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Publisher's Note
PUBLISHER
David. S. Nealley
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ellen L. Spooner
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Ian J. Marquis
EDITORS
Catherine N. Zub Lois N. Nealley Mark D. Roth Clyde Tarr
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Katy Perry, David Nealley, Governor LePage, SId Low, Jane Margesson, and Representative Richard Campbell
Ian J. Marquis Victor Oboyski
SALES & DISTRIBUTION
Christine Parker Maren McGillicuddy George Holton Sam Rapaport Jim Gorham A. Peter Legendre Roseanne Bolduc Dale Overlock Fred Connell Shane Wilson Victor Oboyski
To our Senior Partners,
WRITERS
Please read the column Sage Lens, where Len Kaye shares with us the economic significance of our seniors and you will see why we refer to senior power as Maine’s greatest natural resource.
Paulette Oboyski Dr. Len Kaye Hunter Howe Jane Margesson Barbara Kent Lawrence Jane Margesson Brad Eden Fia Marquis Kitty Wheeler Sheila D. Grant Clyde Tarr
BUSINESS OFFICE
87 Hillside Avenue, Bangor, Maine 04401 Phone: (207) 299-5358
Maine Seniors Magazine is published in the State of Maine by Maine Seniors Magazine, L.L.C. in association with Maine Media Consulting, L.L.C. All information herein represents the views of individual writers and their understanding of the issues at hand, and may not represent the views of the Maine Seniors Magazine, its management, or editorial staff. For more information about Maine Seniors Magazine, visit www.meseniors.com.
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1 • MAINE SENIORS
I
n Maine, the second Saturday of each September is Maine Seniors Day! When we were all in high school as freshmen, sophomores or juniors, we knew that when we became seniors, that this was an accomplishment worthy of distinction. We also knew in the workplace that a senior partner was one who had earned some credentials, with years of experience, and with that, the commensurate wisdom and power. This is “senior power”.
At Maine Seniors Magazine we know the value of our seniors and celebrate it every day… although, we wanted a special day to honor the contributions of all of Maine’s seniors. This is why our staff worked with our legislature and Governor LePage to create Maine Seniors Day. This year, we have a special promotion in honor of Maine Seniors Day: the Maine Seniors Magazine Essay Contest. We encourage everyone to consider writing a 200 to 350 word essay about a senior worthy of being a Prime Mover in Maine Seniors Magazine. Do you have a favorite grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent friend, or co-worker who is senior in your life, whom you believe should be considered a “Prime Mover”?Please share with us a story about an inspirational senior, who exemplifies what it truly means to be “senior partner”.
MSM will contact the folks with the top 3 essays for inclusion in future issues of Maine Seniors Magazine. Plus, each entry will receive a free subscription to the magazine, for a senior of their choice. A big thank you to all of our Senior Partners!
—David S. Nealley, Publisher
Coming December 2016
rve
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Four Ways to be a Senior Partner!
58 New Independent Living Apartments
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That’s why residents love The Park Danforth! Celebrate your special senior! Visit www.meseniors.com (or our Facebook page) and learn about our Senior Essay Contest. Enter and win a chance to see your favorite senior in the pages of Maine Seniors Magazine!
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www.parkdanforth.com SEPTEMBER 2016 • 2
MAINE SENIORS • Contributors
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
Brad Eden
Paulette Oboyski
Hunter Howe
Barbara Kent Lawrence
Dr. Lenard W. Kaye
Ian J. Marquis
Fia Marquis
Kitty Wheeler
LC Van Savage
Jane Margesson
Clyde Tarr
HUNTER HOWE Hunter’s Maine roots run deep. He has written
PAULETTE OBOYSKI Paulette retired early at 45 to
for the Cape Courier and penned a column called Senior Moments for the Senior News, a publication of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging.
a farm in Washington, Maine, and edited ten fundraising cookbooks for non profits in town and cocompiled the book, Washington, Maine People and Places, for the town’s bicentennial. She now lives in Brunswick with her husband.
DR. LENARD W. KAYE Dr. Kaye is the Director and Professor for the Center on Aging at the University of Maine. He has been in the forefront of promoting and planning elder issues at the state level.
IAN J. MARQUIS Ian is an artist, designer, writer, musician, and creative director. An avid creator, he has released 8 albums and singles of original music, (available on the web at ianmarquismusic. com). Born and raised in the state of Maine, he currently live in Portland with his wife, Fia, and their daughter, Lyric.
FIA MARQUIS Fia is a food writer, recipe creator, and member of the Maine food scene. A Maine native and mother of one, she lives in Portland with her husband—Maine Seniors Magazine Creative Director Ian Marquis.
BRAD EDEN Brad Eden is an artist, writer, and registered Maine Master Guide. He has lived in Maine for three decades, and is an avid outdoorsman and sportsman.
JANE MARGESSON Jane Margesson has worked for AARP for over 20 years in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and now Maine. Jane appears frequently on Maine’s television and radio news programs and is a public speaker on scam and fraud prevention. 3 • MAINE SENIORS
BARBARA KENT LAWRENCE Barbara is a teacher, published author, active community member, and longtime lover of Maine. In 2015, she and her partner, Bob, moved to Camden, where her brother has lived since 1977.
LC VAN SAVAGE Elsie (aka LC) Van Savage hosted three radio and two local TV shows. LC has written three books and currently writes for The Coastal Journal and has an on-line column with the New Maine Times called LC’s Take. She loves to paint at her home in mid-coast Maine.
KITTY WHEELER Kitty has been a freelance writer for 30 years. Her articles have appeared in Coastal Journal and Portland Press Herald. Kitty has four children and 10 grandchildren.
CLYDE TARR Clyde Tarr is a native of Maine, with roots in the state dating back to 1636. His writing has appeared in the Ellsworth America, Bangor Daily News, the Maine Sunday Telegram, Employment News, and Assisted Living Today. Clyde lives in Belfast with his wife of more than forty years, Paula.
Contributors • MAINE
FEATURED
SENIORS
Contributor
The Featured Contributor for this issue is Sheila Grant.
S
heila Grant had written a great story with super pictures for the Maine Seniors Magazine June 2012 issue on the late and great Vic Firth. Vic was the world’s largest drumstick manufacturer and Sheila captured the story behind the story. We are very pleased that she has found some time to re-join our talented team of contributors. Sheila is the editor/writer of two national economic development newsletters, the Downtown Idea Exchange and the Downtown Promotion Reporter. Her work has also appeared in The Boston
Globe; Game & Fish magazines covering New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio; Up North, North Country and Bangor Metro magazines; Bangor Daily News Special Sections; Northwoods Sporting Journal; The Piscataquis Observer; The Piscataquis Times; The Eastern Gazette; and at www.OneNewEngland.com. Sheila is the author of one book, 50 Great New England Family Vacations and her work has been recognized by the Maine Press Association and the New England Outdoor Writers Association. She has two children, a son and a daughter, both college students. She resides in Parkman, with her husband of 28 years, Gary. Please enjoy one of Sheila’s favorite foliage trips in Here, There and Everywhere and you will see why we are so pleased to have Sheila Grant back with our staff. MSM
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Maine Seniors magazine
dmclean@MaineSeniorGuide.com SEPTEMBER 2016 • 4
Page 61
SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE Page 21
1 Publisher's Note
BY DAVID S. NEALLEY
3 Contributors 7 Prime Mover: Thomas E. Pulkkinen
BY PAULETTE OBOYSKI
21 Prime Mover: Lin Lufkin
BY CLYDE TARR
27 Prime Mover: Cindy Beams
BY BARBARA KENT LAWRENCE
35 Prime Mover: Elliott Schwartz
BY LC VAN SAVAGE
43 Sage Lens: The Economics of Aging
BY DR. LEN KAYE
47 Health Treasures: What is LSVT?
GUEST ARTICLE
Page 7
51 Just Pondering: Treasure Hunting
BY WALDO CLARK
53 The MAINE Point: Helping Those in Need
BY JANE MARGESSON
57 Arts in Maine: Andreas von Huene
BY KITTY WHEELER
61 Here, There & Everywhere: Fall Foliage
BY SHEILA D. GRANT
67 A Trail Less Traveled: Getting Long in the
Tooth • BY BRAD EDEN
Page 35
69 Residential Review: Parker Ridge
GUEST ARTICLE
75 Food for Thought: Apples: Rediscovering a
Harvest Favorite • BY FIA MARQUIS
77 From the Porch: Hope and the Yellow Brick
Road • BY HUNTER HOWE
Page 75
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
Grand Master Pulkkinen in Full Regalia
7 • MAINE SENIORS
Thomas E. Pulkkinen • PRIME MOVER Farmington • Rumford • Presque Isle
Thomas
PULKKINEN BY PAULETTE OBOYSKI
Photos by Phillip Nowlan & Victor Oboyski
Thomas E. Pulkkinen (Tom) is the 98th Grand Master of Masons in Maine. He has been a Mason since 1989. His many life experiences: educational, professional, and Masonic, qualify him for this Grand Lodge position. He was elected in May 2016, and installed by his brother, George, who served as Grand Master of Maine in 1992-1994.
T
he Grand Master position is a full-time job. He is the leader of Maine Freemasonry, which will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2020, with 18,000 Masons and 185 Lodges. Over a 2-year period, the Grand Master will attend 48 district meetings, which covers the entire state, from Kittery to Fort Kent. Next year, he will travel to London to represent the Grand Lodge of Maine for the 300th Anniversary of the United Grand Lodge of England (1717 – 2017).
“As Grand Master, my biggest emphasis is to ensure that all the men joining Freemasonry today understand the meaning of our centuries-old rituals and symbolism; how these lessons might better us as men, husbands, fathers and members of society.” Pulkkinen continues, “Besides being a brotherhood of men from many walks of life, nationalities, religions, economic and educational backgrounds, we find value in Masonry in how we grow as individuals and as friends, and how we help thousands of people from across this state every year.“
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SEPTEMBER 2016 • 8
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen Brother George Presents Jewels to Brother Tom
Early life and Family
Pulkkinen was born in Lewiston, Maine on April 4, 1945 and was raised in Auburn for 18 years. He moved to Boston for college and remained there during his professional career. He bought a retirement home in East Boothbay 25 years ago and retired there in 2009. Freemasonry is a family affair within the Pulkkinen family. His father, Peter Emil Pulkkinen, who was a member of Tranquil Lodge #29 in Auburn, was born in Greenwood, Maine. Pulkkinen’s mother, Winona Estelle Davis was born in Lewiston, Maine. Pulkkinen has two siblings. His sister, Faye Tiffany, is the oldest and she is a member of the Eastern Star while her husband Bob, is a member of the Masonic Lodge in Alton, NH. Pulkkinen’s older brother, George, has been a Mason in Maine since 1962 and is a member of York Lodge #22, located in Kennebunk. Pulkkinen graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn, 9 • MAINE SENIORS
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Thomas E. Pulkkinen • PRIME MOVER
Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts and Stonier Graduate School of Banking in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston employed him for 40 years in a variety of analytical and managerial positions. Senior positions were in the Internal Audit function and in Bank Supervision and Regulation where he evaluated the safety and soundness of banks and insurance underwriters.
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You were there for us... we are here for you. Sharon Pulkkinen, Tom’s wife, says, “My basic thought about Tom is: I married a 19 year-old boy and I just admire the man he has grown to be. He has always been a worker from the day I met him. Whatever project he works on, he always gives it his everything – 100%. He was a Selectman for 9 years when we lived in West Newbury. He gave the town everything, including senior and family housing and the expansion of the library. When his career ended, he did not skip a beat; he jumped into Masonry with both feet.”
Past Junior Grand Warden C. Herbert Annis
Tom Pulkkinen states, “Sharon and I have celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary this June. Our daughter, Dr. Wendy Pulkkinen Loomis, has been a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle since completing her post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School. Our son Mark passed as a young boy.” George Pulkkinen is Tom’s older brother by six years. He presently serves on the Maine Mason Magazine Editorial Board. He declares, “Tom is an outstanding man and an outstanding brother. He has SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1 0
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
the ability to inspire men around him and his enthusiasm about everything is infectious. He sees the big and little picture and builds them into a grand picture.” George continued,“My brother and I are Scottish on my mother’s side. I belong to the Kilwinning Club, established in 1928, in Massachusetts. The original Kilwinning Lodge dates back to the 11th Century in Scotland. When my brother, Tom, was recently installed as Grand Master of Maine, 20 members of the Kilwinning Club, all in Scottish Tartans, came from Massachusetts and escorted Tom during his installation. All sang,“Auld Lang Syne” which was written by the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns, who was also a Mason.” Grand Master Tom Pulkkinen
Tom Pulkkinen re-counts when he first joined the Freemasons: “My Dad died in 1988, shortly after his 25th Masonic birthday. I decided at that time to become a Freemason, and joined the Lodge in Newburyport, Massachusetts where Auburn’s Edward
Little had served as Master for six years in the early 1800s. I immediately became involved in that Lodge and soon afterwards in the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, in areas such as, education, membership, leadership development, and held several leadership positions. When we retired to Maine, I became more active back here and held a variety of positions in Bay View Lodge and with Grand Lodge.” Mark Rustin, the current Deputy Grand Master of Maine, has been a Mason since 1985 and was Grand Secretary for 4 years. As Deputy Grand Master, he assists the Grand Master in implementing his agenda. The Deputy Grand Master is the presumptive next Grand Master. Rustin declares, “I’ve known Tom for 5 years. He is an individual who is defined by Freemasonry. For Tom, Freemasonry is his bliss. He has a great love not only of the philosophy of Freemasonry, but of the actions that craft accomplishes. He is as dedicated to his task as any person I have met.” Former Grand Master, James Ross, joined the Maine Masons at
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Thomas E. Pulkkinen • PRIME MOVER Deputy Grand Master Mark Rustin
Sharon and Tom Pulkkinen Former Grand Master Jim Ross
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1 2
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
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“Tom is a forward and a modern thinker. His views and ideas for
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age 21 and has been in the Masons for 27 years. He says, “Tom is a forward and a modern thinker. His views and ideas for Masonry are right along with the current needs of today’s society. He tries to align the goals of Masonry with the needs of today so that the men who make up the ranks of Masonry will know their place in life and will have the tools necessary that are provided to help them accomplish their personal and professional goals.” Bay View Lodge #196 is located in East Boothbay. Stuart Smith is the Master of the Lodge. He has known Tom for over 8 years and met him through the lodge. He states, “Tom is a Past Master of Bay View Lodge. It is an honor to have him as a member. He is also involved with many of the Appendant Masonic bodies of our organization. He is a very giving person, has a good heart and is always willing to help with programs – especially with youth. Tom initiated the Bikes for Books reading program in our lodge, which offers 40 to 60 bikes each year to the Boothbay peninsula schoolchildren as an incentive to read. Tom is the perfect person to be Grand Master because of his nature and all that he has given to the community and state.” 13 • MAINE SENIORS
Thomas E. Pulkkinen • PRIME MOVER
Annis Masonic Family Photo by Joseph Corrado
Maine Freemasonry is a Family Affair
T
here are many families whose members become Freemasons in Maine. C. Herbert Annis Jr. (Herb) became a Freemason in St. Paul’s Lodge #82 in 1958. He is also a member of Amity Lodge #6 and Island Lodge #89.
Herb related that,“In earlier years, before television and the Internet —when a man reached adulthood—he generally did two things; got married and became a Mason. These were rites of passage in those days. It was more than just a fraternal order. All the important people in town were Masons: selectmen, school principals, doctors, lawyers and many others. Being a Mason helped you get ahead. Quite often there were lodge meetings every week and, before today’s media outlets, that was how they found out the local news – by word of mouth at the meetings. The Masons were also insurance for many people – if a needy member was ill, the Lodge paid the medical bills, or if a member died and the family did not have the means to pay – the Lodge would pay for the burial.” Since the 1800’s there have been 73 Freemasons in Maine with the surname of Annis. Their total number of years in Freemasonry is 1,820. Here are the names of some of C. Herbert Annis Jr.’s Masonic relatives.
They are listed by name, their affiliated Masonic Lodge, when they became a member, and their relation to Herb. William Annis - Amity Lodge #6 (1823) -2X Great Uncle Thomas Annis – Amity Lodge #6 (1824) – 3X Great Uncle John Annis – Amity Lodge #6 (1824) – Great-Great Grandfather Samuel Annis – Amity Lodge #6 (1854) – 2X Great Uncle Cecil Herbert Annis Sr. – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1917) - Father Guy Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1920) – Uncle Sidney Annis – United Lodge #81 (1933) – Grandfather’s Cousin Walter L. Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1942) – Oldest Brother John H. Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1944) – 1st Cousin William H. Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1951) – Brother John Annis Jr. – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1960) – 1st Cousin (1X removed) James E. Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1964) – 1st Cousin (1X removed) Keryn Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (1976) - Nephew Matthew Annis – St. Paul’s lodge #82 (1986) - Son Robert B. Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (2010) – 5th Cousin Aaron Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (2015) - Great Nephew Zachery Annis – St. Paul’s Lodge #82 (2015) - Grandson
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1 4
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
In 2020, both the State of Maine and the Maine Freemasons will
celebrate their 200th birthday.
While Masons come from all walks of life, there have been hundreds of noteworthy Freemasons
—including past presidents.
Cabbage Island Clambake
Over 15 years ago, Bay View Lodge started the “Clambake at Cabbage Island” boat trip for Masonic brethren, their families and guests, to have a good time together. The Moore family privately owns Cabbage Island, located off the coast of Boothbay Harbor. Multiple generations of the Moore family run these quintessential Maine clambakes daily. They especially love the Masons. The menu is chock full of steamed lobsters, clams, corn, chowder, and more. It became obvious that a lot of people wanted to join in that activity, so the lodge opened it up as a fundraiser as well. About 185 people attend every year. People come from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Delaware. Ancient Free and Accepted Freemasons in Maine
In 1762, the Provincial Grand Master for North America (in Massachusetts) issued a Charter for a Masonic Lodge in Falmouth
Cabbage Island Clambake
(in what is now Portland). When Maine became an independent State in 1820, the Lodges, thirty-one in number (including two Lodges charted by Massachusetts Grand Master Paul Revere) formed the Grand Lodge of Maine. The Maine Lodges then elected Maine's first governor, Freemason William King, as the first Grand Master of Masons in Maine. In 2020, both the State of Maine and the Maine Freemasons will celebrate their 200th birthday. While Masons come from all walks of life, there have been hundreds of noteworthy Freemasons including past presidents, governors, U.S. and state senators, U.S. and state representatives, mayors, judges, leaders of business, and industry. Grand Lodge of Maine 2016
15 • MAINE SENIORS
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PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
Some of the more notable Maine Freemasons are:
• •
•
• •
Maine’s first Governor, William King Major General Joshua Chamberlain, a member of United Lodge #8 in Brunswick and a hero of the battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg Leon Leonwood Bean, a Past Master of Freeport Lodge #23 and founder of that great emporium we know as L.L.Bean Philanthropist, Harold Alfond, founder of Dexter Shoes Legendary Maine Black Bear baseball coach, John Winkin Jr.
The Grand Lodge of Maine’s website www.mainemason.org states, “Freemasonry is the world’s oldest and largest fraternity. It has no regard for differences in race, color, creed, religion or station in life. Using traditions and implements of antiquity, it seeks to inspire its members to live by the tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.”
GM Tom Pulkkinen and Brother Victor Oboyski
17 • MAINE SENIORS
Tom Pulkkinen declares, “The new brochure says it best: ‘Maine Freemasonry… enriching lives through education, charity and
Thomas E. Pulkkinen • PRIME MOVER
Grand Master with Kilwinning Club Members
spiritual growth.’ The key prerequisite of becoming a Mason is having a belief in a Supreme Being, and we bring together men of many religions. But when we speak of enriching lives, we extend our vision beyond our members, to the people in Maine, especially kids throughout our state. That is why so much of our energy and resources go to inspiring and helping kids.” The basic units in the Masonic organization are called “Blue Lodges” and that denotes lodges that confer the first three symbolic Masonic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason. Interestingly, there are still eight“Moon” lodges in the state, which hold meetings on, before or just after the full moon. This tradition dates back to a time when members traveled with horse and buggy and there were no streetlights. The full moon would light their way to the lodge. In order to become a Maine Freemason, the basic membership requirements are: • A man of good character • Age 18 or over • Maine resident for one year • Belief in a Supreme Being
Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation
The Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation, www. masoniccharitablefoundation.org, started in 1820, and incorporated in 1993 as a 501c3 nonprofit. It is the relief arm of the Grand Lodge. Between investments, bequests and fundraising the foundation board of trustees has built up the base upon which they work. They use dividends and interest to spend approximately ½ million dollars a year for charitable purposes across the State of Maine. Pulkkinen relates, “The Grand Master is not only the Chief Executive Officer of Grand Lodge business operations, but is also the President of the Masonic Charitable Foundation. Part of that is making sure that all of our resources – our people and our dollars – are being used in a way that complements the vision of helping people through education, charity and spiritual growth. In that regard, we have tried to refocus the Charitable Foundation to ensure that the resources are being spent in a way to help the local lodges be active in their communities.” SEPTEMBER 2016 • 1 8
PRIME MOVER • Thomas E. Pulkkinen
“Freemasonry doesn’t have a corner on virtuous living, but to me, being a Mason comes with an expectation that I, and all Masons, will live a just and upright life,
Happy
MAINE SENIORS DAY!
even when no one else is looking."
Celebrate your favorite senior by entering them in our Maine Seniors Day Essay Contest!
Various programs include: Masonic Bikes for Books, Youth Activities Matching Grants, Community Betterment Matching Grants, Masonic Relief Program, Maine’s Veteran’s Home Support, Masonic Library and Museum, and the Maine Masonic College.
Your senior could be featured as a Prime Mover in the pages of this magazine. Plus, win a free subscription to Maine Seniors!
More than $100,000 is spent each year to fund the Bikes for Books and Summer Literacy program in schools and libraries throughout Maine. Through this program, each year, students earn opportunities to receive one of around 2,500 new bikes and helmets for reading books. Maine Department of Education statistics show a marked rise in percentage of students who scored either “Proficient” or “Proficient with Distinction” in schools such as Madison Junior High School, which participated in the initial Bikes for Books program. Madison’s scores rose from 54.92% in 2009-10 to 78.77% in 2013-2014. Making a Positive Difference in People’s Lives
When you look at the history of Freemasonry, they have made a tremendous difference in society. Grand Master Tom Pulkkinen recaps, “Freemasonry doesn’t have a corner on virtuous living, but to me, being a Mason comes with an expectation that I, and all Masons, will live a just and upright life, even when no one else is looking. It’s about making a positive difference in people’s lives; going out of my way to help all people, not only Masons, any way I can. There are so many opportunities for Freemasons, for Mainers of all ages, to volunteer and make a difference in their communities and in the lives of others by doing all kinds of things. Just find something that you enjoy – and engage yourself in helping people. That’s what Freemasonry is all about.”
19 • MAINE SENIORS
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PRIME MOVER • Lin Lufkin
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21 • MAINE SENIORS
Lin Lufkin • PRIME MOVER
LIN LUFKIN He has travelled far and wide since his days in a two-room schoolhouse in Levant, but today Lin Lufkin is at home, he’s content, and he’s doing something he really enjoys: volunteering his days—as many as six of them every week—to Habitat for Humanity. Habitat’s mission “…brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.” For Lin, with his background in construction engineering, it’s a perfect match.
T
he popular belief is that former president Jimmy Carter established Habitat, but that’s not quite the case. Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, following their visit to a Christian-based
BY CLYDE TARR
community outside of Americus, Georgia. They were determined to develop a concept they named “partnership housing,” simple, decent, affordable houses for families in need, using volunteerism, donations, and no-interest loans. Former president Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, made their first connection to Habitat when they volunteered for a project in New York City, in 1984. Their subsequent dedication and commitment to the organization raised its visibility tremendously, and today, Habitat has had projects in North and South America, Europe and Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The organization, according to its web-site, has now helped more than 6.8 million people “…find strength, stability and independence through safe, decent and affordable shelter.”
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 2 2
Lin Lufkin
35 years of building Maine at Do you recognize any of his projects?
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Thanks Lin for your service to NOD - Keep on building!
1. All Souls Church 2. Buchanan Alumi House 3. Church of Universal Fellowship 4. Jackson Lab GRB 5. Herman High School 6. Bangor Public Library 7. Winterport Meeting House 8. Shaw House- Waterworks 9. Camden Library 10. Bangor YMCA- Aloupis Pool 11. Hammond Street Church 12. Merrill Merchants Bank 13. NESCOM- Husson 14. Bass Building 15. Jackson Lab NRB
Lin Lufkin • PRIME MOVER
Some of Lin's more notable non-Habitat projects: Peoples United Bank (Formerly Merrill/Merchants Bank, Bangor)
Shaw House (Bangor Waterworks) - Construction
Jackson Lab - Research Building Shell & Interiors
Bass Building - Design, Pipe Chase, Seal Raised Floor, Misc.T&M, Construction
Hermon High School
Winterport Meeting House - Renovations
Camden Public Library - Renovation
Bangor Museum - Renovation, Windows, Doors
Bangor Public Library (1997)
Dedham Congregational Church - Renovations
Jackson Lab - GRB Phase 1 & 2
Bangor International Airport - Domestic Terminal Expansion
YMCA Field House
Paul Bunyan Statue Repair
University of Maine Orono - Buchanan Alumni House
Holden Congregational Church - Steeple
St. John's - Bell Tower & Frame
Hammond Street Congregational Church - Steeple
Bangor Theological Semimary - Tower & Whitaker Hall
John Bapst - Dorm
University of Maine Orono - Eng. Building Foundations & Carpentry MMA - Propeller Memorial, Stairs & Patio
Maine Historic Preservation Awards
Penobscot Respiratory - Sleep Lab
Shaw House (Bangor Waterworks)
Bangor Daily News Renovations
Camden Public Library (also won the AGC Build America award and the ACM Build Maine award.)
NESCOM Addition All Souls Church - Addition
Winterport Union Meeting House
Lin Lufkin graduated from his little two-room schoolhouse, and later, from the University of Maine, with a degree in agricultural engineering. He signed up with the Army Corps of Engineers, and they furthered his education with a master’s in civil engineering. He worked on projects throughout this country and in Greenland in his 21 years with the Army. Along the way, he married Mabel— they’ve been together 58 years—and had four children, all grown now, with grandchildren and even one great-granddaughter, expanding the family.
A friend introduced Lin to Bangor’s Habitat affiliate, and asked for his help on an upcoming project. That was in 2001, and Lin’s been volunteering steadily for them ever since. The group has had numerous projects in Bangor, and Lin credits the city, saying, “They’ve been fantastic to work with, very helpful with permitting, inspections, and so on.” Lin serves as a sort of general project manager, coordinating scheduling for the various aspects of construction, assigning and teaching volunteers, and overseeing progress in the building. Observing him on a project in Bangor last
Hammond Street Congregational Church
Returning to Maine after his military service, Lin worked for Cianbro for a few years, then went on his own as a construction consultant, then hired on with Nickerson O’Day, where his first project was a complete re-model of the Penobscot County Jail. “That was a challenge,” he says, as all the prisoners were shuffled to one side of the building and housed there while they retrofitted the other side, then moved to the re-done side while they renovated the other. Down low or up high, if there is work to be done, Lin is there. SEPTEMBER 2016 • 2 4
PRIME MOVER • Lin Lufkin
year, this reporter can attest that he’s not above getting his hands dirty, either. He was regularly seen pounding nails, moving lumber, and touching up paint. Though most homes are built new, from scratch, the group recently wrapped up on its first rehab project, remodeling a home that had been donated. Lin feels there may be more such projects in the future, as Maine has an older housing stock, and, of course, in the more urban settings, there are fewer building lots available. The current project, though, is another new build on Ohio Street in Bangor; that one will run into the fall. Lynn Hempen, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor, says of Lin: “(He) is the hardest working, most competent, and most organized person I have ever met. That combination of qualities alone is remarkable. However, he’s also among the funniest, most genuine, and caring individuals I’ve ever known. His impact on Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor cannot be overstated: he has overseen all aspects of the last five Habitat homes built or renovated in Greater Bangor since 2010. Lin is the first person to arrive on a build site in the morning and
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Top: Lin the uplifting influence Middle: Lin with the campers from Camp Walt Whitman. Walt Whitman campers come back year after year. Bottom: Future home owners working with Lin
Lin Lufkin • PRIME MOVER
Lin measures up
the last to leave. In June, he will have completed two three-year terms on our board of directors, having served in several leadership positions including president. With the energy of someone half his age, he has trained hundreds of volunteers, facilitated tens of thousands of in-kind donations to each build from his personal and professional connections in the community, and, on the days when no other volunteers showed up to help, rolled up his sleeves to complete the task at hand on his own. He is passionate about the Habitat for Humanity model: giving the opportunity of home ownership to families who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Lin is a wonderful spokesperson for the organization, helping us to get the word out about what we do and how we do it. I am among the many people in our community who hold Lin Lufkin in highest regard. I consider myself very blessed to have the opportunity to work with him, learn from him, laugh with him, and count him among my friends.” From a humble two-room schoolhouse to working on largescale construction projects to building humble habitats for humanity, it seems very clear that Lin Lufkin has remained true to his roots. MSM
Lin with Habitat homeowner-to-be Michelle Kessler last week as he reviewed the house plans with her for the final time for her approval.
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PRIME MOVER • Cindy Beams
Cindy Beams at her show of photographs at the Camden Library for the Camden Conference, February 2016
Cindy BEAMS Cindy Beams radiates enthusiasm, energy and warmth like sunshine. Now she is focusing her talents and experience on a new and satisfying way of engaging with people.
T
hroughout her life, Cindy has cared about several things: connecting with people—particularly children, creating long-term relationships, traveling, expressing herself through the visual arts—especially textiles, creating new ventures and always learning. As a child, Cindy loved looking at historic and family photograph albums. She still does, but now she helps create
27 • MAINE SENIORS
BY BARBARA KENT LAWRENCE
them, not only for her own family, but for families around the world. She appreciates that being older gives her opportunity and “the glorious gift of time” to bring different elements of her life into focus and build on her lifelong passions. Cindy grew up in St. Louis and has worked at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, been a quilter, raised two daughters, and taught psychology as an adjunct professor. Her husband Fred taught at Groton School in Massachusetts, and Cindy served with him as a dorm parent, worked in admissions, and helped create a global service program. She also started her own business designing flowers, and was the co-founder of the well-respected and
Cindy Beams • PRIME MOVER
successful company Breaking the Barrier,“a global leader in print and digital language learning” (www.tobreak.com). Breaking the Barrier offers texts and online resources for teaching and learning French and Spanish and was the first language text accepted by Apple for the iPad. Cindy has always loved traveling, and visiting Spanish and French speaking countries around the world for her work with Breaking the Barrier reinforced the rewards of seeing new places and learning about diverse cultures. Fred and Cindy also did advance work for the global service program at Groton finding places “off the grid,” and became particularly interested in Peru and countries in East Africa. When she went on a school trip to Peru, Cindy began taking photographs for a blog for parents, and to chronicle the students’ experience. Everyone liked what she was doing, and encouraged her to keep taking photographs. So what, you may ask, does that have to do with Maine? The answer is unlikely. Though as a child Cindy loved looking at photographs
of her mother at Camp Mudjekeewis on Kezar Lake, and later was a camper there herself, Mr. Rogers of television fame made the connection. He was the speaker at Cindy and Fred’s daughter’s graduation from Middlebury College and when he told his audience of graduates that they needed to hone their crafts, Cindy knew he was speaking to her as well. She realized that she needed to learn how to take photographs, not just point, shoot, and hope. When she was fifty-eight, Cindy enrolled in a course taught by Jan Rosenbaum at Maine Media Workshops + College in Rockport: Introduction to Digital Photography. It changed her life.“Jan made me understand that I can do this well. I can focus, and create, bringing together everything I care about.” Discovering a new interest, working hard to get good at it, and practicing her art affords Cindy a “way to really use my time well, to use my time thoughtfully, and to braid all my interests together. Photography lets me explore my long-time love of visual design and deepen relationships. I can even connect with people I don’t know through the visual language we all speak.”
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Fred and Cindy planned to retire to New York City, but working with Jan, and then master teacher/photographers Brendan Bullock and Brenton Hamilton at Maine Media Workshop + College made Cindy want to move to Maine so she could continue to study with them. Since moving to Camden, she has done just that. “Brendan and Brenton are about half my age, but I think of them as my mentors.” As she discovered the art and craft of photography, Cindy and Fred also deepened their relationship with Orkeeswa Secondary School (www.ieftz.org) in Tanzania. With Groton students they have visited Orkeeswa School many times and Fred and Cindy have become trusted friends and colleagues of people there. Each time they visit, Cindy returns with images she enlarged and laminated and gives them to the school to raise money and awareness of people in the community. It is deeply satisfying work. Cindy says, “My golden moment comes when I see my photographs on the walls at the school and especially in someone’s boma (house).” Cindy is now “hired” by Non-Governmental Agencies, including the World Leadership School (WLS), to document and help them
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Beams in her studio. Photo courtesy of Maine Media Workship + College
29 • MAINE SENIORS
Cindy Beams • PRIME MOVER
showcase their work, and then to market their programs using her photographs. Her expenses are paid, but she donates her time and the resulting photographs. WLS, for example, identifies sites of international programs and works in many rural places worldwide. Cindy recently photographed their TabLab program, which provides tablets to rural students in places that lack electricity and connection to the Internet. Doing that is a lot less costly and more effective than providing school facilities and textbooks. Ross Wehner, Founder of World Leadership Schools and TabLab says, “We are huge fans of Cindy. Cindy provided many of the original ideas, creative approaches and the energy we needed to get through the start-up phase.” You can find her photographs of the TabLab program in Tanzania, including one of Fred teaching, at tablabeducation.org. Cindy has also shared her talent with local groups including the 2016 Camden Conference: The New Africa. Peter Imber, Chairman of the Camden Conference, is grateful for her talent and generosity.“Cindy volunteered to be our event photographer at the
The Problem Two hundred fifty million kids around the world cannot read, write or do basic math. Most of these kids are in rural schools that lack electricity and internet. Building computer labs in schools and training large numbers of teachers is very expensive. Large-scale technology initiatives for rural schools have failed because they do not provide long-term teacher training and support, nor do they address the long-term costs of operating a computer lab. The Solution Schools enrolled in TabLab receive a mobile tablet lab, which needs neither electricity nor internet, but does provide a teacher trainer for two years. Our experience has shown that technology integration and teacher training is a gradual, long-term process. We adapt our strategies to suit the needs of the school, ensure that teachers and administrators are the principal agents of change, and use data to measure our impact. The Result Transformed Schools. Teachers start using technology for traditional learning and, over time, transition to student-centered approaches such as Project-Based Learning. During a 6-month pilot in Costa Rica, students showed gains in reading, writing and a 29 percent increase in the comprehension of complex concepts. Taken from tablabeducation.org/whats-tablab
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PRIME MOVER • Cindy Beams Top right: Maasai child receiving his photo Left: Phoebe with Mask in the Barn (original reference photo by Cindy Beams) Bottom right: The resulting cyanotype (by Cindy Beams)
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winter 2016 Camden Conference. Even more important, she put together a slide show presentation of her photographs that opened the conference and were also mounted as a gallery exhibition in the Picker room at the Camden Library during the month of February. We really appreciated it and I know her work was well received.” Now an accomplished professional photographer, Cindy continues to expand and deepen her art and skill by experimenting in her own darkroom and studio and attending workshops at Maine Media Workshops + College. For the past year, she has studied photographic history and its associated practices with Brenton Hamilton, which has reconnected Cindy to her early love of historic photographs. She is particularly drawn to cyanotypes. You may remember the delight you felt as a child when you exposed shapes on blue paper to the sun and proudly brought home the resulting photographs. What Cindy is able to do with this medium is astounding, and hard to imagine from our own experience. Cindy is working now on a new series of photographs of children creating cyanotypes that incorporate her love of textiles. She
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Now an accomplished professional photographer,
Cindy continues to expand and deepen her art and skill by experimenting in her own darkroom and studio and attending workshops at Maine Media Workshops + College.
For more information You can find out more about Maine Media Workshops and College in Rockland at their website: www.mainemedia.edu, and about teacher/photographers Brendan Bullock and Brenton Hamilton at their websites: www.brendanbullock.com and brentonhamiltonstudio.net.
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 3 2
PRIME MOVER • Cindy Beams
explains that as she gets older she doesn’t feel the need to travel as much, but she finds photography inspires in her a continuing conversation with the images. Her photographs allow her to deepen not only her long-term relationships with other people, but with her own history, and to connect the images from the outer world with the ones in her mind and heart. Cindy looks forward, however, to a trip to Cuba where she will be documenting that rapidly changing society.
Maasai men holding photos
Cindy's work and experience since moving to Maine remind us that it’s never too late to learn new tricks and that giving is getting.
33 • MAINE SENIORS
Her work and experience since moving to Maine remind us that it’s never too late to learn new tricks and that giving is getting. It is also a reminder that seniors in Maine may have more opportunities to forge new relationships, learn new skills, and serve in new ways than in the urban places many left because the scale is smaller here. Here and now we can have more time to know each other and ourselves. Focusing on what you love, and drawing from a lifetime of experience can lead to a wonderful and meaningful life after work. The result? Cindy beams, and so do the people on whom she shines. MSM
Cindy Beams • PRIME MOVER
Cindy Beams with Orkeeswa Student Kesuma Ngare. Kesuma attended Groton School for one Semester.
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The mask and photograph on the far left behind her is the one she turned into the cyanotype to follow. SEPTEMBER 2016 • 3 4
PRIME MOVER • Elliott Schwartz
Elliott SCHWARTZ BY LC VAN SAVAGE
Today when we hear the words “Piano Man” we might think of Billy Joel, but those of us who live around these parts know it’s really someone else, a self-effacing man of music for whom others use the titles Maestro or Professor. Elliott Schwartz might answer to “Composer”—a perfect fit, considering the many musical works he’s given the world. But he really prefers to be addressed as “Elliott.”
E
lliott Schwartz was born on January 19, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York—the last day of Capricorn, and also the birthdays of Edgar Allen Poe, Paul Cezanne, Robert E. Lee, and Dolly Parton. On his father’s side, there are strong ties to Maine. As Elliott remarks,“my father was born in Toronto, but he grew up in Portland, attended Portland High, and graduated from 35 • MAINE SENIORS
the University of Maine at Orono. He then went on to Tufts Medical School, and opened a medical practice in Portland. He eventually resettled to Brooklyn NY, having been kidnapped by my mother.” Elliott’s mother, raised in Hartford, Connecticut, moved with her family to Brooklyn. In 1929, she visited Portland, Maine, and was introduced to a young doctor who promptly fell in love with her, so much so that within a week after meeting, they eloped— to Lewiston. “They told no one about the elopement and I only discovered the story by reading my father’s diary after he died. Furthermore, when I told my mother I knew about the elopement, she actually denied it. But eventually they had a formal wedding in 1929 and I came along in 1936.” “They were both very musical so I came by my abilities easily through them. My mother, a teacher at PS 206 in Brooklyn, was quite a good pianist, and performed at all the school’s assemblies,
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PRIME MOVER • Elliott Schwartz
Elliott speaking to a seminar (composition students) at the Bowdoin International Music Festival
while my father played the violin in the University of Maine orchestra (sitting alongside Rudy Vallee, as he recalls). Even so, they did wonder about my intense passion for music, probably because they hoped I’d become a physician like my father and his two brothers.” Elliott was considered something of a prodigy because he was picking out tunes on the family piano when he was 5 years old; he remembers his parents being amazed, but also encouraging. There were many recordings of music in the Schwartz household, almost all of them classical. “I never remember not loving classical music,” he says. “It was the most important part of my life. If tiny kids can have musical passions, then for certain, I did. Was I a genius? Well my parents thought I was, and they told me so.” “At around age 6, I began serious piano study. My first teacher was a Russian émigré who taught piano, violin and cello at his studio in Brighton Beach. He was a fine violinist—in Russia he had taught the famous violinist Nathan Milstein—and I learned to play piano by accompanying him as he played the violin.” “I remember a party for my 9th birthday in 1945. A relative who owned a record-making machine put the events on disk, and what 37 • MAINE SENIORS
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Elliott Schwartz • PRIME MOVER
I remember most about the recording is that I had a high boyish voice, a thick Brooklyn accent, and played some of my compositions on the piano. They were actually pretty good.” “When I was about to start high school, I began working with a new teacher, who gave her students individual piano lessons, plus a group class where we studied theory and composition. At our recitals, we played not only standard classical pieces, but also our own compositions.” In 1953, Elliott graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School (located in Brighton Beach) and from there went to Columbia, graduating in 1957. Other ALHS grads included playwright Arthur Miller (“Death of a Salesman”) Neil Sedaka, and actor Lou Gossett. (Lou and Elliott acted in high school plays together.) In his last years of high school and first year of college, Elliott studied piano privately with Juilliard faculty pianist Alton Jones. “Knowing of my interest in composing, he made me aware of angular, dissonant ‘modern’ music and also introduced me to his
Juilliard faculty composer friends. Then during my grad school years, I studied at Columbia with Thomas Richner, a Mozart specialist, who wrote a book about the Mozart piano sonatas and gave a Mozart piano recital at Town Hall in NYC every year.” It was about this time that Elliott met his future wife Dorothy (known to all as Deedee).“I first dated her in the summer of 1957,” he recalls.“We vaguely knew each other because we’d both gone to Lincoln High School—I a BMOC senior and she a lowly freshman. We had attended meetings of the same school clubs together, and she’d also seen me acting in school plays. Her mother met me in my father’s medical waiting room and actually fixed us up. Our first date was a Dodger baseball doubleheader at Ebbets Field, but Deedee and I left after the first game and went to Prospect Park. There we talked endlessly about her art and my music.” She was a very serious, talented artist, took weekend painting lessons at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) while in high school, and continued her art studies at Smith College, where she worked with the great printmaker Leonard Baskin.
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PRIME MOVER • Elliott Schwartz
“Three years after that first date, in 1960, we were married in New York.” Elliott began teaching at UMass/Amherst.” During his four years there he taught theory, piano, music appreciation, and composition. Deedee taught art at Amherst High School and was becoming a well-known artist, with gallery exhibitions in Washington D.C. and New York City. In 1964, Elliott was appointed to a faculty position at Bowdoin College; he and Deedee arrived in Brunswick in the summer of that year.“This was very exciting for me, since Bowdoin had figured prominently in my childhood memories of Maine.” (The Schwartz family had come to Portland every year to visit relatives, and one of Elliott’s uncles was a Bowdoin grad of 1930s vintage.) Elliott recalls, “There was a music crisis during that spring of our arrival, because the star performers of the college’s annual summer concert series were getting divorced, leaving the area potentially with no summer classical music programs. As luck would have it, at an after-graduation party for the class of ’64, Bowdoin department chair Robert Beckwith met violinist Lewis Kaplan, then teaching at Juilliard. Bob told him how he’d begun searching the country for a performing ensemble to anchor the summer series, and Lewis immediately said, ‘Not to worry. I’ll do it. Give me a week.’” As a result of that meeting, a new concert series—including a school
Elliott with his wife Deedee
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Elliott Schwartz • PRIME MOVER
Elliott and Deedee with an ensemble of Bowdoin students after performing in NYC.
for young performers—was created. It was named the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, with Beckwith and Kaplan as co-directors.
PROUDLY CARRYING
“I was asked to play the organ at the college’s opening convocation that fall of 1964, my first official task as a new faculty member. A bit challenging because I’m a pianist, not an organist, but I felt I could pull it off as long as I didn’t have to play the foot pedals. (And best of all, I didn’t have to march.) But I was stymied when I saw the word ‘Doxology’ on the program—so I simply sat there,
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Elliott receiving an honorary doctorate from USM.
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SEPTEMBER 2016 • 4 0
PRIME MOVER • Elliott Schwartz
clueless, not realizing I was supposed to play it. I don’t think anyone realized a Jew would be that ignorant of church practice. Well, I finally discovered that a copy of the Doxology was pasted into the back cover of my hymnal. Phew! “When I got home, Deedee asked me how my day had gone. I told her the story, and she actually sang the Doxology for me. She’d been in the Smith College choir and had learned it there.” When the Senior Center was opened in 1964 there was a gala celebration, which included a newly commissioned chamber piece by composer Ross Lee Finney. Bob Beckwith, Finney and Elliott met after the concert, and decided that it would be wonderful if Bowdoin continued to commission pieces, have them performed by Lewis Kaplan’s ensemble, and publish them under the imprint of a newly created Bowdoin College Music Press. All of those dreams were actually realized, and the project ran for more than 20 years. Early in Elliott’s Bowdoin career, he taught a seminar at the Senior Center, (in the building which is now called Coles Tower). The
focus was avant-garde music and the course was called “Music in the Age of Zak,” designed to explore the fine line between music and noise.“At the end of the course,” Elliott recalls,“we held a minifestival, featuring guest performers of experimental music. For the festival’s grand finale, I created a piece designed for the elevator of the 16-story Senior Center. Performers were stationed in the vestibules outside the elevator on every floor, with the audience riding up and down. The entire piece lasted an hour, with each audience group taking a three-minute ride. CBS News covered the performance, and the Otis Elevator Journal wrote about it, and so we felt we had arrived." The following year, 1967, Elliott and Deedee made the first of many trips abroad, traveling to London with their one-year old daughter Nina on an exchange with the English composer Richard Arnell. In that capacity, Elliott taught at Trinity College of Music, located near Wigmore Hall. And it was in London where Deedee ran into her old Smith College friend and fellow artist Pat Henderson. She had married her former Cambridge professor, the renowned Rubens scholar Michael Jaffe. For Deedee, with her great interest in the visual arts, this was a joyful and serendipitous meeting. As Elliott recalls, “we went back to London in 1969 staying at the Jaffe family’s home, and continued going to London many times over the years. I had also become a regular visitor to the Netherlands, where my orchestra piece ‘Island’ won 2nd prize at the 1970 Dutch Gaudeamus Festival. Deedee and I returned to the festival a few more times in the 1980s and 90s.” “Our son Jonathan was born in 1970, and in 1971—1972 (a sabbatical year) we all again lived in London, and began to spend more time in Cambridge, eventually leading to a one-semester visiting fellowship at Cambridge University in 1993. I held five such fellowships between 1993 and 2012.” Deedee thrived in Cambridge, conducting research at many museums, especially the Fitzwilliam, and creating her own art. Michael Jaffe had become Director of the Fitzwilliam. He and Pat lived in a small wing off the museum, which was very cool— like living above the deli in New York. In many ways Cambridge became our second home. Elliott has traveled abroad to many other foreign countries— virtually all of Europe, plus Iceland, Hong Kong and Japan—as
41 • MAINE SENIORS
Elliott Schwartz • PRIME MOVER
Elliott at Cambridge University
guest composer/guest professor. Memories of Italy stand out in particular, as in 1980 and 1989 he had fellowships to the Rockefeller Foundation’s Villa Serbelloni. A similar fellowship, this time in America, took place during his sabbatical 1978-79 year, when he was in residence at the University of California (San Diego) Center for Music Experiment. He’s been equally active within Maine, as guest composer at the Bar Harbor Fest, Snow Pond Fest and Portland Chamber Music Festival. His music has been performed by the Portland Symphony and Portland String Quartet, and in 2009, he received an honorary doctorate from University of Southern Maine (USM). He also spent ten years as music critic (and dining critic) of the Maine Times. After the family’s 1979 return to Brunswick, Deedee was offered a position with the Maine Humanities Council (MHC); this eventually led to her becoming director. Under her leadership, the MHC organized a number of important conferences and won many national awards. She also continued her career as a practicing artist, presenting solo one-woman shows at museums and galleries in Portland and elsewhere. Since Elliott’s 80th birthday in January 2016, many concerts have
been held in his honor, including a full evening at Bowdoin and the Portland Conservatory’s Back Cove Festival, where 30 of his friends composed one minute pieces in his honor. There will be a concert of his music in September at New York’s Symphony Space, and the November premiere of a new quartet in London. Elliott was recently diagnosed with cancer. He is accepting of this, keeps cheerful, full of good humor, and gives, organizes and attends many concerts at Thornton Oaks where he currently resides in comfort, surrounded by a great many friends, and music, always music. “My teaching career at Bowdoin has been wonderful. I loved working with the students, and I’m still in touch with lots of them even decades later. Many of them have gone on to successful careers. “Imagine,” Elliott says, “loving what you do and getting to do it for one’s entire life. I had 43 years teaching at Bowdoin College, and it’s been all good.” Always learning, always open to new sounds, this beloved composer and pianist Elliott Schwartz hears music wherever he goes; what he hears he knows, what he knows he shares with the world, and the world thanks him. MSM SEPTEMBER 2016 • 4 2
AintoBRIEF EXPLORATION the Economics of Aging
BY DR. LEN KAYE & DAVID WIHRY
Reading articles about the economic future of Maine and the United States in the papers, you may get the sense that older adults are simply a drain on the economic health of the state and nation.
H
owever, the reality of the economic role of older adults is much more complex than the ominous image of the “silver tsunami” that has been adopted as a metaphor for our aging society.
There is, of course, some truth to concerns about the growing older adult population and its role in the economy. An increase in the “dependency ratio,” the ratio of those not in the labor force to those in the labor force, is destined to increase the burden on a smaller working age population to support health care, social insurance, and other benefits which tend to be used to a greater extent by older adults. Additionally, older adults are considered less economically productive than younger age cohorts, and thus an older population may mean slower GDP growth. 43 • MAINE SENIORS
Often lost in the discussion of the economic status of older adults is the changing role of the older worker. One of the assumptions behind a projected slowing of economic growth is that at 65, older adults become dependent - meaning not working. However, there has been a documented increase in older adult workforce participation in the last few decades. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that for those between 65 and 74, 20.4% were working in 2002 and by 2012, the percentage had grown to 26.8%. An article in the Economist notes that increased workforce participation can have a blunting effect on the threat of the silver tsunami. Another thing the United States has going for it as a developed nation is an educated workforce. Those who are more educated tend to work longer and are also more productive.
ECONOMIC VALUE AT A GLANCE The 50 plus age group controls 80% of the assets and 70% of disposable income. Seniors are staying in the work force longer. Almost 1/3 of those between the age of 65 and 74 are staying in the workforce, resulting in even greater economic power. Approximately 30% of adults 65 years and over volunteer their time on a regular basis in Maine. Even a larger proportion of baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) give back to their communities in the state (36%) as volunteers. If you place a value of only $10 per hour for this service, the aggregate of the senior volunteer hours in Maine is in the millions of dollars. Plus, the 50 plus age group are the major philanthropists in Maine.
In addition to being workers, older adults are consumers. Oxford Economics recently produced a report for AARP on what is called the “longevity economy” which has some striking numbers about the consumption patterns of older adults and the economy that has grown to satisfy their needs. This longevity economy is defined in the report as “the sum of all economic activity serving the needs of Americans over 50 and including both the products and services they purchase directly and the further economic activity this spending generates.” This longevity economy is massive. Oxford Economics reports that older adults spend $4.6 trillion dollars every year on goods and services. Including the secondary effects of this spending in the economy, this number rises to $7.1 trillion dollars (46% of the US Gross Domestic Product!). Tax revenue generated by the longevity economy is significant as well - $987 billion dollars at the federal level and $761 billion at the state level. Also noted in the report is that the 50+ population accounts for 80% of the aggregate net worth in the United States.
The Booming “Longevity Economy” $4.6 trillion
How much older adults spend annually
The natural choice in retirement living
$7.1 trillion or 46% of the US GNP The combined primary and secondary effects of older adult spending
To understand where older Americans spend their money, these U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pie charts are revealing. You can see that the largest proportion of household spending is for housing. As Americans grow older, larger proportions of money is spent on housing and healthcare and lesser amounts on transportation and contributions to retirement accounts.
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What shouldn’t be lost in this discussion is that although significant wealth resides with older adults in the United States, economic insecurity is the reality for too many of them. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) reports that among the 60+ population in the United States, there are 25 million individuals who are economically insecure (defined as being below 250% of the federal poverty level). For many of these individuals, the role SEPTEMBER 2016 • 4 4
Maine’s
of Social Security is critical. NCOA reports that for single recipients of Social Security who are 65 and older, Social Security makes up 90% of the income for nearly half of these individuals.
Hit Music Station
So what is the bottom line in terms of the economic role of older adults? Well, it’s complicated. There is no doubt that the 50+ population in the United States provides significant value economically as you can see from the longevity economy statistics. On the other hand, the challenges signified by the dependency ratio are real. Although sometimes referred to as the “dismal science”, economics recognizes the ability of people to adapt to economic circumstances, even if that adaptation may be challenging. Smart public policy and business decisions can help. We need to ensure Social Security and Medicare’s viability to support the economically insecure. Since the labor force participation rate for those 65-74 is expected to grow to approximately 33% by 2022, it is in everybody’s best interests for businesses to adapt to the needs of an aging workforce and harness the value these workers provide through strategies such as tailored benefits, flexible scheduling, and training that fits the needs and learning styles of older adults. Successful efforts will mean we are able to tap an enormous but as yet untapped treasure trove of skills and wisdom that can only serve to strengthen our nation’s economy into the future. MSM
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What is LSVT? At Bridgton Hospital, a unique therapy offers improved voice control, greater range of movement, and a “better feeling in life” for those with Parkinson’s disease.
W
"
e always say we’re looking for the ‘Aha!’ moment, when patients no longer have to think about moving, but their bodies are naturally doing it,” says Kacey Ireland, a physical therapist at Hospital, in Bridgton, Maine. Ireland has been using a physical therapy technique called LSVT BIG since September 2015 to assist patients with limited mobility and motion.“The effects from it are fantastic,” she says. LSVT, or Lee Silverman Voice Treatment, was developed in 1987 as an approach to speech therapy for Lee Silverman, who struggled with communication due to Parkinson’s disease. After successful application of speech therapy—later called LSVT LOUD—the technique was applied to limb movement. The subsequent LSVT
47 • MAINE SENIORS
BIG program consists of exercises that help people with Parkinson’s disease or other neurological conditions increase limb and body movement, balance, and muscle speed. “It’s an intensive program. We ask a lot of our patients,” says Ireland, explaining that the LSVT programs consist of 16 onehour sessions administered over the course of four weeks. “We’re giving patients the tools and proving to them how exercise can impact their lives,” says Ireland, one of three therapists at Bridgton Hospital trained in LSVT approaches.
Pictured Left: Kacey Ireland (right) a physical therapist at Bridgton Hospital, performs LSVT exercises with Bryanne Clawson, an occupational therapist, and physical therapist Jeremy Nash.
Speech pathologist Sara Lewis has 17 years’ experience working with children and adults, and in the geriatric program, at Bridgton Hospital. Lewis is trained in LSVT LOUD and works to enhance her patients’ communication. The LSVT concept uses big movements to exaggerate muscular and neurological pathways that have become rigid and restricted. “It exaggerates oral muscle movements to make the voice louder and more understandable,” she explains. “People with Parkinson’s disease often tend to be very quiet and difficult to understand because of the disease's effect on the central nervous system and the body's motor skills.
“When people are more confident, feeling better about not having to repeat themselves so many times… they’re going to feel better in life.” —Sara Lewis, Bridgton Hospital speech pathologist
We do various articulation exercises, saying certain sounds, saying certain words and phrases, and working on projection.” Lewis is the most recent member of the Bridgton Hospital staff to get certified in the LSVT approaches. Good results, she says, often include“increased vocal volume, increased ability to be understood by loved ones and friends, and an increase in self-esteem. When SEPTEMBER 2016 • 4 8
“The best thing is when you hear the
patient’s family saying, ‘my husband actually kept up with me in the mall, instead of being five steps behind me.” —Kacey Ireland, Bridgton Hospital physical therapist
people are talking louder and more understandably, they find that they are not having to repeat themselves so many times. This often makes patients feel better in general," she says. John Ludwig is a Bridgton Hospital patient. “As a person living with Parkinson’s disease, I found the LSVT program at Bridgton Hospital to be very effective,” he says, “by showing me ways to improve not only my overall issues with body movement, but more importantly with dexterity, fine motor movement, and balance.” "We’re working towards mastering functional movement patterns through challenging and intensive repetition," explains Bryanne Clawson, a Bridgton Hospital occupational therapist trained in LSVT BIG. "Our goal is to assist in recalibrating the brain to automatically produce bigger and quicker movements rather than the slow and small movements," associated with Parkinson’s disease and similar disorders. LSVT has been studied for nearly 20 years and the LSVT LOUD treatment has been shown to improve both the voice and speech of individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Similarly, LSVT BIG has been shown to promote larger, fuller body movements and improve the ease of daily activities like getting out of bed and dressing. "Many of our patients come in and they’ve stopped dining out due to difficulty with managing their utensils or they cannot put on their jackets without assistance, etc.," says Clawson."At the end of the four weeks, they’ve improved their ability to dress themselves, participate in household chores, as well as feeling comfortable in a social environment, such as eating in a restaurant" The programs were designed for people with Parkinson’s disease, but could benefit “anybody who has any sort of movement disorder,” according to Ireland. “A lot of people have movement disorders secondary
to a neurological impairment... Many of our elderly patients would benefit from (LSVT) to increase quality and speed of movement.” MSM To discuss LSVT therapy options, call Bridgton Hospital therapy services at (207) 647-6145 or speak to your Bridgton Hospital primary care provider. Give MSM a call at 207-299-5358 to find out how you can tell your story to our readers in your very own Guest Article.
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Treasure
Hunting BY WALDO CLARK As summer fades away and September slips in, we begin to see those out-of-state license plates disappear beyond the York toll plaza.
M
ainers love to joke about tourists but we sure revel in what their dollars do for our State economy; and we sure embrace some of those smart folks who, in the autumn of their years, decide to return and retire here as residents. But with fewer tourists, I get my seat back in my favorite breakfast diner. And it means I get to connect with my past, stepping out and about searching for more booty for my house. Ah, the treasure hunt. You see, from Kittery to the northern reaches of Aroostook and Washington counties, antique shops and flea markets abound. We explore old crooked barns with their uneven wooden planks, browse dusty shops with their dark alcoves, and stroll the crowded aisles of outdoor flea markets, like the one in Searsport. Our emotions sizzle over the compelling lure of the Scoop, the Possibility, the Bargain, and the Deal. The ultimate looms, the Discovery. I find it interesting that much of the “stuff” is discarded items originally found in attics, basements, closets, and garages, gathering 51 • MAINE SENIORS
dust, passed from one generation to the next, a cultural changing of the times, kind of like a revolving Recycle Bin. Old pieces finding new life. We see, touch, and smell these old pieces: tools, Life and Look magazines, pots and pans, toys, comic books, pocket watches, multi-colored ceramic bowls, scales, chamber pots (gee whiz), and other odds and ends. As the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Seasoned treasure hunters employ successful strategies. They arrive early. They look for full parking lots that might indicate special stuff. They leave their fancy late-modeled Subaru’s out of sight of the dealers. They dress down. And, they’re mindful of a cartoon I spotted, “Buy now before everything gets older and more experienced.”
It reminds me of Norman Rockwell who said, “I’m the oldest antique in town.”
Grab it right quick—might be gone by the time you come back. Best I can do.
The haggling begins. Buyers, with a soft smile, lean forward, make direct eye contact, and ask in a calm, cordial voice, “Is this your best price?”
Old-fashion blather? Perhaps. Snide remarks? Not so. Just good fun.
The gauntlet tossed, dealers nod respectfully and respond in a variety of tactical ways: Can’t give it away. Got to make a livin’, you know. I’ll make you a good deal. It’s vintage. It’s an antique. It’s in mint condition. It’s a collectible. It’s timeless.
After the negotiations, the buyer thinks, “I made a great purchase.” The dealer thinks, “I made a great sale.” Everyone’s happy. Giggles and grins. Boffo! Yet, the age old debate rages on, what’s the definition of antique, what’s the definition of vintage? I suppose that devoted watchers of the popular PBS Antiques Roadshow know. For most of us, however, does it really matter that we’re not fluent in this specific language? After all, everything old and used and obsolete becomes worthless until its value is discovered. Ponder that. I’ll leave you with this tidbit,“An antique is anything old with class.” Sounds like a Maine Senior. Hey, that’s me! MSM
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SEPTEMBER 2016 • 5 2
A Chance Meeting
Kindles an Idea to Help Those in Need
BY JANE MARGESSON
On an early Saturday morning, Portland resident Delores Lanai was on her way to eat breakfast at a local restaurant chain.
A
s she pulled into one of the handicap parking spots, she was approached by a young man. Although her windows were up, she could hear him ask for money. She initially shook her head,“no.” When he asked again, she got out of the car.
“I didn’t want to give him cash,” she explained. “Instead, I offered to buy him breakfast.” The young gentleman ordered French toast and a side order of toast. “Perhaps not the healthiest of meals,” Lanai concedes, “but that’s a meal that will fill you up.” The waiter added the charge for the extra breakfast to her check. “It came to $3.99 for his breakfast, but my AARP discount brought it down to $2. That’s when I got an idea.” Lanai had heard about a program in New York City where certain restaurants allow patrons to add a dollar or two to their checks as a way to “pay it forward.” The 53 • MAINE SENIORS
additional funds are then collected and local residents in need can borrow against the money to get a bite to eat for free. “I started thinking that perhaps here in Maine, we could do something similar by donating what we save with our discount cards – wherever they are from – right back to restaurants willing to participate. Perhaps then people who are down on their luck can at least get a hot meal once in a while.” Lanai’s idea could certainly have merit. Many of us have discount cards and coupons that we use when frequenting our favorite places to eat. If we could work with local establishments to accept the discounts as donations, or if we redirect the money we save and donate it to local charities ourselves, many vulnerable Mainers could be helped. Lanai is no stranger to volunteering and working on behalf of others. A retired bookkeeper now in her seventies, she teaches others how to use accounting software and has volunteered for many years at rape crisis centers, first in Washington, D.C. and then in Maine after she moved here almost 30 years ago.
THE MAINE POINT
Bridgton Hospital Therapy Services
This year also marks the fourth annual Maine Seniors Day and we hope you will participate on Saturday, September 10th!
LSVT LOUD and LSVT BIG
Helping those with
It is estimated that more than a third of Maine’s residents are volunteers and it is well known that people 50+ volunteer more than any other age group. It is inspiring to hear stories like Lanai’s that showcase creative initiatives in action. As we do every September, AARP offices across the country participate in an annual Day of Service which began in response to the tragic events of 9/11. This year, our doors will close on September 12th for the whole day as staff and volunteers donate their time to local service. This year also marks the fourth annual Maine Seniors Day and we hope you will participate on Saturday, September 10th! Bring your best ideas to your own community and celebrate our older residents who give so much to the state of Maine every day. MSM
Parkinson’s disease
and other neurological conditions through cuttingedge physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT:
LSVT LOUD: The power to keep communicating
207-647-6145
LSVT BIG: The power to keep moving
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www.bridgtonhospital.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION
on each Global therapy visit: www.LSVTGlobal.com
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ARTS IN MAINE
Sculptor Andreas von Huene
Creating Vibrant Art for Public Works and Private Collections Andreas von Huene has life-long ties to midcoast Maine. He was born in Bath before he was transplanted to Boston as an infant.
A
fter his schooling, he returned to Maine, where his grandparents lived, and he constructed his own house in Arrowsic. No power tools were used! As he evolved with his sculpture, he built a studio adjacent to his house. Many of his tools and completed art works surround the building.
Von Huene is married to an artist, Kat, who helps design new ships for Bath Iron Works. They have a college-age son, Balthazar.
55 • MAINE SENIORS
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KITTY WHEELER
As a child, von Huene was immersed in art. His parents were musicians who made Renaissance and Baroque instruments. They performed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Docents gave their children tours of the museum galleries. “I loved the world of art; it all seemed magical to me,” comments Andreas. He earned two college degrees, a BS in Science and Mechanical Engineering from Wooster Polytechnic Institute and a Masters of Science in Engineering for Product Design from Stanford University. His first introduction to sculpture began when he worked with local Maine landscaper, Mark Jorgensen, in the 1980’s.“In moving bark mulch around shrubbery and plants with a rake, I became fascinated with the patterns and designs that the groundcover
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assumed.” Von Huene was fascinated with the vertical dimensions of the beds created by the movement of rake sculpting. Shortly thereafter, his artistic career started. Public art under the aegis of the Maine Arts Commission provided a launching pad for Andreas’ outdoor sculptures. Since 1991, he has won more than 30 competitions and created three-dimensional pieces made from stone or metal that are scattered around the state. Objects such as benches and fountains are counterbalanced with animal designs, especially birds. Maine’s Percent for Art Program has recognized von Huene’s talents as well. Government buildings and public projects receive funding for a work of art. Residents can enjoy these outdoor sculptures throughout the state. Cloud Roller, made from quartzite blue rock, sits in Viles Arboretum in Augusta. It is a kinetic sculpture in that the large disc moves when the wind wafts around it. The Penobscot Narrows Bridge in Bucksport has a granite bas-relief Maine State Seal on the observation deck. Von Huene created this seal as well.
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ARTS IN MAINE
Von Huene works with a variety of materials: bronze, granite, stainless
steel, structured steel, wood, and other stones, using techniques like "lost wax" and "sand casting". Granite Great Blue Heron
Several elementary schools and community colleges also boast of his public art. Mt. Ararat Middle School in Topsham has several stone benches and three vertical granite and polished metal abstracted figures arranged in a 60-foot ellipse. The sculptor notes, “The three figures express the enthusiasm for life that goes beyond the school doors.”
Granite bench, Patten Free Library
Southern Maine Community College in South Portland has an outdoor bench resembling a wave. It is made from granite, cedar, and stainless steel mesh. With Casco Bay’s waters lapping below the location of the bench, a student becomes part of the bay as she sits on Wave. Von Huene is aware that his outdoor pieces change when the sun moves across the sky. “Light and shadow have also become important factors for me to consider in my work.” Another example of von Huene’s public art is a granite short-eared owl sculpture piece which sits outside the Wells Elementary School.
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Maine’s midcoast area provides further opportunity to see his sculptures. Maine Maritime Museum in Bath has a replica of the massive schooner, Wyoming. Von Huene used structured steel to create this masterpiece, and it’s a living testimony to the ships that were built by Percy & Small on this spot. In the same town, a birdshaped granite bench dedicated to a longtime volunteer of Patten Free Library overlooks the Kennebec River. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay also has a large granite panel with a cutout doorway, Alexander’s Threshold. Von Huene works with a variety of materials: bronze, granite, stainless steel, structured steel, wood, and other stones. He uses the “lost wax” casting techniques with his bronzes pieces. At other times, he chooses “sand casting” in which hot material is poured into a mold made from sand. Community experts who specialize
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in these castings assist him in completing the projects. His studio has power tools, some of which spill outside. Saws, angle grinders, blades, and milling machines are needed to cut granite and other stone into smaller pieces and grind metals. Large mallets and sculpting knives are also part of his trade. It’s possible to visit von Huene’s studio; he will give you a tour and let you see some of his recent sculptures as well as those he is still working on. “Granite is my favorite medium because it is clean and it doesn’t move…usually…when I work on it,” he said. “The facile stone is a joy to work with.”
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Large outdoor sculptures are his trademark, and June LaCombe, a successful curator who displays these kinds of sculptures, has exhibited von Huene’s pieces in her shows. She is also a matchmaker with sculptors and patrons as she provides marketing and exposure. These arrangements have opened doors for von Huene to meet potential clients and sculpt pieces for them. He also uses galleries to share his smaller sculpture, most of which can be displayed indoors.
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Andreas von Huene and pink granite Great Horned Owl SEPTEMBER 2016 • 5 8
ARTS IN MAINE Wyoming, Maine Maritime Museum, Bath
is cleaned with a damp cloth. Outdoor pieces require other techniques. Bronze animals need to be waxed annually, and stone sculpture must be sealed. There is an active group of Maine sculptors.“I enjoy my colleagues. We share our work, help each other, and give critiques. And older sculptors are bolder when they make remarks,” comments von Huene. He also lets new sculptors use some of his own property to begin the creative process. As productive as von Huene is with creating and exhibiting his sculpture in Maine, he would like “to carry my talents, abilities, and teamwork with other local sculptors beyond our state.” This artist is always ready for an aesthetic muse to strike him; he is then off and running with another idea for a commission project or a client’s request. For the opportunity to see some of his sculptures and take a tour of his studio, give von Huene a call, 207-442-8145. You will be absorbed by his creativity. One day, you may even own one of his art pieces. MSM
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SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6 0
fall foliage —
—
The loop tour that offers more BY SHEILA D. GRANT
King Midas has nothing on the average Mainer once fall foliage season rolls around. We are surrounded by gold—along with brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow! My favorite fall foliage drive begins in Abbot, winding its way through Bingham, Jackman, Rockwood, Greenville, and Monson, before ending up back where I started.
T
here are several reasons to love this particular route. I try to go every year, even if the foliage (which peaks earlier here than in more southern parts of the state) is a bit past peak colors. There are multiple points on high from which to enjoy panoramic views, and good spots to pull over for photographs. Much of the route meanders along beautiful waterways. This loop also includes relatively easy access to two impressive waterfalls, a
historic site, some nice places to eat or enjoy a beverage, and plenty of places to “rest” – which is always handy during long car rides! From Route 15 in Abbot, turn left onto Route 16 at the four-way intersection. About 14 miles along this roadway, on the left, is the Kingsbury Pond Rest Area, a scenic place to picnic. Another 20 miles along Route 16 brings us into Bingham, but along the way we are treated to some very high hills offering scenic vistas of what’s to come. One especially high point in Mayfield Township offers views all the way over to Wyman Dam and beyond. Once we reach the intersection of Route 16 and Route 201 in Bingham, there are decisions to be made. If we’re up for a short hike, we turn left, and just a short way up the road, right across Bridge Street, and another right onto Pleasant Ridge Road. Less
Breathtaking vistas filled with brilliant colors await leaf peepers each fall.
61 • MAINE SENIORS
Cruise...
www.935trueoldies.com • www.facebook.com/Cruisin935
207-660-4888
• 295 KMD Plaza Unit 3, Waterville, ME 04901 than four miles up this road, on the right, is the Pleasant Ridge Transfer Station, a handy place to park, since the trailhead to Houston Brook Falls, also on the right, is just yards away. An easy to moderate 10-minute hike leads to the falls, which, depending on water levels can be raging and wetting the rocks below with slippery mist, or tame enough for visitors to wade in the pools below. It’s hard to believe these impressive falls, with powerful cascades of water tumbling 32-feet into the pools below, are barely off the roadway. If we’re feeling more hungry than hike-ish, we still turn left when we hit Route 201, but only for a short distance. Thompson’s Restaurant, on the right, is a family owned establishment offering a menu loaded with homemade items. The service is friendly and the prices are more than fair. My only regret is that after finishing lunch here, I’ve never had room for pie.
The road leading into Bingham offers views of the Wyman Dam in Moscow, and beyond.
Back on the road, we return to Route 201, turning left toward Moscow. The fall colors reflecting in the waters of Wyman Lake and the Kennebec River are breathtaking. Fortunately for drivers and photographers alike, there are scenic areas where we can pull SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6 2
The 32-foot Houston Brook Falls is just a 10-minute hike from the roadside. Photo by Mark Young
There are several scenic overlooks from which to enjoy the fall foliage along Wyman Lake and the Kennebec River.
There are multiple points on high from which to enjoy panoramic views. Much of the route meanders along beautiful waterways, and also includes relatively easy access to
two impressive waterfalls.
Fall Open House Saturday, September 24th • 1:00pm—3:00pm
off along the way, including a historic site denoting where Benedict Arnold and his troops crossed the river in 1775. When my husband is along, rather than our daughter (a fellow shutterbug) we like to stop by Northern Outdoors (about 18 miles from Bingham, on the right) to enjoy an adult beverage on the back deck, which features plenty of Adirondack chairs. Northern Outdoors is home to the Kennebec River Brewery, a taproom, and a restaurant. The last time I checked with co-founder Suzie Hockmeyer, folks who stop in for dinner or drinks were welcome to bring bathing suits and enjoy the pool and over-sized hot tub, or to play a game of bean bag toss.
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Leaving Northern Outdoors, we continue right on Route 201 for SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6 4
Be sure to stop at the Attean View Rest Area to take in panoramic views.
another six miles, arriving in The Forks. If there’s enough time and energy, we’ll detour right onto the Moxie Pond Road. About two miles down, the Moxie Falls Scenic Area on the left offers parking, and is adjacent to the Moxie Falls trailhead. A one-mile easy/ moderate stroll along this trail yields views of one of the largest waterfalls in New England. Moxie boasts a vertical drop of more than 90 feet into a deep pool at its base. Wooden platforms provide various vantage points from which to admire the falls. Once we’re back out on Route 201, there is a stop that we never skip. After passing Parlin Pond, to the right, we start eagerly anticipating our arrival at the Attean View Rest Area, also on the right. This site offers some of the most panoramic views along the entire loop. Next we head toward Jackman, where we turn right onto Routes 6/15. While moose can be found on any Maine roadway, the miles between here and Greenville can be especially “moosie” so we’re always alert to wildlife watching opportunities. This route takes us past Long Pond, Brassua Lake, and Moose River. In Rockwood, we take a left at the sign for Rockwood Village, and wind our way down to the public boat launch, which offers spectacular views of the 800-foot cliff face of Mount Kineo 65 • MAINE SENIORS
It’s always a great day, and I’m
always in a hurry to arrive home and upload all of my photos onto the computer so that I can enjoy all that gold. rising up out of Moosehead Lake, as well as Big and Little Spencer mountains off in the distance.
A short drive and a one-mile hike reveal Moxie, one of the tallest waterfalls in New England. Photo by Mark Young
From Rockwood, we head into Greenville, where there are many great places to eat and shop. While I’ve never driven the loop, hiked the falls, and taken a cruise on the steamship Katahdin out of Greenville all in one day, the views aboard this historic ship and the tales the captain tells along the way are worth the time – or a second trip to Greenville on another day. From Greenville, we take a right onto Routes 6/15 to travel the (still scenic, still moosie) 15 miles into Monson. If we didn’t happen to land in one of the other towns at dinner time, or if we’re in the mood to linger over a drink while enjoying a water view, we drop by the Lakeshore House on the shores of Lake Hebron. Spring Creek Bar-B-Q (open Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner) is another fun dining option. Monson is less than eight miles from Abbot, where we started our leaf peeping adventure. It’s always a great day, and I’m always in a hurry to arrive home and upload all of my photos onto the computer so that I can enjoy all that gold (and red and orange) any time I want! MSM
The 800-foot cliff face of Mount Kineo is an imposing view at any time of the year.
Moosehead Lake offers countless scenic vantage points from which to admire the fall colors
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6 6
HEALTHLess TREASURES A Trail Traveled
Getting Long in the Tooth BY BRAD EDEN
Annoying aches and pains are part of the aging process but that doesn’t mean you can’t be out there enjoying the great outdoors.
N
ot that long ago, I started to get mail from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). I hardly gave it a glance before tossing it out, since I couldn’t possibly be old enough to be receiving solicitations from them. And being self-employed for most of my working life the word “retirement” isn’t really part of my vocabulary. But, the reality is I am an aging outdoors person and AARP has the correct address. The gray in my beard, my deteriorating eyesight and all the annoying aches and pains remind me of that every day. I’d like to report I am proceeding through my mid-life years with grace and dignity but in fact, I am a bit discouraged. It takes extra work to continue to enjoy a vigorous outdoor lifestyle as we age. The question is how to deal with the challenges thrown in our way when our lives are well past half over. My close vision eyesight was the first thing to go. I can’t read a thing if it’s within an arm’s length. Luckily I can still read a sign at 100 yards and spot a deer a quarter mile away in the corner of a field. Like many of you, I started using cheap over the counter reading glasses, but kept getting headaches, until an eye exam revealed an astigmatism. So now I am burdened with prescription reading glasses. If I don’t have them perched on the bridge of my nose, I can’t tie a fly to a tippet or read the directions on a soup can. And if I leave them at home and get “turned around” in the woods, my 67 • MAINE SENIORS
compass and GPS are worthless. Don’t ask me why I know that. Another thing to go for us older outdoor folks is our feet. After keeping us upright for decades they get cranky and need to be pampered. I’ve become somewhat of a boot fetishist I suppose, and my closet would rival Imelda Marcos’ shoe collection. I am always on a quest to find the most comfortable, warmest, and truly waterproof boot, with comfort being the highest priority. After extensive field research I have concluded that there is no such thing. For one thing, all boots need to have the standard insole replaced with an aftermarket orthotic. I replace mine with running shoe style gel inserts and my feet thank me for it and carry me further up the mountain without too much complaint. For most of my life I could stay in respectable shape without any regimented exercise program or even watching my diet. Any extra pounds I put on during a long Maine winter would start to melt away during my outdoor pursuits starting in spring and concluding
A Trail Less Traveled
It takes extra work to continue to enjoy a vigorous outdoor lifestyle as we age. in winter. By Christmas I had often lost 10 pounds or more without Great service in many ways. consciously trying. Not anymore. I now have to make a concerted effort to hike and snowshoe year round to keep the pounds off. “For years we have trusted the Bar Harbor Financial Services Luckily I have two very active spaniels that demand a lot of exercise. team to manage our securities portfolio as well as our insurance Client: Stonewood Cottages Please Review needs. When we need something, a quick call always gets it So, my recommendation for weight loss is to get a dog. done. If anything ever happened to either 2016 of us, they would iMMeDiATeLY! Issue: September be one of the first calls we would make.” The biggest obstacle for the aging outdoors person is mental. Likechanges or approval Email Ad Rep: Christine Parker Stephen and Wendy Cole, Founders, S.W. Cole Engineering many other aspects of our lives we simply start to lose to theyour fire ad rep by 5 pm Date: Aug. 19, 2016 tomorrow. and the desire to get off our lounge chair. Because it hurts! But, the outdoors has brought too much joy to my life to just sit on the sidelines now that I’m a bit gimpy, that I need reading glasses, Ad Approved Ad Done www.bhbt.com • 1-800-479-9963 cushy boots, and can’t pound the brush or wade the rivers like I NOT A DEPOSIT NOT FDIC INSURED NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK Approved By: Processed by Production NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY MAY LOSE VALUE once could. I’ll just do it a bit slower and more carefully, and I won’t Date/Time: Approved By/Date: Bar Harbor Financial Services is a branch office of Infinex Investments, Inc., forget my glasses. MSM an independent registered broker-dealer offering securities and insurance products,
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Nearby Rockland offers a charming downtown with acclaimed restaurants, shops, galleries, museums, and theater. Spring through fall, the broad harbor bustles with historic schooners and pleasure boats. Throughout the year, ferries travel to Penobscot Bay’s storied islands. Whatever the season, there’s always something going on.
STONEWOOD ROAD, ROCKLAND, ME 04841 207-593-2530 WWW.STONEWOODCOTTAGES.COM SEPTEMBER 2016 • 6 8
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
THE WORLD COMES TO
Parker Ridge
Located along the jagged coastline in the mid-coast region of Maine sits a charming, picturesque town that has attracted a very diverse group of inhabitants from all over the world. This is Blue Hill.
F
irst settled in 1762 and incorporated as Blue Hill in 1789, the town became an escape for famous musicians from New York and Philadelphia in the 1900’s. Since then the area has continued to lure creative thinkers and artists looking to draw inspiration from the undeniable natural beauty of the area. The people coming to Blue Hill seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of major metropolitan areas are coming not only from other parts of the United States, but from all around the world. This assortment of different backgrounds is perfectly illustrated in the community at Parker Ridge. A pleasant and welcoming retirement community, Parker Ridge is ideally situated in Blue Hill on 28 beautiful
69 • MAINE SENIORS
acres, surrounded by woods and walking trails and overlooking the breathtaking Blue Hill Bay. With a diverse offering of accommodations that includes independent living apartments, assisted living suites and retirement cottages, Parker Ridge has attracted people from all over the world. Offering this variety of living options and the undeniable lure of the Blue Hill area, it is no wonder why people come here to retire. We will introduce our readers to seven of the current residents from various countries. was born and spent her childhood in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The youngest of three children, Barbara and her two older brothers lived in a country setting. She loved riding her dapple gray pony and often rode with friends. Both of her brothers became members of the Royal Air Force Barbara Phillips
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
A pleasant and welcoming retirement community, Parker Ridge is ideally situated in Blue Hill
on 28 beautiful acres, surrounded by woods and walking trails and overlooking the breathtaking Blue Hill Bay. during WW ll and one was shot down and survived while the other was shot down and killed in action. This was an especially sad time for the family. Barbara always had a strong ambition to work overseas. After college she worked for the American Embassy and later transferred to Casablanca to work for the American Air Force. She met her first husband in Morocco. He was French and worked as a civilian on the same base. After emigrating to the United States, Barbara went to work for British Airways in Washington, DC, where her daughter, Dominique, was born. Barbara loved the life Washington had to offer and was able to travel while working for the airline. Barbara's second husband was a physicist who taught at Rice University in Texas which meant relocating to Houston. They spent time in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Barbara developed a wonderful talent for oil painting and some of her beautiful work is displayed in her apartment here at Parker Ridge. The fact that Barbara became a resident in the community is due to the efforts of her daughter, Dominique, and her husband who had come to Blue Hill the previous year.
Barbara Phillips
Cliff Mathews
Cliff Mathews was born in Totton, Hampshire, England. Cliff
was the eldest of four children from a conventional English family. When Cliff was just twelve years old, he and his two younger sisters were sent to live in the United States during the blitz when aircraft factories near his home were put on the bomb target by German forces. Cliff and the girls were relocated to Glendale, Ohio where they led a fortunate life with their foster family. The wealthy family offered them a lifestyle they never dreamed existed. After the war Cliff and his sisters returned to England where he SEPTEMBER 2016 • 7 0
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW Hertha Owen
attended Portsmouth College, but was later drafted to the British Army for three years. In 1949 Cliff was determined to return to the United States and travelled by steamship. He attended Iowa State to study journalism. He later moved to New York City where he worked in the travel agency business. It was there that he met his future wife, Ann. Ann and Cliff later moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where the couple's only child, Paula, was born. Cliff and Ann were attracted to Maine and travelled several summers camping in various areas of our state. Along the way, they found a home on the water in Penobscot. Cliff served on the Board of Coastal Holdings, Inc. which oversaw the community of Parker Ridge in Blue Hill. Eight years ago Cliff and Ann made the decision to call Parker Ridge home and purchased a cottage. Cliff 's artistic talents were instrumental in his leadership of the art classes at Parker Ridge and many of his paintings can be viewed throughout the main building.
With a diverse offering of
accommodations that includes independent living apartments, assisted living suites and retirement cottages, Parker Ridge has attracted
people from all over the world.
Hertha Owen was born in Austria and spent the first 23 years of
her life there. She attended schools in Bad Voeslau and Baden near Vienna, Austria. Hertha's family relocated to Salzburg and then to Berne, Switzerland. She attended three years of nursing school at the University of Vienna. She then had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC to serve as an au pair for a family that had relocated with the diplomatic department.
Marjory Chesney
71 • MAINE SENIORS
She met Henry Owen in Washington at Battery Kemble Park and they were married on March 3rd, 1956. Their married life was spent in Washington and they eventually purchased a summer home in Seal Harbor. Henry died on November 5th, 2011. In September, 2014 she moved to Parker Ridge to be closer to her son Francis and daughter-in-law Cara.
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
was a native of Winnipeg, Alberta, Canada. The family later moved to Toronto and then Montreal where she attended McGill University. Marjory met her future husband, J. Duke Chesney, at the United Church and after a six-year courtship they married and moved to Albany, NY where they raised four children (two girls and twin boys). In addition to raising a family Marjory was an avid volunteer in various organizations contributing much of her time to the betterment of her community in Albany. The Chesney family were long time summer residents in Deer Isle and family gatherings were an integral part of their lives. Marjory Chesney
Marjory continued her volunteer work here in Blue Hill at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library and until recently was a strong supporter and attendee of the Deer Isle-Sunset Congregational Church. Marjory has been an active resident of the Parker Ridge community. Her father instilled in her a lifelong ethic of learning. When meeting Marjory, people are absolutely amazed that she will celebrate her 106th birthday in October. When asked what she attributes to her longevity, Marjory says, “I consider myself fortunate and I don't worry about heaven because my life has been heaven on earth."
You’ll getatmore You’ll get more 304!at 304
HOURS: Mon–Sat: 9am–6pm Sun: 10am–4pm
207-561-9453 207-561-9453 • 304stillwater.com www.304stillwateravenue.com SEPTEMBER 2016 • 7 2
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
The people coming to Blue Hill seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of major metropolitan areas are coming not only from other parts of the United States, but from all around the world. was born and raised in Holland. Her father was Dutch and her mother was Norwegian. She was the youngest of four siblings with three older brothers. Nellik left Holland in 1939 to attend college in the United States. She showed an adventurous spirit to leave her entire family to attend Mount Holyoke just three days after World War II began. In May of 1940 Holland was overrun, and Nellik did not see her parents again until nine years later in 1948. Nellik Doble
Nellik Doble
After graduating from Mount Holyoke in 1942, Nellik was employed with the Rotterdam Lloyd Steamship Company's New York office as a bilingual secretary. A college girlfriend introduced her to Frank Doble in March of 1943. They eventually married. Hingham, Massachusetts became home from 1948 until 1978. It was there that they raised their three children. Nellik’s husband, Frank, owned and operated a small printing business in Boston. When the children were grown she joined him to assist in the business. Nellik and her husband owned pleasure boats from 1974 to 1995; one of which was serviced in Maine. An idea was born to move to Maine in their retirement years and in 1978 the couple bought a house in Brooklin. Nellik was a long time member of the Bagaduce Chorale and has volunteered at the Bagaduce Library since its inception. Many years were enjoyed together in retirement before Frank died in 2009 at the age of 93. Nellik still calls the house in Brooklin home, but is now an active retiree at Parker Ridge. has led a most exceptional life. She spent her first twenty years in Geneva, Switzerland where she was born. Marianne attended an international school where she learned many languages. Marianne studied child psychology with Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva. In 1941, while Hitler was ruling Marianne New
Marianne New
73 • MAINE SENIORS
RESIDENTIAL REVIEW
Maggie Tebbenhoff was born in Ayr, Scotland, one of four children.
Maggie Tebbenhoff
on the other side of the border of Switzerland, her family decided to leave Switzerland for the United States, very much to Marianne’s dismay. Because of having studied with Piaget, she got a job at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York. Her mother took a trip along the East Coast and fell in love with Mount Desert Island. In 1943, she invited Marianne for a vacation on Echo Lake. Marianne said to her mother, “If I could live here, I would love to be in America.” Her mother replied, “You’ll never find a job and never find a husband here.” In 1945, Swiss friends introduced Marianne to Eric New who had emigrated from Germany to Berkeley and later to New York. Eric and Marianne were married in 1946. Marianne introduced Eric to Echo Lake which he grew equally fond of. They were summer people until 1964. They had a house built in Bass Harbor and became year round people “from away.” Marianne was a cellist and Eric an excellent pianist. Playing chamber music was their life-long passion. Eric had a Steinway grand piano shipped here from New York which now is located in the living room at Parker Ridge. Marianne chose to live at Parker Ridge because of the plethora of friends living on the Blue Hill Peninsula and Mount Desert Island. She is an admired member of the Blue Hill community.
Her older brother is now deceased, and her two other siblings remain in Scotland. Her father was a baker and her mother was a weaver. She was married to Jack Tebbenhoff for 58 years. They were married in 1955 at“the little church around the corner” in New York City. The couple moved several times due to employment changes before settling in Virginia. Maggie and Jack raised three children: Trudy who lives in Blue Hill, Jim who lives in Virginia and Bill who lives in Florida. She and Jack moved to Maine in 1979 to work and live. They decided to own and operate the Heritage Motor Inn in Blue Hill. Maggie’s best girlfriend from age 5-21 was a great influence on her life. She met Jack during that time as well and her life changed forever. Being married and having children was always her lifelong goal. Maggie currently enjoys knitting and embroidery but her main interest is in dance! She would like folks to know her as “an easy going person, non-combative, but strong and independent and one who could be called on for help.” Maggie joined the Parker Ridge community in May of 2015. Parker Ridge and its residents are full of rich history that contributes to a culture that is undeniably unique. Whether from halfway across the world or from right here in Blue Hill, the residents of Parker Ridge all have unique and interesting stories to tell and something important to add to the community. Parker Ridge is about more than just being a beautiful retirement community; it is about a sense of home for people from all around the world. MSM For more details about this community, please call Marilyn Phinney at 207.374.2306 or visit them online at www.ParkerRidge.com. You can also find them on Facebook at Facebook.com/RetireAtParkerRidge. Give MSM a call at 207-299-5358 to find out how you can tell your story to our readers in your very own Guest Article.
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 7 4
Apples
rediscovering a harvest favorite
BY FIA MARQUIS
Early fall in Maine is a time for everything apple. We take our families out to stomp around orchards, filling paper bags with the freshest, juiciest apples we can reach, drink cider by the gallon, and generously heap pie crusts with richly-spiced autumn fruit.
M
y mother would make jars and jars of applesauce every September, and from the leavings, she made apple jelly. Some people will argue apple cinnamon versus pumpkin spice, but to me they each have their place. October is for pumpkin; September belongs to apples.
The wind is beginning to get just a bit more crisp; our sleeves get a little longer as the days grow shorter; it’s time to start finding
75 • MAINE SENIORS
excuses to use your oven. And what better excuse than homemade pizza? If you’ve never had apples on a pizza, well, you’re certainly not alone, but you are absolutely missing out. Thinly sliced, they add texture and sweetness to a savory pie, of which you won’t be shy about grabbing the last piece. And what would apple pizza be without apple dessert? A baked apple in an individual casserole dish will bloom into the perfect receptacle for a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of homemade dulce de leche. MSM KITCHEN TIP: To make your own dulce de leche, simply pour the
contents of a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into a pint jar, place it in a crockpot with water up to the same level as the milk, and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Featured Recipes “BLOOMING” BAKED APPLE INGREDIENTS: 4 Granny Smith apples, cored ½ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground cloves 4 tablespoons butter, softened sliced almonds maple syrup
APPLE SAUSAGE PIZZA
DIRECTIONS:
INGREDIENTS:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice apples carefully in a petal design, careful not to cut through the base of the apple, and place in ramekins or individual casserole dishes.
1 pizza crust (use your favorite recipe, or buy pre-made) 1 apple, sliced thinly (we like Cripps Pink or Granny Smith) ½ lb sweet Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled 2 ounces chevre, crumbled 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (we like to use a blend of sharp cheddars) 1 jar onion jam (we used Stonewall Kitchen’s Roasted Garlic Onion Jam) DIRECTIONS:
2. Combine brown sugar and spices, and divide the mixture between the four apples, filling the core about halfway. Stuff the rest of the core with butter, one tablespoon each, and then top with almonds and drizzle with maple syrup. 3. Place in the oven for 35 minutes, or until apples begin to fall open; remove from the oven and serve warm, topped with ice cream and dulce de leche.
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare your pizza pan, stretch your dough to fit, and spread the top of the dough with onion jam. 2. Place a thin layer of apples over the onion jam base; save some for decorating the top of the pizza. 3. Sprinkle the pizza with Italian sausage crumbles, then chevre, then cheddar shreds. 4. Arrange the remaining apple slices on top of the cheese, and place pizza in the oven. Bake 10-20 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly; enjoy!
SEPTEMBER 2016 • 7 6
FROM THE PORCH
Hope
and the Yellow Brick Road
BY HUNTER HOWE Mel Brooks said, “If you’re quiet, you’re not living.You’ve got to be noisy and colorful and lively.”
T
hat sounds like the maxim of our busy modern world. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it but, sometimes, we require a healthy dose of quiet. I think of W. Somerset Maugham who said,“We must see the beauty of quietness.”
In particular, I enjoy the silence and simplicity early on a Sunday morning in my comfortable den, sipping black coffee, listening to the chatter of birds and the patter of squirrels outside my window, alone with my thoughts, seeking insight, before the roar of lawnmowers shatters the precious solitude. I find it hard to resist the impulse to open the Portland Press Herald or turn on the TV to Meet the Press. If I succumb to the clicker, I’ve turned up the volume to mind-numbing and overwhelming 77 • MAINE SENIORS
negative news. The boisterous blaring of commentators and the incessant pontificating of pundits crack my calm wide open. And it reminds me of the hopeless jumble of unpaid bills, dentist appointments, and car repairs—the unpleasant realities of life, at times, overwhelming and exhausting. Anne Frank faced a more brutal, harsh reality of life: survival. She wrote, “I don’t think of all the misery but the beauty still.” Imagine, hidden away in an attic, frightened, she certainly expected to hear fast-stepping boots stomp up the stairs. Nevertheless, she possessed the inner peace to embrace the possibility of “beauty still.” It’s difficult to escape from the world’s noise. We wonder, is there hope? Emily Dickinson wrote: “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.
FROM THE PORCH
Many classic films—especially from the ‘30s and ‘40s—offer a wellspring of inspiration and motivation; they provide an emotional battery charger and serve up a promising
Our residents LOVE living here . . . We’re confident YOU will too.
platter filled with hope.
We attempt to cope by taking a vacation to a small fishing village way Down East or retreat to a tranquil town in the Cotswolds of England or fly to the lush island paradise of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. For a moment, we might consider living a hermit-like existence such as Thoreau on Walden Pond. Even then, we’d have to hike to a general store for Charmin toilet paper, Pepsi, and Pringles.
ASSISTED LIVING at Here at Parker Ridge we work directly with families and residents to learn about each person, their likes and dislikes, their history and their aspirations. Through our activities, beautiful surroundings, caring staff, and neighbors, we help each new resident settle into their new home and become a part of our community. In caring for the whole person—mind and body—we will help you pursue your individual interests, learn new skills, maintain or improve your health, and enjoy each day.
Call TODAY To Arrange A Visit 207-518-7430 SINGLE SHOW TICKETS:
63 Parker Ridge Lane, Blue Hill, ME | ParkerRidge.com
$10–$67 depending on the show.
SATURDAY | OCTOBER 1 | 7:30PM
Fortunately, I’ve discovered a respite right here in my den, if only for a few hours. Unplugged from reality, I watch a Turner Classic Movie. Many, especially from the ‘30s and ‘40s, offer a wellspring of inspiration and motivation; they provide an emotional battery charger and serve up a promising platter filled with hope.
Manhattan Transfer & Take 6 performing jazz fusion/ pop, R&B and soul in a once-in-a-lifetime concert event
CAROLINE RHEA
SEPTEMBER 23 | 7:30 PM
THE COMPANY MEN
SEPTEMBER 24 | 7:30 PM SHOW SPONSOR
MATISSE JAZZ PROJECT OCTOBER 13 | 7:00 PM
JOAN OSBORNE
NOVEMBER 5| 7:30 PM
1 COLLEGE CIRCLE | BANGOR, MAINE | gracietheatre.com | 207.941.7888
And hope fuels life. Through wondrous music, dancing, dialogue, humor, romance, and choreography, the main characters overcome despair and setbacks. They give us somebody to root for—we know we need to root for ourselves as we attempt to fight self-doubt. There’s a world out there and it needs tackling. In a Huffington Post piece, Sarah Collins penned, “Classic movies that inspire modern-day hope. Lately, I’ve found myself enjoying classic films.” She cites, His Girl Friday (1940), Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947), and House on Telegraph Hill (1952). Collins continues, “Of note, is that these films were released when going SEPTEMBER 2016 • 7 8
FROM THE PORCH
to the movies was a special night out; radio and television channels were few, and programming would shut off for the night … The artist’s role is arguably, to give hope, to shine into every corner of our current reality … It seems when we think straight, we turn off the remote. When we want a break from real life, we watch a movie.”
When I want old-fashion wholesomeness and a jolt of enthusiasm, I watch Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland with their magical chemistry and natural closeness. In movies such as Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) and Strike Up the Band (1940), they overcome their predicaments.
On a Sunday morning.
When I want mindless fun, I watch Gene Kelly in Singin’ in the Rain (1952) splashing through puddles with joyful glee, on a Paris street.
When I want patriotism, I watch James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). How I love that last scintillating scene where he marches down the street with soldiers and civilians singing the lyrics to “Over There.” Remember them,“Send the word, send the word over there, that the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming.” When I want a swashbuckling hero, I watch Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Gallant and dashing, he stands on the branch of an ancient oak in Sherwood Forest and taunts Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy of Gisborne); later, in a heartfelt scene with Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marion), he shows her the sick and poor. Her eyes signal understanding.
When a movie ends, I feel revived, better for the emotional uplift, ready to deal with what lies next. In life, we learn, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), that the Yellow Brick Road is not always straight and even, the journey unknown. We search for the road, that wanders into our heart. Perhaps, on a quiet Sunday morning, we step back in time, to step forward, thinking that just maybe, there’s hope, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow … where troubles melt like lemon drops.” MSM
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