 9PM Saturday 8AM to 1PM 207-647-6166 Located in the Specialty Clinic Wing of Bridgton Hospital, 10 Hospital Drive (off South HIgh Street)

Learn more about our new

Urgent Care at www.bridgtonhospital.org

For Major Emergencies please use the Bridgton Hospital Emergency Department. Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

32 lakelivingmaine.com