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Open Daily: Sunday–Thursday & Saturday Liquor Store, Craft Craft9am–8pm, Beers,Friday Fine Wines9am–9pm Liquor Store, Beers, Fine Wines Closed Thanksgiving Day! 639 Roosevelt Trail (Rt. 302), Naples, ME • (207) 693–3988 • www.UmbrellaFactorySupermarket.com Open Daily: Daily: Sunday–Thursday Sunday–Thursday 9am–8pm, 9am–8pm, Friday Friday & & Saturday Saturday 9am–9pm 9am–9pm Open Closed Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day! Day! Closed 639 Roosevelt Trail (Rt. 302), Naples, ME • (207) 693–3988 www.UmbrellaFactorySupermarket.com 639 Roosevelt Trail (Rt. 302), Naples, ME • (207) 693–3988 •• www.UmbrellaFactorySupermarket.com
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December 2015 | Vol. 30, No. 9
46 39 Food&Drink 53 Party, Party
It’s that time of year. “Throw the Perfect Party,” a sparkling showcase of delicious Maine ingredients, from hip and thrifty to the ultimate decadence, with money no object. By Claire Z. Cramer
Courtesy the Colony hotel; diane hudson
62 dining Guide 63 Restaurant Review Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro is a gift that Freeport shoppers can’t wait to unwrap. Maine LiFe 13 Maine Classics 14 experience 21 Chowder
23 Portland after dark: What R U doing new Year’s eve? By Karen Hofreiter
90 new england Homes & Living
35 icicles & Bicycles
new school Imagine a Beaux-Arts residence earmarked exclusively for Portland artists to thrive, paint, and show their work. Story & Photos by Diane Hudson
27 Money Makeover See what Maine’s banks are doing next year to entice you. From Staff & Wire Reports
65 Books are Back Curl up, turn the pages. By Claire Z. Cramer
61 L’esprit de l’escalier “Voyages de Vacances” By Rhea Côté Robbins
66 Retail details Our Holiday Gifts & Events Guide’s dazzling crescendo.
PeRsonaLiTies 96 Flash
Meet some year-round, two-wheel commuters. By Jeanee Dudley
Shelter&desiGn 46 a Tale of 2 Colonies
Elegant sister hotels, one with palm trees and one with pines. By Colin W. Sargent
89 House of the Month A stately brick Saco colonial pairs timeless style with urban grace. By Colin W. Sargent
Art&sTYLe 39 old school,
93 Words “Shelf Life” By Lewis Turco PeRsPeCTives 8 From the editor 10 Letters
cover: “Dashing Through the Snow on State Street,” by meaghan maurice December 2015 7
Editorial Colin W. Sargent, Editor & Publisher
Urban Legends
E Fore Street Shadows, oil on canvas Monhegan14x11 Morning Paul Black by Madeleine Hopkins 11 x 14 oil
ven Christmas trash is sublime–tinsel and glitter stuffed into the barrel beside the still-shocked tree. Which brings us to New Year’s Eve, when we ring in the new. As we count down to the moment of truth, here are some urban legends–both trash and treasure–that we should either embrace or delete by then. See if you can guess if they’re true or false before you seek the answer. No. 1. When Natalie Merchant asked local artist Michael Waterman if she could see the paintings in his garret studio, he turned her down flat. True.
Featuring original works ofart, fine art, Featuring original works of fine photographyand and limited-edition photography limited-edition prints by regional and local artists. prints by regional and local artists. 372 Fore Street Portland, Maine 04101 372 Fore Street (207) 874-8084 Portland, Maine 04101 www.forestreetgallery.com
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When Waterman learned she’d bought two of his paintings and wanted to see more, his reaction was, “I don’t have to meet her, do I?” The Grammy-winning singer/composer (Carnival Wonder) and former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs “came in after doing some recordings at Gateway Studios and was about to perform at State Theatre,” says former Aucocisco Galleries owner Andy Verzosa. “She was in and out all week, rehearsing.” But now something caught her eye. “Is this for sale?” she asked Verzosa of Waterman’s extraordinary Woman With a Fish. “It’s $2,400,” Verzosa said. “I’ll take it!” she said and smiled, amazed herself. “It’s the first painting I’ve ever bought from a gallery. Can I see some more of his work?” After buying a second painting, she said, “I want to be his biggest patron. Is there any way I can meet him?” Worried about losing more painting time yapping, Waterman 86’d the tête-à-tête. When you live la vie bohème, you’ve got to walk the walk. No. 2. Vikings visited the coast of Maine. True, per Time Magazine. On August, 18, 1957, the ‘Maine penny’ was discovered by Guy Melgren while sifting through Native-American digs at Penobscot Bay on Naskeag Point. According to Wikipedia, the “Norwegian silver coin [dates] to the reign of Olaf Kyrre, King of Norway (1067-1093 AD).” To some, it’s sparkling “evidence of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact.” To others, it’s heads or tails. No. 3. Portland turned down the USS Constitution as a mascot ship. True. She was tied up at a Portland wharf in 1930, begging for a home. The city fathers said no. We had a shot at Old Ironsides, but we were soft in the head.
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No. 4. Frank Sinatra once sang in a Portland nightclub. True. He floated into the Morocco Lounge in the Wadsworth Hotel at 30 Preble Street in late August, 1940, after a stop at Old Orchard Beach Pier [see our story “Near East, Downeast,” September 2013, which is noted on Sinatra’s Wikipedia page]. The Forest City has authentic Rat Pack credentials. No. 5. Giovanni da Verrazzano was mooned by Native Americans as his ships sailed along the coast of Maine.
True. We so often extend this courtesy to visitors from away. In 1524, “Verrazzano’s men were mooned by jeering Indians who gathered offshore.”–The French and Indian War, Alfred A. Cave, 2004. “On a subsequent visit to the West Indies, Verrazzano was set upon, butchered, and eaten by members of the Carib nation.” –Maine: The Wilder Half of New England, William David Barry, 2012. “True at first light,” these legends will surely crystallize as fact or fiction on New Year’s Eve night. We’re starting the countdown. Here’s to challenging more assumptions in 2016.
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Colin W. Sargent Founding Editor & Publisher editor@portlandmonthly.com Art & Production Nancy Sargent Art Director Jesse Stenbak Associate Publisher staff@portlandmonthly.com Meaghan Maurice Design Director meaghan@portlandmonthly.com Advertising Nicole Barna Advertising Director nicole@portlandmonthly.com Karen Duddy Advertising Executive karen@portlandmonthly.com Ryan Hammond Advertising Executive ryan@portlandmonthly.com Anna J. Nelson Advertising Executive anna@portlandmonthly.com
editorial Claire Z. Cramer Assistant Editor & Publisher claire@portlandmonthly.com Colin S. Sargent Special Features & Archives Jason Hjort Webmaster Diane Hudson Flash · Reviews Jeanee Dudley Experience
What kind of school doesn’t teach to the test? At Waynflete, our teachers aren’t constrained by an inflexible curriculum. They have the freedom to fine-tune every class and lab to whatever ignites learning. It’s more challenging. But with the second-highest SAT scores in Maine for the second year running, we think it works. Learn more about our approach at waynflete.org/learntolearn.
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The opinions given in this magazine are those of Portland Magazine writers. No establishment is ever covered in this magazine because it has advertised, and no payment ever influences our stories and reviews. Portland Magazine is published by Sargent Publishing, Inc. All correspondence should be addressed to 165 State Street, Portland, ME 04101. Advertising Office: 165 State Street, Portland, ME 04101. (207) 775-4339. Repeat Internet rights are understood to be purchased with all stories and artwork. For questions regarding advertising invoicing and payments, call Eric Taylor. Newsstand Cover Date: December 2015, published in November 2015, Vol. 30, No. 9, copyright 2015. Portland Magazine is mailed at third-class mail rates in Portland, ME 04101 (ISSN: 1073-1857). Opinions expressed in articles are those of authors and do not represent editorial positions of Portland Magazine. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to Portland Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially. Responsible only for that portion of any advertisement which is printed incorrectly. Advertisers are responsible for copyrights of materials they submit. Nothing in this issue may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publishers. Submissions welcome, but we take no responsibility for unsolicited materials. All photography has been enhanced for your enjoyment. Portland Magazine is published 10 times annually by Sargent Publishing, Inc., 165 State Street, Portland, Maine, 04101, with newsstand cover dates of Winterguide, February/March, April, May, Summerguide, July/August, September, October, November, and December. We are proudly printed in the USA by Cummings Printing. Portland Magazine is the winner of 59 American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA for excellence in publication design.
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Intriguing
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artists, the old port, the ‘70s [Re: “Imagine A Town Run By Artists,” September 2015]. In the mid ’70’s, there was the Webber Gallery on the 3rd floor of what is now Head Games, corner Free and Oak. Most of the artists were shown there. Tom Crotty was the name artist at Frost Gully. I still have a collection that includes Denis Boudreau Paul Luise, Willis, Wray, Waterman, et al. Norton Webber, Waterville Zodiac moment Hey, don’t over emphasize the negatives, or even the negative positives [See “Scorpio Nation,” November 2015]. Scorpios are also “sensitive” and “fiercely loyal.” Great attributes, don’t you think? Rita Brown, Kennebunkport matters of intrigue I’m truly honored to be included in Portland Magazine’s “10 Most Intriguing 2015” list [see November 2015] along with some very impressive folks like Sen. Collins, Les Otten, and Global Teacher prize winner Nancie Atwell, to name a few. Mark Eves, North Berwick
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reading, a cool breeZe I enjoyed [“Take A City Hike,” November, 2015]. Living in L.A. (not Lewiston-Auburn), I often get homesick for Maine, and never more so than in the fall. For a few minutes, I was out of the blistering heat and sun. Jon Bogdanove, Los Angeles, CA
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MaineClassics Sea Sparkle Portland Harbor’s annual Holiday Boat Parade lights up the season on December 12. Private yachts, sailboats, tugs, and lobsterboats deck out their rigging with plenty of glitz. Watch from shore or ride an island ferry and be part of it all. cascobaylines.com
CloCkwise From Top: Corey Temple Ton; CourTesy llbean; The palleTT shop; loCal 188; meaghan mauri Ce
“It’s HaPPenIng agaIn”
s Art Above us Portland artist Charlie Hewitt’s colorful Portland Rattle sculpture was recently mounted on 25-foot-high steel poles at 511 Congress Street, commissioned by the property’s owner Ed Gardner. “We put up a Lewiston Rattle this summer,” Hewitt says. “It’s on Lisbon Street, on a lot where a building burned down. I’m from Lewiston–I did it for urban renewal.” His installation Urban Rattle stands along the High Line in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. “That started as urban renewal–now it’s a tourist attraction. People get married under the rattle.” His next project: illustrating Androscoggin, a forgotten collection of poems by Marsden Hartley. “He’s from Lewiston, too.”
o spoke BloombergBusiness. Believe it or not, L.L. Bean Boots top the list of desired internet purchases that can’t be fulfilled because of lack of inventory. “Not again!” cries Town & Country. Didn’t they see this one coming? Or is it a marketing trick to get the lemmings going again? Are they being cabbage-patch stupid or foxy Maine smart? “L.L. Bean denies boot shortage is a PR game,” reports NBC. “Authenticity and durability may add to the mystique, especially given that the boots are still hand-sewn in Maine,” says CBS. “We don’t pursue what’s in vogue–it has this wonderful way of finding us,” says Bean spokesman Mac McKeever. On the other hand, visit http://cour.at/1WYX6vs
Lumber Chic
Are shipping pallets becoming an endangered species? They are being repurposed into restaurant furniture at an alarming rate around town these days. “I disassemble, de-nail, plane, joint, and square…then seal, oil, and finish,” says Amy Keene, who built a striking bar out of pallets at Urban Farm Fermentory’s tasting room, and makes utilitarian home furnishings at her Pallet Shop at Thompson’s Point. Painter Chad Creighton turns them into canvases for his paintings.
DECEMbEr 2015 13
ExpEriEncE
Belfast Maskers/Cold Comfort theater, see website for locations. How the Grinch Stole Happiness (or Tried To!), Dec. 930-7244 coldcomforttheater.com Children’s Museum & theater of Maine, 142 Free St., Portland. Stage stories, daily; Santa’s Reindeer Present: The Nutcracker, Dec. 10-22; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, February. 828-1234 kitetails.org City theater in Biddeford, 205 main St. ; Next to Normal, march 11-20. 282-0849 citytheater.org Maine State Ballet theater, 348 U.S. Rte. 1, Falmouth.The Nutcracker, through Dec. 6; Tap, Tap, Jazz, Jan. 22-23. 781-7672 mainestateballet.org Merrill auditorium, 20 myrtle St., Portland. trinity irish Dance Company, Jan. 29; Romeo and Juliet, Jan. 31. 842-0800 porttix.com
landstage.org public theatre, 31 maple St., lewiston. A Christmas Carol, Dec. 11-13; The Ladies Foursome, Jan. 22-31. 782-3200 thepublictheatre.org Schoolhouse arts Center, Rte. 114, Sebago lake Village. It’s a Wonderful Life, The Musical, Dec. 4-20. 6423743 schoolhousearts.org
GallEriEs art Gallery at UnE, 716 Stevens ave., Portland. Portraits of the artist, thru Feb. 7. 221-4499 une.edu/artgallery Bates College Museum of art, olin arts Center, 75 Russell St., lewiston. maine Collected, the View out the Window (and in his mind’s eye), thru mar. 2016; the art of occupy: the occuprint Portfolio, thru mar. 2016. 786-6158 bates.edu/museum
Bowdoin College Museum of art, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick. gilbert Stuart: the Music Hall, 28 ChestFrom Boston to Brunswick, nut St., Portsmouth, nh. through Jan. 3; earth matogunquit Playhouse presSee new works by Dahlov Ipcar in her solo show at Frost Gully Gallery through December 28. The prolific ters: land as material and ents irving Berlin’s White metaphor in the arts in 98-year-old has described her unmistakable, colorful, kaleidoscope style as “nonintellectual cubism.” 1159 Christmas The Musical, africa, through mar. 6; olive Route 1, Freeport, frostgullygallery.com Dec. 9-20. themusichall.org Pierce: Photographing a portland Ballet, at maine Fishing Community, Feb. 18; Rival Sons, Feb. Colby College Museum Maine Jewish Museum, Westbrook Performing through Jan. 17; to Count 24. portlandasylum.com 267 Congress St., Portland. of art, 5600 mayflower arts Center. The Victorian art an intimate Friend: highRich entel, thru Jan. 3; Jon hill Dr., Waterville. aesNutcracker, Dec. 12, 13; Blue, 650 Congress St., lights from the Bowdoin edwards: Photography, thetic harmonies: Whistler Dec. 16 at merrill auditoPortland. acoustic Jam, evCollections 1794 to Present, Jan. 7 - mar. 6. in Context, through Jan. rium. 772-9671 ery tues.; irish music night, through June 5; elise ansel: mainejewishmuseum.org 3; Whistler and the World: portlandballet.org every Wed.; See website Studies in Beauty, Jan. 15 the lunder Collection of for more listings. 774-4111. portland Museum of art, James mcneill Whistler, portcityblue.com 7 Congress Sq., Portland. through Jan. 10; alex you Can’t get there ; Boothbay opera House, Katz: a Singular Vision, from here: 2015 Portland 86 townsend ave., Booththrough may 2016. museum Biennial, through bay harbor. the Dough 859-5600 colby.edu Jan. 3; me, mona and mao, Ball Fundraiser, Dec. 11; thru Feb. 21; masterworks Farnsworth art Museum, annual gingerbread Specon Paper: highlights from 16 museum St., Rockland. tacular, Dec. 12-13; holiday the Portland museum of the Wyeths, maine and Potluck and Carol Singing, art, opens Jan. 21; Duncan the Sea, through Jan. 3; Dec. 21. See website for hewitt,: turning Strange, maine Collects: treasures more dates. 633-5159 opens Jan. 21. 775-6148 from maine’s Private Colboothbayoperahouse.com portlandmuseum.org lections; Picturing maine, Cross Insurance arena, through mar. 27. 596-6457 1 Center Street, Portland. farnsworthmuseum.orgz Disney on ice, Jan. 6-10; Music First Friday art Walk, Chicago, Feb. 4. 775-3458 asylum, 121 Center Nutcracker Burlesque! at St. Lawrence Arts, 76 Congress St., downtown Portland. Visit locrossarenaportland.com St., Portland. Rap and Portland. December 11-13, 16, and 17-19; all performances at 8 cal galleries, studios, and mudogfish Bar & Grille, 128 Karaoke, every Wed.; p.m.; $18. vividmotion.org seums, Dec. 4; Jan. 8; Feb. 5. Free St., Portland. acoustic Retro night, every thur.; firstfridayartwalk.com open mic, every Wed.; Plague, every F.; Jon Pardi portland Stage, 25 Forest Jazz happy hour with with Brothers osborne, Maine Historical Society, -apr. 24; Picturing Dissent in ave. the Snow Queen, travis James humphrey & Dec. 19; holy holy, Jan. 7; 489 Congress St., Portland. the 1960s: the Photography Dec. 5-24; the hound of guests, every Fri.; live muo-town, Jan. 16; marianas of Ken thompson, Jan. 26See website for coming the Baskervilles, Jan. 26 sic Wed.-Sat. every week. trench, Jan. 30; Chippenapr. 3. 725-3275 exhibitions. 774-1822 -Feb. 21. 774-0645 portSee website for more listdales’ Break the Rules, bowdoin.edu/art-museum mainehistory.org 1 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
from top: photo by charles ipcar; courtesy vivid motion
ThEaTEr
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Empire, 575 Congress St., Portland. the Couch open mic, comedy and game nights, every Sun; Clash of the titans, every Wed. See website for more listings. 747-5063 portlandempire.com portland House of Music, 57 temple St., Portland. tRVP nite, every Sun.; Funky mondays, every mon; Wednesday happy hour, afro Beat music night, every Weds. See website for more listings. 805-0134. portlandhouseofmusic.com Jonathan’s, 92 Bournes ln., ogunquit. new years eve gala, five-course dinner with live entertainment, Dec. 31. See website for more listings. 646-4526 jonathansogunquit.com Merrill auditorium, 20 myrtle St., Portland. Polar express, thru Dec. 23; magic of Christmas, Dec. 11; Christmas with Cornils,
Dec. 22; music of the Beach Boys: Pet Sounds, Jan. 9-10; Joe Bonamassa, Jan. 16; Beethoven’s eighth & Strauss, Jan. 24, Jan. 26; tao: Seventeen Samurai, Feb. 2; DakhaBrakha, Feb. 6; Portland in love, Feb. 13-14. 842-0800 porttix.com one longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland. Ronnie earl, Dec. 11; lucy Kaplansky, Dec. 12; Portland Jazz orchestra, Dec. 17; miss tess & the talkbaks, Dec. 19; new years eve with Primo Cubano, Dec. 31; ellis Paul, Jan. 1; mat Braunger, Jan. 6; Rocky horror Picture how, Jan. 9; matthew Stubbs and the antiguas and Jesse Dee, Jan. 23. 761-1757 onelongfellowsquare.com port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland. State Champs, Dec. 17; eric hutchinson, Dec. 18; Spose, Dec. 19; Start making Sense–talking heads tribute, Dec. 27;
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Ogunquit Playhouse stages White Christmas at the historic Portsmouth Music Hall December 9-20. The Irving Berlin classic musical stars Broadway veterans Joey Sorge and Jeffrey Denman. ogunquitplayhouse.org
mallett Brothers Band, Dec. 31; Rustic overtones, Jan. 2; Brian Fallon & the Crowes, Jan. 7; graveyard, Jan. 24. 956-6000 portcitymusichall.com State theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland. the Fogcutters present Big Band Syndrome Volume 5, Dec. 11; Badfish: a tribute to Sublime, Dec. 26; new years eve with the ghost of Paul Revere, Dec. 31; lettuce, Jan. 21; Wilco,
Jan. 27. 956-6000 statetheatreportland.com
TasTy EvEnTs
Stone Mountain arts Center, 695 Dug Way Rd., Brownfield. Stone mountain liVe for Christmas, Dec. 11, 18, 19; new years eve with Shamekia Copeland, Dec. 31; Darlingside, Jan. 22; Don Campbell Band, Jan. 29; Paula Cole, Jan. 30; ghost of Paul Revere, Feb. 6. 935-7292 stonemountainartscenter.com
Craft Beer Cellar, 111 Commercial St., Portland. Craft beer tastings every Fri. 956-7322 craftbeercellar.com
Browne trading Company, 262 Commercial St., Portland. annual caviar and champagne tasting, Dec. 12; wine tastings, one or more Sat. every month, 1-5 pm. 775-7560 brownetrading.com
Courtesy ogunquit playhouse
ings. 772-5483 thedogfishcompany.com
Celebrating 22 years! 307 Main St. Ogunquit • 207-646-4878 Open Daily 10:30-5 Closed Tuesdays Open year-round • Abundant Parking
ExpEriEncE Cross Insurance Arena, 1 Center Street, Portland. Portland on Tap, two sessions of the country’s best craft beers, Jan. 30. 775-3458 crossarenaportland.com
Custom suits, no compromises.
Flanagan Farm, 668 Narragansett Trail (Rt. 202), Buxton. Benefit dinners prepared by local chefs to benefit Maine Farmland Trust. Jason Loring of Nosh and Slab, Dec. 4; Benefit for Full Plates, Full Potential, Dec. 6. See website for more dates. flanaganstable.com Local Sprouts, 649 Congress St., Portland. Music Brunch with Sean Mencher and friends, every Sun. localsproutscooperative.com Lolita Vinoteca + Asador, 90 Congress St., Portland. Tapas Mondays, every Mon. 3-11, wines paired with small plates. 775-5652 lolita-portland.com Old Port Wine Merchants, 223 Commercial St., Portland. Wine tasting every third Wed. 772-9463 oldportwine.com Sweetgrass Farm Old Port Tasting Room, 324 Fore St., Portland. Maine-made wine, bitters, and spirit tastings all the time. 761-8446 sweetgrasswinery.com
Don’t Miss (2 0 7 ) 7 7 3 -39 06 davi dwood.com
Christmas Boat Parade of Lights, Portland Harbor. Casco Bay Lines presents the annual boat parade, celebrating the holidays and Portland’s maritime history, Dec. 12. Cascobaylines.com Eastern Sardine and Maple Leaf Drop, Eastport. An unusual, annual New Years Eve tradition, accompanied by festive events and a fireworks display, Jan. 31. Tidesinstitute.org Festival of Trees, Downtown Saco. Decorated trees and wreaths to ring in the holidays, December. sacomaine.org
Maine Woolens was founded in 2009. Our flag ship store in Freeport offers finely woven blankets and throws in cotton and wools that are made in our Brunswick, Maine mill. We weave with the best American fibers available including combed cotton, Supima cotton and Merino wools. We feel the quality of our Maine made products are second to none.
Body Worlds, Portland Science Center, 68 Commercial St. Real humans and real science in Gunther von Hagens.long-running, world-traveling exhibit, through Jan. portlandsciencecenter.com Sugarloaf, 5092 Access Rd., Carrabasset Valley. Holiday Gift Bazaar, Dec. 12-13; Holiday Tree Lighting and Fireworks, Dec. 12; Summit Snowshoe Shuffle, Dec. 30; New Years Eve Fireworks, Dec. 31; Bud Light College Snowfest Week, Jan. 4-7; Glowlight Parade and Fireworks, Jan. 11. Sugarloaf.com Sunday River, Sunday River Rd., Newry. Winterfest Weekend, Dec. 11-13; Hanukkah Celebration, Dec. 12; College Week, Jan. 8; Children’s Festival Week, Jan. 11-15; Go50 Week, Jan. 25-29; White Out Weekend, Feb. 5-7. sundayriver.com
Photographer Diane Hudson with her portraits of artists including Rose Marasco and Jonathan Edwards in the group show at UNE’s Art Gallery, 716 Stevens Ave., Portland. Through Feb. 7. une.edu/artgallery
1 8 P O R T L A n D M O N T H LY M A G A z i N E
Courtesy photo
Winterfest Weekend, Downtown Portland. Family-friendly outdoor activities with scavenger hunt and prizes, Jan. 23-24. portlandmaine.com
Start a New Holiday Tradition! Great Gifts! Great Bargains! Great Fun!
Great Gifts! Great Bargains! Great Fun!
y l i m a F r u Take Yo t a s e i v o M to the ! e r t a e h T a c Nordi new hours:
Sunday-Thursday 10-7 • Friday-Saturday 10-8 Visit us on Facebook or onefreeportvillagestation.com for information on all the best deals of the season! Covered, safe parking is always FREE in our 500-car garage.
Share the Experience Tickets Make Great Gifts! Trinity Irish Dance Company January 29, 2016 • 8 pm
TAO: “Seventeen Samurai” February 2, 2016 • 7 pm
Matt Haimovitz & VOICE February 5, 2016 • 8 pm
Dakha Brakha
February 6, 2016 • 8 pm
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
February 24, 2016 • 7:30 pm
Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”
February 26, 2016 • 7 pm February 27, 2016 • 12:30 pm & 6 pm
Salzburg Marionette Theatre: “The Sound of Music”
Di
March 2, 2016 • 7 pm sne
as y’s “ B e a u ty a n d th e B e
t”
True Blues (Corey Harris, Guy Davis & Alvin Youngblood Hart) and The Campbell Brothers, sacred steel
Wu Man with Shanghai Quartet
March 25, 2016 • 8 pm
March 31, 2016 • 7:30 pm
The Capitol Steps
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Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center April 9, 2016 • 3 pm
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an
April 1, 2016 • 8 pm
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Companhia Urbana de Dança
Tr in it y
April 12, 2016 • 7:30 pm
he
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The Illusionists
S a lz b ur g M a r
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April 15, 2016 • 8 pm April 16, 2016 • 1 pm & 8 pm
Ying Quartet with special guest Zuill Bailey
May 7, 2016 • 3 pm
“The Lightning Thief” May 21, 2016 • 11 am
Call PortTIX at 207.842.0800 or visit PortlandOvations.org for tickets & Ovations Membership Season Media Sponsor:
Chowder
A ta s t y bl e n d of th e fa bu lou s, notewo r thy, a n d a bsu rd.
Three local gyms want to take you to the heights of your fitness journey–literally. At Salt Pump Climbing Co. in Scarborough (saltpumpclimbing.com), view secluded Scamman Pond as you work your way up naturally inspired walls–yoga classes available free of charge for members and day-pass holders. Evo in Portland (evorock.com) beckons with lead climbing and women-only groups–as well as a regular gym facility. Want to be swift as a coursing river? Head to Maine Warrior Gym (mainewarriorgym.com) for American Ninja Warrior-inspired climbs–there’s even a course taught by two-time ANW finalist Jesse Villarreal. Up you go. –Molly Parent
Wall?
Climb Every…
CloCkwise from top: Courtesy evo; south florida translations; file photo; keith allison
As Maine Goes Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson have far-fetched connections to Maine. In 1988, Trump took a full page ad in Portland Magazine (left) for his new Trump Plaza of the Palm Beaches. Call it the Trump bump. Dr. Carson, a 7th Day Adventist, no doubt venerates Ellen White, born in Gorham. A founder of the church, she went to Brackett Street School (now Fresh Approach market).
It crushed Maine baseball fans when (former Seadog) Hanley Ramirez, with his classic swing, became a Florida Marlin (from 2006 to 2011, 33 homers in 2008, .342 hitting average in 2009) instead of a member of the Boston Red Sox. [Fun fact: He did play two games for Boston in 2005.] Then he played for the Dodgers in 2012, Miami in 2012, and the Dodgers in 2013 (batting .345) and 2014 (.283). In 2015, Ramirez, at 6 foot 2, 225 pounds, joined Red Sox Nation and hit 19 homers while batting .249. He’s one to watch in 2016.
Clouds
y Cofe m e in
There’s a Thursday night latte art revolution conquering Maine coffee houses. The most recent throwdown was at Coffee by Design’s Diamond Street headquarters; the next is scheduled for February at Elements in Biddeford. Baristas from all over New England pull their espresso shots and steam their milk with competitive intensity. With graceful and steady pours, 12-ounce ‘tulip’ and ‘rosetta’ masterpieces are designed in the foam for the judges’ critical eyes. The reigning champ is Brittany Feltovic of Bard Coffee. –Molly Parent DECEMBEr 2015 21
Escape to Maine’s mountains . . .
Bethel
• Maine’s Winter Playground!
Just 90 minutes from Portland
• Limitless skiing and riding at Sunday River Resort and Mt. Abram Ski Area • Rockin’ music scene every weekend
• Miles of groomed • Diverse cuisine at snowmobile trails 30+ restaurants and pubs • Nearly 100K of Nordic skiing and • “Hallmark card snowshoeing at worthy historic centers and back village” filled country trails with shops, restaurants & lodging options • Winter hiking for the adventurous • FREE shuttle
Fantastic New Year’s Eve events! Affordable mid-week getaways all winter long! Call for a free Visitors’ Guide and map
800-442-5826 | www.BethelMaine.com
P o rt l a nd a f t e r d ar k
What R U Doing
New Year’s Eve? Be part of a happening, join the crowd, and kick up your heels–2015 is so last year. Here are a few ideas.
I
By kare n H ofreiter
damon loucks
n Italy, it’s lentils. In Austria and Cuba, pork. Ring-shaped pastries are the thing in the Netherlands and Mexico; a giant glittering ball dropping from the sky means you’re in New York. A glittering eightfoot sardine dropping from the third floor of the Tides Institute means you’re in Eastport. Portland, too, has its own way of celebrating the New Year (and it’s a bit more exciting than scarfing down a bunch of grapes while counting down from 10 (Spain). Here are just a few to make a memorable New Year, the Maine way.
City Glitter Celebrate at the height of sophistication at the Portland Regency Hotel’s New Year’s Eve Gala. “This event is for anyone looking for a great evening of fun and dance and a celebratory start to the New Year,” says David Davis, director of sales. Float into the ballroom like king and queen at the prom while sipping a glass of complimentary vino. Get your taste buds dancing with savory hors d’oeuvres and decadent desserts before waltzing onto the dance floor and into a sea of tuxedos and gowns. Spend the final hours of 2015 twirling, swinging, and two-stepping to the jazzy
Countdown at Pearl Ultra Nightclub on Fore Street.
stylings of Jim Ciampi and his seven-piece big band before starting the New Year with a glass of bubbly. (20 Milk Street, 727-3436, theregency.com; 8 p.m.-1 a.m.; for tickets brownpapertickets.com, $160 for two; $389 overnight package includes tickets for 2.) Another weekend of celebration can be had at the Danforth Inn (163 Danforth Street, Portland, 879-8755, danforthinn. com; 2-night package $380 pp) where a twonight stay includes an eight-course dinner at Tempo Dulu, live jazz, and a tasty touch of international flair with oliebollen, a Dutch New Year’s pastry tradition. For a night of mystery, head to the Marriott Sable Oaks for their Midnight Masquerade (200 Sable Oaks Drive, South Portland, 871-8000, Marriott.com) or dance the night away (quite literally) at Maplewood Ballroom Dance (383 Warren Avenue, Portland, 8780584, maplewooddancecenter.com.) DECEmbEr 2015 23
P ortl and aft e r d ark If you’re looking to start the New Year doing some good, you can “party with a purpose” at Boone’s Fish House annual New Year’s Eve Charity Gala (86 Commercial Street, Portland, 774-5725, boonesfishhouse.com) with a fireside five-course dinner by chef Harding Lee Smith, a live band, and midnight champagne toast. KennebunKport party night f you’d rather a tried-and-true “best party ever” (according to repeat revelers), don’t miss the 13th annual New Year’s Eve Dinner Dance Party at Pier 77. Dressed in your party best, linger over a five-course dinner featuring never-been-on-the-menu-before dishes by chef Peter Morency. With only one dinner seating, there’s plenty of time between courses to kick up your heels to jazz and easy rock tunes played by the seven-piece band. But make certain to save a little energy for the final countdown. “Last year there was not a soul in their seats when the New Year rang in,” says co-owner and captain of festivities Kate Morency. (77 Pier Road, Kennebunkport, 967-8500; 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; tickets including 5-course dinner, $100 per person.) A fun and flirty New Year’s can be had at David’s KPT at the BoathouseWaterfront Hotel where boomers and millennials accessorize with silver-glitter fedoras and gold tiaras. Against the dramatic backdrop of the Kennebunk River, enjoy colorful cocktails at one of the three open bars and an extensive spread including food and dessert sta-
I
Out& About
Not one for city crowds? Escape to the mountains. Sunday River has fireworks, ski & stay packages, dinner up the mountain at the Peak Lodge, followed by a party at the Foggy Goggle to ring in the new year. sundayriver.com
Just relax For those who want to start the New Year relaxed and refreshed, a festive reprieve at the Meadowmere Resort could be just the thing. “We’re the place to escape and celebrate,” says director of sales and marketing Allyson Cavaretta. Spend the day soaking at the spa and getting a massage before heading to Jonathan’s restaurant for a prixfixe dinner and dancing until the New Year. Don’t worry about staying out too late–an extended check-out means you’re welcome to sleep late. (74 Main Street, Ogunquit, 646-9661, meadowmere.com; 2-night package Dec. 30-Jan. 1, $275 per person.) n
from top: Courtesy sunday river(2); damon louCks (2)
tions and a raw bar. A DJ will be spinning popular tunes from a span of generations while 70-somethings show off their fancy choreographed steps next to high-energy free-styling 20-somethings. “We are always amazed at the diversity of the guests, yet everyone feels like family. It’s a great experience,” says general manager Jeff Fightmaster. (21 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport, 967-8225, boathouseme.com; 7 p.m.-1 a.m.; for tickets brownpapertickets.com, $135 advance/$160 same day; 21+.)
2 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Happy Holidays
Get Cozy & usher in the New Year with us. The Old Village Inn, Ogunquit
Sunday-Friday 5:30pm-9:00pm Saturday 5:30-9:30pm 250 Main Street Ogunquit, Maine (207) 646-7089 theoldvillageinn.net
DECEmbEr 2015 25
Life is full of exceptional moments.
Your business relationships should be too. When someone believes in you, fights for you, and chooses to walk with you, you experience friendship, and that can make a big difference.
MachiasSavings.com
Š2015 Machias Savings Bank. Member FDIC.
Do l l a r s & sense
Money Makeover Maine banks and credit unions are anxious to win you over. Pull up a chair and get to know them. From staFF & Wire report s
illustration by Ed King
S
ome banks make change, the best make changes. As 2016 looms, here’s an impressive array of Maine’s financial institutions, their services made ready at a glance. TD Bank, for example, is throwing its doors open on Sundays in and around Portland. On other nights, they’re open till 7 p.m. Isn’t it nice to feel needed? Read what the others are doing for you, below:
anDrosCoGGin BanK
androscogginbank.com Branches: 12; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, except
with Blue Wave Basic account. Checking account fee: No when minimum deposit requirements are met. Highest savings account APY & terms: .03% with $25,000 balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% 22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 7.85% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.0% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 15-yr Wealth Builder with 2-tier fixed rates 1.75%/5%, or 2.28% average over the life of the loan Highest APY opportunity: .85%, high 5-year CD, Minimum deposit: $500 Highest CD APY & terms: .85%, high 5-year CD, Minimum deposit: $500. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .25%
Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes aroostooK CoUntY FeDeral saVinGs
yourhomebank.com Branches: 2; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: None with $250 minimum balance; no min. for account holders 55 or older Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.15%, Passbook account, $5 deposit to open. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.95% Lowest 20-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 5.75% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 4%, 3-year ARM Highest APY opportunity: 1.89%, 5-year CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.89%, 5-year CD Best APY for 12-month IRA: 1.25% DECEmbEr 2015 27
D ol l a rs & s e n s e Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No aUBUrn saVInGs BanK auburnsavings.com Branches: 2; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: Money Market 0.35% for $200,000 minimum. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.25% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.417% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: N/A Highest APY opportunity: .85%, 5-yr. CD, min. $500 Highest CD APY & terms: .85%, 5-yr., min. $500 Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No BanGor saVInGs bangor.com Branches: 61; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .08%, minimum $25,000 balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99%-23.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.0% for a new car. Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.06% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.28% 10-year Highest APY opportunity: 1.25%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.25%, 5-year, $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.10%, $25,000 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes
2 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
BanK oF aMerICa bankofamerica.com Branches: 98 in Maine; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; $10 at Falmouth branch; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None with $300 balance; otherwise, $5. Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.08%, Rewards Money Market, minimum $100,000 deposit. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 10.99% - 22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.24% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.109% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.167%, 5/1 ARM Highest APY opportunity: 0.15%, 5-year CD, $1,000 min. Highest CD APY & terms: .15% 5-year, $1,000 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.07%, $2,000 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes BanK oF MaIne- ACQUIRED BY CAMDEN NATIONAL BANK ON OCTOBER 15 - SEE CAMDEN NATIONAL BANK Bar HarBor BanK & TrUsT bhbt.com Branches: 20; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: No for some accounts Highest savings account APY & terms: .07%, $25 minimum deposit Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 11.99% - 22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.99% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.103% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.127%, 3/1 ARM. Highest APY opportunity: 1.85%, 60-month CD, with
BHBT checking acct. & $25,000 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.5%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .25% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes BaTH saVInGs InsTITUTIon bathsavings.com Branches: 9; Minimum ATM withdraw: $5; Non-customer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharges: In some circumstances. Checking account fee: None for certain accounts Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.12% Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.041% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.051% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.186%, 5-yr. ARM Highest APY opportunity: 0.95%, 5.75-year CD Highest CD APY & terms: 0.85%, 5.-year Best APY for 12-month IRA: .15% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes BIDDeForD saVInGs biddefordsavings.com Branches: 6; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No, but eStatements have free worldwide ATM use. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .25%, $100,000 minimum balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 13.99% - 17.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.5% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.038% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.25%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.81%, 5-year CD
Take your investments We have aTo mission... the next level.
H H
and we have passion.
arpswell Advisors is a boutique investment firm. Our firm leverages the sophistication and scale of top global fund managers we offerassets arpswell Advisors evolved from an institutional firm thatand managed sameoffocus structure as and leading endowment and family offices. forthesome the and world’s largest most sophisticated investors to one We are committed to building long-term with our by bringing that brings this level of focusrelationships and experience to clients Maine’s foundations, the distinct advantages andwho capabilities larger investment firms to mid-sized endowments, and families share ourofpassion. foundations, endowments and families. Harpswell is passionate about furthering the impact of our partners, and we fulfill our mission by providing best-in-classfirm. investment services a level of that allows our Harpswell is a values-driven We hold highwith standards forfees governance, partners to have ambitious goals of their own. Harpswell embraces the same approach stewardship, and integrity and these principles serve as the touchstone for all to investing as larger university endowments, where we stress diversification, risk decisions we and make. management, a long-term perspective.
In an industry where the competitive landscape needs to be realigned
In an industry where the competitive landscape needs to be realigned in favor of investors, in favor of investors, Harpswell stands out. Harpswell stands out.
WWW.HARPSWELLADVISORS.COM 207-926-1380
Financial expertise is our
Personal relationships are our
PASSION.
Mary Leavitt, Brittany Robidoux, Jake Ouellette, Jennifer Schumacher, Kurt Garascia, Brian Bernier, Lisa Rideout
We believe developing relationships with our clients is fundamental to achieving success. We’ll get to know your short-term plans and your long-term goals to determine the best way to manage your money. Let our experienced team earn your trust, and together, we’ll invest in your future. • INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT • TRUST SERVICES • FINANCIAL ADVICE • ESTATE PLANNING • Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value
Portland 207.482.7920 Auburn 207.791.2110 norwaysavingsbank.com
Dol l a rs & s e n s e Highest CD APY & terms: 1.81% Best APY for 12-month IRA: .45% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes CaMDen naTIonal BanK camdennational.com Branches: 65; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: none with most accounts. Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.10%, $25 minimum balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% to 23.99% Best APR for 48-month auto loan: 4% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.065% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.484%, 15-yr. fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.05%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.05%, 5-year, $500 min. (Special through 12/31/15: 1.85%, $5,000 min.) Best APY for 12-month IRA: .15% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes
Whoever you are, Whoever you are, Whatever you want life, Whoever you out are,of Whatever you want out of life, You can be sure of one thing: Whatever you want out of life, You can be sure of one thing: haveofus. You canYou be sure one thing: You have us. You have us.
Total Family Wealth Management Total Family Wealth Management Total Family Wealth Management
GorHaM saVInGs BanK
gorhamsavingsbank.com Branches: 12; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20 Non-customer ATM charge: $2.95; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: No for some accounts; $5 for paper statements Highest savings account APY & terms: .25%, $75,000 minimum. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% to 17.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.875% for a new car. Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.045% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.293%, 5-year fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.30%, 5-year CD, min. $500 Highest CD APY & terms: 1.30%, 5-year, minimum $500 Best APY for 12-month IRA: .40%, minimum $500 Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes KenneBUnK saVInGs
kennebunksavings.com Branches: 17; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.10%, $5,000 minimum balance. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% to 20.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.79% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.041% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.322%, 15-year fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.31%, 5-yr. IRA/CD, $500 minimum Highest CD APY & terms: 1.31%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .40%, $500 minimum Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes KeY BanK keybank.com Branches: 53 (in Maine); Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.75; Refund ATM surcharges: With some accounts Checking account fee: None for Privilege Checking. Highest savings account APY & terms: .10%, $25,000 min. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 11.99% to 21.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.59% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.07% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.19% 5-year Highest APY opportunity: 5-year CD, .85%, min. $100,000 Highest CD APY & terms: .85%, 5-year, min. $100,000 Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.2% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes MaCHIas saVInGs BanK machiassavings.com Branches: 18; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer
Christopher G. Rogers David M. Mitchell Christopher G. Rogers M. Mitchell Senior Vice President, Investments ViceDavid President, Investments christopher.rogers@raymondjames.com david.mitchell@raymondjames.com Senior Vice President, Investments ViceDavid President, Investments Christopher G. Rogers M. Mitchell christopher.rogers@raymondjames.com david.mitchell@raymondjames.com Senior Vice President, Investments Vice President, Investments Lauren A. Schaefer-Bove Claire R. Cooney, CFP® christopher.rogers@raymondjames.com david.mitchell@raymondjames.com Lauren A. Schaefer-Bove Claire R. Cooney, CFP® Senior Registered Sales Associate Financial Planning Associate lauren.schaeferbove@raymondjames.com claire.cooney@raymondjames.com Senior Registered Sales Associate Financial Planning Associate Lauren A. Schaefer-Bove Claire R. Cooney, CFP® lauren.schaeferbove@raymondjames.com claire.cooney@raymondjames.com SeniorShannon RegisteredMcGuigan Sales Associate Financial Planning Associate Stephen Guthrie lauren.schaeferbove@raymondjames.com claire.cooney@raymondjames.com Stephen Guthrie SeniorShannon RegisteredMcGuigan Sales Associate Senior Vice President, Investments shannon.mcguigan@raymondjames.com steve.guthrie@raymondjames.com SeniorShannon RegisteredMcGuigan Sales Associate Senior Vice President, Investments Stephen Guthrie shannon.mcguigan@raymondjames.com steve.guthrie@raymondjames.com Senior Registered Sales AssociateDana A. RickerSenior Vice President, Investments shannon.mcguigan@raymondjames.com steve.guthrie@raymondjames.com Dana A. Ricker Vice President, Investments dana.ricker@raymondjames.com Vice President, Investments Dana A. Ricker dana.ricker@raymondjames.com Vice President, Investments dana.ricker@raymondjames.com Two Portland Square, 7th Floor // Portland, ME 04101
Portland Square, 7th Floor // Portland, ME 04101 Phone: Two 207.771.1800 // Toll-Free: 866.680.1196 // Fax: 207.253.5480 Phone: Two 207.771.1800 // Toll-Free: 866.680.1196 // Fax: 207.253.5480 Portland Square, 7th Floor // Portland, ME 04101 www.PortlandHarborGroup.com www.PortlandHarborGroup.com Phone: 207.771.1800 // Toll-Free: 866.680.1196 // Fax: 207.253.5480 “Helping to Simplify a Complex World” www.PortlandHarborGroup.com
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©2015 Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Raymond James® is a registered trademark of Raymond James Financial,James Inc. Certified Financial Standards, Inc. owns the Raymond certification marksisCFP®, Certified FinancialofPlanner™ ©2015 Raymond & Associates, Inc.,Planner memberBoard NewofYork Stock Exchange/SIPC. James® a registered trademark Raymond James the U.S. marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ and of federally registered Financial, Inc. Certified Financial Planner Board Standards, Inc. owns theincertification ©2015 Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Raymond James® is a registered trademark of Raymond James in the U.S. and federally registered Financial, Inc. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ in the U.S. and federally registered
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PeoPle’s UnIteD Bank peoples.com Branches: 26 in Maine; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50; Refund ATM surcharges: With some accounts. Checking account fee: $12; free if 65 or older, or with use of direct deposit. Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.02% with $250 minimum balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% - 20.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 7.49% for a new car. Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.76% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 2.967%, 5/1 ARM. Highest APY opportunity: 1.15%, 5-year CD if with checking account. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.05%, 5-year%, $1,000 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25%, $1,000 minimum Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes.
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&
O utsi d e
Icicles Bicycles
From top: Corey templeton; meaghan mauriCe
F
or most people, the commute to work is a pain–literally and metaphorically. Even driving across town, Portlanders can expect to be on their duffs too long in frustrating traffic, listening to bad news on the radio. What a way to start the day. No wonder many locals are taking a break and leaving the car at home–or not owning one at all. Nicole Anderson says she converted to two-wheel transportation 10 years ago. “I ride my bike year-round for a bunch of reasons: environmental [benefit], for exercise and to be outside,” she says. “I started because it’s an affordable way to get around. It’s still an affordable and fun thing to do– it’s also an easy way to keep active and not spend so much time in the car.” Her work as a nutrition education coordinator takes her from her Portland home to South Portland and to Westbrook; she averages four to six miles each way. For some, biking in the warmer months makes sense–but the wind, snow, and ice of
Neither snow nor sleet nor gloom of night stays these stalwart biking commuters. By Jeanee du dley
Maine winters are a turn-off. Most extended-season cyclers, however, say that winter riding is not all that different from riding to work in other seasons. “I started commuting by bike in the summer of 2006 after moving back into town from Cape Elizabeth,” says Tracie Reed, an architect. “As part of that transition, I had scored a bike from a swap shop. The summertime seemed like a beautiful time to ride. Then when fall approached, it was still beautiful. One thing led to another. One more day became one more week. As it got colder, I kept challenging myself. At some point, I had adapted to it and became a year-round bicycle commuter.”
now in his mid-30s, adopted two-wheeling it as a paperboy in the sixth grade. “It’s the only mode of transportation I’ve ever had,” he says. “I’ve even moved by bike in both Washington, D.C., and Portland.” All four of these extended-season bicycle commuters share similar enthusiasm for the environment, physical activity, and affordability. They also offer similar advice to those looking to take up riding in the winter. Levy phrases it in the most simple terms. “In order of importance, your challenges are staying seen, staying safe, staying warm,
To The Manner Born Becky Wartell and Seth Levy, two more winter warriors, are natural-born cyclists. Neither has ever owned a car and, so far, that hasn’t been a problem. Wartell started biking as a way to get around growing up in Portland. Freelance writer Levy, DECEmbEr 2015 35
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and staying rolling. “In the winter here, we have shorter days so there’s less daylight. That makes cyclists less visible, but you can mitigate challenge number one by wearing bright reflective colors, having good lighting on your back, up front, and on your helmet.” artell concurs, and addresses challenge number two: “Drivers don’t expect to see cyclists out when it’s cold, so you can’t assume they’re looking out for you. The bike lanes aren’t plowed as diligently as the roads, so the space to ride around cars is smaller–that can get scary.” She commutes about five miles each way from South Portland to the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, where she works as a masseuse. Ice, snow, and slush make it harder for both drivers and cyclists to stop. “I give cars way more latitude to stop, and plan on taking three times more distance for me to stop,” notes Levy. “Part of staying safe is being cognizant of road conditions; just because you can ride year round, doesn’t mean you have to. If conditions are hazardous, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.” Sometimes that means walking a bike around a bad patch, and sometimes it means ditching two wheels altogether. “Usually if the roads are covered in ice, I won’t ride,” says Anderson. “Often the main roads are fine, but side roads are icy, so I’ll change my route, and I always give myself extra time in case I need to hop on the bus.” Every Portland Metro bus has room for two bicycles on the front rack, making public transit a reliable alternative when the going gets tough.
W
dress the part Most Mainers have the staying warm bit down to a science. With a few additions, just about any winter wardrobe can be easily adjusted for bicycle commuting. Wartell’s foremost advice for new winter riders: learn how to layer. Her average winter commute starts out with five layers of warmth on the top half and three on the bottom. “Wear as many layers you need to keep you warm up top, plus something waterproof and windproof on top,” she says. “It’s not just the torso that you need to worry about. Gloves and headwear are important, too. And on my legs, I typically have a base layer, then pants and then rain pants over the top.” 3 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
tracie reed
T “The hardest parts to keep warm are your hands,” says Anderson. “Gloves are good and I wear mittens when it’s really cold to keep my fingers together. When it’s really cold, I have a neck gaiter and a headband to protect my forehead. You can get a sensation similar to brain freeze if you don’t.” As far as staying upright and rolling, not a single cyclist of the four has ever had a memorable incident on the road in the wintertime. All consider studded tires and fenders optional, but beneficial to ride comfort. Reed and Anderson recommend that potential winter cycling commuters connect with other people who ride via the Portland Maine Bicycle Commuting Facebook group. Reaching out to a local bike shop for help with getting outfitted is another recommendation across the board. For those still hesitant to give winter cycling a try, Reed offers some insight. “After five minutes, your core starts to warm up,” she says. “If you haven’t it done before, it sounds crazy, but with a bike, you don’t have to scrape a windshield or wait for the engine to warm up. As soon as I come out, I’m moving. When I drive, I’m cold either from not being dressed for the weather, or from shoveling off my car. And the car only ever seems to get warm inside when I’ve almost reached my destination.” If getting some extra time outside, saving money, having a legitimate excuse to skip the gym, and helping the environment aren’t reason enough to ditch the car this winter, Levy recommends additional incentive to hop on the two-wheeled beast: warming up with hot cocoa and/or bourbon after a long ride. n
T
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A rt i s t s At wor k
New School Old School,
Thanks to a grant from the city, la vieille école at 83 sherman street is now an upscale urban art colony opening doors to artists and their patrons.
I
story & Phot os By DiA ne h u D so n
magine being an artist living in Portland and owning an affordable home and studio. And if you do decide to leave, you will be instrumental in helping another artist find such enviable space in a city where it is all but disappearing. Artist Wendy Kindred, painter and printmaker, jumped on this dreamy opportunity. Having finished a 26-year career as an instructor in the arts at the University of Maine at Fort Kent in 2003 to begin a life devoted full-time to her art, Kindred discovered macular degeneration setting in and decided, “It was time to move to where I won’t have to drive. My father had it; I know what’s coming.” DECEmbEr 2015 39
A rtists At w o rk
J. Felice Boucher Studios, loft-style artist condos on Anderson Street, in 2002. Bass took her, one of the first buyers, through Parkside Studios, the former Sacred Heart School on Sherman Street, where he’d won the bid to design and create space for artists’ purchase and use. “‘This is the one you should have,’ he said She could have gone back to her beginto me,” Kindred marvels, as we stand (me in nings in Detroit, or possibly Lewiston (she awe) in the pristine 700-plus square foot space likes the growing diversity), but an ad in the with glistening hardwood floors and a view Maine Sunday Telegram for an “unbelievout over Back Cove seen through a full wall of ably lower priced” home in an “artists-only” nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. Wow! building in Portland determined her fate. “The clincher for me was the basement Arriving here in 2006, she met developstudio that goes with this unit–well lit and er Peter Bass, who had created East Bayside with hot and cold running water.” Displaying her credentials as a visual artist was no problem for Kindred, who at the time was enjoying a solo show at the Lewis Gallery in Portland. Having studied art at the University of Chicago from 1955 to 1963 and subsequently in uilt in the 1927, the former Sacred Heart School at Europe and New York, Kindred 83 Sherman Street was later acquired by the City of Portland. In 2000, the city sold the building–after installing a new roof and bringing the hallways up to code–at a reduced rate to developer Peter Bass, whose company won the bid to design and create eight loft spaces for purchase and use by artists. Thanks to partnership with the city, the units’ prices remain low due to deed restrictions limiting their sale to buyers with income 80 percent or less than the median home buyer. The owners enter a financial agreement that limits the amount of equity their condo accrues during their tenure. Strict guidelines require that initial as well as succeeding occupants qualify as visual artists.
Tracy Ginn
B
4 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
David Johanson
S
Diane HuDson
u Call Yourself o Y So an ArtisT?
had written and illustrated four children’s books and had widely exhibited throughout Maine as well as in Chicago and Indiana, and Ethiopia when she lived there for a time. And what is the cost of living here? “It varies per artist, but for me: $200 condo fee per month, approximately $800 a year for heat and $400 for electricity. The mortgage, including insurance and taxes, is $1,100 a month.” (Taxes per unit are approximately $2,700.) howing me some of her earlier works as we move around her welcoming living space full of colorful canvases and interesting artifacts, Kindred reminisces. “Teaching and showing art in Ethiopia (1964-1969) put me in the center of an international art world.” In her studio, pausing at one of her works in progress, she observes, “So much of my earlier painting was deliberately flat and brightly colored. Now I am loving the illusions of volume and space that go with painting what’s on the table by the window in my studio. Also, with the changes in my eyesight, just seeing and capturing what holds still in front of me is tricky enough.” Kindred leads the way through
Wendy Kindred
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the building to meet some other artists: “We’re like cats, each going our separate direction,” she says as we begin what feels like a magical mystery tour.
Jay LaBrie, esident since 2006,
has painted since his early childhood in Frenchville, Maine. “Art was not taught in public schools when I was growing up, so I took private lessons from artists in the area, including Canadian artist Claude Picard and Lily Michaud at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.” Attending a commercial art school– Butera School of Art in Boston–convinced him that “that was not for me.” He learned about Parkside Studios through a client (Jay has also been a hairdresser in Portland since 1969). His studio and condo walls are covered head to toe with his brilliantly colorful paintings, spanning an entire gamut from landscapes (many inspired by yearly visits to childhood haunts in the St. John Valley) to coastal scenes, still lifes, and portraits. “I complete a painting a day,” he tells us, barely keeping the brush from the vellum sheet he is working on–with acrylics– while we speak.
Cathleen Mahan, since 2006,
says “Art school for me was not a choice. It was an internal imperative. When my father suddenly dropped dead (I was 22), I bought a camera. Making the images was healing for me. Then, when I was 33, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and died 4 months later.” Mahan,
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David Itchkawich, since 2007, has
a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, where he was a European Honors Program student in Rome and Florence. He exhibits yearly at the Greenwich Village Art Show in New York, and in multiple collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smith College Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Syracuse University Art Gallery. After working briefly in advertising and illustration (The New York Times, Harpers, Intellectual Digest, Chicago Daily News), Itchkawitz turned to etching and drawing. “I enjoy making up images out of my own imagination. I call them ‘illustrations for unwritten stories,’” he says, showing me a piece he is working on depicting Superman flying in for a landing at the church just outside his windows. Some soldiers from the Roman army are gathered around the steps.
4 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Michelle Leier
Jay Labrie
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hen Itchkawich heard about Parkside Studios, he had a house on Peaks Island and was living part time in New York City, working as a cab driver. He seized the opportunity. “I couldn’t live with the ferry schedule. Here, I was given a chance to make my own world. You get a raw classroom with these really high ceilings; you can do what you want, and it’s affordable. This is the most like a city that Maine has. People talk about Parkside as if it’s the Bronx, but I love it here. And, I have parking! I didn’t become disillusioned with New York, but I certainly am happier here.”
Tracy Ginn, since 2010,
is a 1983 MECA BFA graduate. She comes from a Connecticut family with theater and art backgrounds; she now teaches, as well as creates, fine art. “I’m lucky to love kids, love art, love teaching, and my job.” Describing her paintings: “I use a Megilp glazing technique popular with Flemish and Renaissance painters. This painting style incorporates small amounts of color in clear
glazes washed over selected areas of the artwork, resulting in a luminous color brilliance. Many of my paintings develop from Polaroid snapshots which, combined with the old-school glazing technique, ignite a fluid hybrid of playful color.” Ginn talks about the practical aspects of the studios. “Although the city kicks in, all artists buy condos at market rate, and investment is not spectacular as appreciation is capped at present market rate. The space feels more like Tribeca than Parkside. The architects of 1927 built it as solid as Fort Knox. We feel blessed that it’s affordable. “We are a unique and wonderful group of homo sapiens. Under one enclosed roof, the ol’ middle school cafeteria formula is bound to surface–especially among artists, where extremes of extroversion and introversion can create a very dynamic emotional barometer!” Ginn will partner with artist Richard Wilson in January in a group show sponsored by University of Southern Maine (USM) and Union of Maine Visual Artists, to be exhibited at the Area Gallery on USM’s Portland campus.
diane hudson
pursuing a career as a critical-care nurse at the time, knew she had to “right the course.” She quit a lucrative job in Worcester, Massachusetts, slashed expenses, and pursued studies in clay and drawing at the Kansas City Art Institute (BFA) and Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA) in Michigan, at one point apprenticing at Cranbrook with instructor/mentor Tony Hepburn. “What a gift to be able to see the world from an artistic perspective. My soul always did, but I needed help.” Prior to Parkside Studios, Mahan was living with her sister, also an artist, in Portland, and traveling to Sawyer Street Studios in South Portland for her work in clay, when she saw an ad in a free weekly. “Having a studio right here where I live and my own kiln to use is ideal.” Recent exhibits include a National Endowment for the Arts show in Washington, DC, and at the WEX Global Gallery in South Portland. Among her communityoutreach projects is “Raising our Voices: The Stories of Parkside,” in Portland and an intergenerational project in York.
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*See store for rebate form with complete details. Only valid at participating Maytag brand retailers. Rebate in the form of a Maytag brand MasterCard® Prepaid Card by mail. Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license from MasterCard International and managed by Citi Prepaid Services. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. Additional terms and conditions apply. ®/™ ©2015 Maytag. All rights reserved. To learn more about the entire Maytag brand line, please visit maytag.com. CCP-18807
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*See store for rebate form with complete details. Only valid at participating Maytag brand retailers. Rebate in the form of a Maytag brand MasterCard® Prepaid Card by mail. Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license from MasterCard International and managed by Citi Prepaid Services. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. Additional terms and conditions apply. ®/™ ©2015 Maytag. All rights reserved. To learn more about the entire Maytag brand line, please visit maytag.com. CCP-18807
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David Johanson, since 2012. “Neon
Dave” studied Humanities and Painting at New College of Florida, and neon art at the National Neon Institute in Venetia, California. “I wanted to have my own shop,” Johanson says when asked about his settling here. “I’d worked all over, in California, New York, Boston, Texas. Portland just had this buzz to it. I’d spent summers in Maine, and it just seemed a better place for me than New York City.” As to why neon, “I was in the graphics field and wanted something more
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is another Maine College of Art graduate. As a fine art and commercial photographer who works seven days a week most of the year, Boucher says, “My fine art work keeps me interested in my everyday commercial work.” From the awards she’s recently earned, she appears to have mastered the formula. She was named 2015 Maine Photographer of the Year (she’s a six-time winner) and 2015 New England Photographer of the Year. She took first and second place in Portraits in the Professional Photographer of America (PPA), North East District Print Competition, and PPA Diamond Photographer of the Year. Boucher’s studio unit was the last to be occupied. She paid $153,000 in 2008 (Jay LaBrie paid $135,000 in 2006) and has just re-sold her unit. “The property is not meant to be an investment but an affordable living space for artists in Portland. So you don’t make a profit when selling, especially if you put money into your space.” Why the move? “To be closer to my family (in Brunswick) and have a back yard for my dog.” She also says she’s weary of the drug issue in the Portland downtown area.
*See store for rebate form with complete details. Only valid at participating Maytag brand retailers. Rebate in the form of a Maytag brand MasterCard® Prepaid Card by mail. Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license from MasterCard International and managed by Citi Prepaid Services. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. Additional terms and conditions apply. ®/™ ©2015 Maytag. All rights reserved. To learn more about the entire Maytag brand line, please visit maytag.com. CCP-18807
Joanne Felice Boucher, since 2008,
–Everybody
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A rt i s t s At w or k hands-on, less computer. And I can use it in my art as well as have a trade.” Isn’t it dangerous? “Well, you don’t want to break it up and smell it! Seriously, though, in the processing stage, when you’re using extremely high voltage, death is quite possible.” And “you get cuts and burns, and you just have to keep working.” He keeps a separate studio for processing but uses Parkside Studios for final stages of assembly.
Michelle Leier, since 2015.
She learned about the Studios from an MLS listing. The Minnesota native has a BA from Northwestern and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art (MCA). She spent four years teaching art at an international school in Slovakia. “Weekends, I’d take the train from Bratislava to Vienna, a onehour trip, and go to all the amazing museums (Kunst Historisches Museum, the Belvedere, the Albertina, the Succession, the Leopold, and the Essl) and study the great paintings. Painters in Europe are so revered they’re part of the National identity.”
She came to Portland and loved it, but “I had to move twice from apartments due to rising costs.” Then came Parkside Studios. “Everything fell into place. I couldn’t have dreamt up a more perfect solution.” Having a studio separate from her living space is a boon. “Oil painting requires a space with ventilation, and I have that here.”
Phoenix Studio
Restoration and Design of Fine Art Glass since 1976
Michelle Soulier, barely moved in.
The 2004 MECA grad has owned Green Hand Bookstore on Congress Street since 2009. Her household includes husband Tristan Gallagher (owner of Coast City Comics & Fun Box Monster Emporium) and their two cats. Her work (both written and drawn) is “driven by curiosity, inspired by many things, including [H.P.] Lovecraft, New England history, and illuminated manuscripts.” When not at the bookstore, she immerses herself in her studio, working in graphite, watercolor, and ink. Soulier is also editor of the Strange Maine Gazette and its companion blog, which inspired her first book, Strange Maine: True Tales from the Pine Tree State. n
• Design and Production of Art Glass for any application • Custom Memorial Windows and Donor Walls • Repair, Restoration and Preservation of Art Glass • Classes, Workshops and Supplies • Hundreds of Glass Choices for Cabinets, Doors and more Call or come in today to see what we can do for you!
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A Tale of What would it be like to experience the tropical Colony, the sister hotel in Delray Beach, Florida? B y C o l i n w. Sargent
M
y father bought this hotel with his father in 1935,” says Jestena Boughton of her landmark Colony Hotel & Cabana Club, a Mediterranean Revival palace built on the corner of stylish East Atlantic Avenue and U.S. Route One in Delray in 1926. “He and my mother were newlyweds. After their wedding in Atlantic City, they drove down the Post Road to Key West and caught the ferry to Havana for their honeymoon. But there was shooting in the streets” in the tumult from Batista’s rise to power, so they headed back. “Dad had noticed this hotel, but it wasn’t open.” On the return trip, they stopped again and just stared at it. Three stories high, capped by a pair of fanciful domes and dressed in red roof tiles, The Alterap, as it was first known, was a masterpiece in stucco with distinct European flair. Designed by Addison Mizner associate Martin Luther Hampton, the creator of nu-
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R o a d WaRRioR
2Colonies courtesy photos
We know and love The Colony in Kennebunkport. But have you met her uptown little sister in Delray Beach, Florida?
DECEmbEr 2015 47
Road Wa rr i or
Double Vision
J
estena Boughton owns both the Colony in Kennebunkport and the Colony Hotel & Cabana Club in Delray. Her cousin John Martin is the general manager in Kennebunkport. “One of his passions is food and beverage, as well as special events like weddings,” Jestena says. Another improvement is the lush putting green that hangs over the Atlantic Ocean as few others can. Recently, “he got hold of the company that does the landscaping for Cape Arundel Golf Course, where I’m a member. Now, it’s been upgraded to an infinity putting green, where there’s no sense of an edge when you view it from the dining room or gazebo.” As for whether there’s a ‘tell’ that the two grand resorts are owned by the same family, Jestena says that, beyond the matching porcelain servers both hotels had for many years, beyond the Candace Lovely watercolors that sparkle in both locations, “The image of a galleon, which appears here on our lobby fireplace and as a medallion on our exterior, also appears as the gold weathervane on top of the Colony’s cupola in Kennebunkport.” She spreads her arms to full length. “Up close, it’s as big as this couch!” “Jestena and I call each other sisters, because we both have red hair,” says impressionist artist and friend Candace 4 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Lovely. “She herself owns about ten of my paintings, the originals, and then many of my prints are in the rooms.” She adores both hotels, for their differences as well as their grace. “I was Jestena’s artist in residence at the Kennebunkport Colony in 1998 to catch the incredible light, the joyful sparkle that’s in paintings like The Veranda. In 1999, I stayed in Delray as a resident artist also. Both hotels are very grand. They both have lovely hospitality. These two hotels are perfect, with perfect architecture” so individuated they couldn’t swap places. “Who wouldn’t want the Colony Hotel in Delray with its incredible Mediterranean architecture by its famous architect? How perfect is the sweeping New England shingle style of the Colony in Kennebunkport against the Atlantic?” Both hotels are roughly “in the shape of the letter E,” Jestena notes. Lovely’s The Veranda travels everywhere in the world today, because “the New York Graphic Society reprints it,” from WalMart to a museum gift store near you. “When some guests see it [at the Colonies], they’re quite moved” to discover it at its source.
merous National Historic Landmark properties (including this one), it was shuttered because its first owner had lost his shirt in the Depression. “My father, George Boughton, was just 22. He called his father,” Atlantic City hotelier Charles Boughton, “and said, ‘Why don’t we buy this?” ighty years later, the Boughtons still own it. Not only is the Colony on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s the centerpiece of the downtown revitalization of Delray as this yearround resort finds itself awash in delicious restaurants, music venues, and trendy destination shopping. “Here we are, the only historic hotel still standing on Atlan-
E
As a child, Jestena ran the elevator at the Maine Colony. Trained as an environmental landscape artist, she has transformed both hotels to be market leaders.
tic Avenue,� Jestena says. As you enter from the avenue, you cross a terrace with Cuban terrazzo tiles shaded by yellow and maroon awnings on wrought-iron spears that match the original Spanish-revival lighting. Tables and wicker chairs offer views of the graceful
DECEmbEr 2015 49
Travel Tips: stone crab season runs from october 15 to may 15. there is nothing like it. and don’t miss that Cuban coffee. Breakfast is free, “but this is a downtown hotel, so we don’t serve lunch and dinner when there are so many incredible restaurants all around atlantic avenue to try. two examples: scuola vecchia pizza e vino, directly across atlantic avenue from the veranda, is a “hip, italian spot that i’m delighted to say serves the most authentic margherita pizza this side of napoli.” this restaurant alone is worth the trip to Delray. then there’s the glass-topped Buddha skybar, with Japanese fusion, brightred chairs, and a bustling sense of the city, another knockout attraction just steps away. Come ready to shop. the Colony Delray itself hosts a number of street-level fashion stops.
theater of the street amid the comings and goings at this dreamy address. The way The Colony engages with the street is a miracle of welcoming. You’ll want to stay here forever, reading the Miami Herald and sipping Cuban coffee (espresso cooked with sugar) by day, or perhaps enjoying cognac after twilight as night cools the city. There’s a tincture of sophistication here that flirts with time. One guest flips through The Atlantic while her friend races through a novel–Lawrence Durrell. But then you’d miss the lobby. To the right as you enter is a period-perfect bar, a new addition that looks as though it were al5 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
ways here. “But it couldn’t have been here,” Jestena’s cousin Hilary Roche, the managing director, says. “The hotel was built during Prohibition.” The Ficks Reed rattan lobby furniture from 1926 is extant and perfectly reconditioned, layers of white paint removed to reveal the original glow and texture of the bamboo. How could it be that the hotel still has the original baby grand piano in its music room, the original brass and wrought-iron elevator from 1926 (with palazzo shards of glass on the walls, the cat’s meow), and the lovely, solemn 1920s oak furniture in its 70 rooms? How could the 1926 telephone switchboard and oak writing desks filled with color postcards of the Colony still be here, deftly complemented by incredible 2016 touches? The answer is Jestena, a landscape architect by training. She earned her master’s from the University of Pennsylvania before taking a job with “the city of Seattle for five years,” according to a fine story in the Delray Coastal Star by Mary Thurwachter. “Later, she taught landscape architecture and urban
design at the University of Massachusetts.” Jestena has let slip that she’s a modernist, but the Mediterranean allure of the hotel keeps pulling her in. “My dad died in 1986. When my mother died in 1994, I came here as general manager.” But this city, a par-
“The season was from January 10 until April 10. They had to get home and do their taxes!” adise between Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, hadn’t taken off the way it has now. “I thought of it as Dull-Ray,” she laughs. “The interior walls here were pale beige.” Now they pop in lime, persimmon, and turquoise, with fabrics decorators would give their eye-teeth for. How does she do it? “That’s my favorite part of the business,”
road Warrio r she says. “Procurement,” finding the unfindable. “Procurement is even on my email address.” Not to mention understanding her guests with astonishing canniness. oday, both the Delray and Kennebunkport Colonies are famous for their repeat visitors. “In 1994 in Delray, we didn’t have that,” Jestena says. “What we had was a handful of little old ladies. A few years later, the Photographic Workshop was built in Delray, so we were able to add middle-aged men who wanted to take a photography course. We used to have wallto-wall carpeting upstairs, but I knew we had luscious, original Dade County pine floors under there. When the carpets left, the old ladies left.” She waits a beat. “These floors are harder. I guess they felt if they fell, they’d fall on a nice white carpet.” The founding sense of the hotel was “for train travelers, who came here with their big trunks,” she says. “The season was from January 10 until April 10. Do you know why? They had to get home and do their taxes by April 15. And they weren’t going to miss Christmas and New Year’s in New England!” For fledgling travelers in the motoring set, there were, and still are, 18 doubledoor garages in one of the hotel wings where the cars could be parked, from Model-T to Pierce-Arrow, with the chauffeurs staying in rooms directly above. Think Sabrina. While the Colony proper is five blocks from the beach to be in the center of all the action, a shuttle relays guests to the Cabana, Club, with its stunning, private sweep of Delray Beach and 80-degree turquoise water. “Dad bought the Cabana land in 1951,” Jestena says. “We had a woodie” to shuttle guests to this oasis. There are umbrella tables, shaded beach lounge chairs, and above the dunes, a new edgeless pool designed by Jestena with opalescent glass tiles designed by Jestena that light up for incredible magic at night. How often is it true that there’s enchantment on both sides of a looking glass? The difference here is, The Colony in Kennebunkport (sample guest across the centuries, Gregory Peck) is a complete destination in itself, taking guests into its embrace and answering their every need. The more Bohemian Colony Delray (sample guest Leonard Nimoy) connects you to urban discoveries. Hey, just because they’re sisters doesn’t mean they have to be the same, does it? n
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Authentic Thai Cooking
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Dine In • Take-Out Open 7 Days A Week Lunch & Dinner • Beer & Wine Monday–Saturday 11am–9pm Sunday 4pm–9pm
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Maine’s Premium, Naturally Smoked Seafood
Atlantic salmon. Wood smoke. Fresh spices. Maine tradition. Ducktrap has come a long way since 1978, when Des Fitzgerald built a humble seafood smokehouse in Lincolnville, Maine. The same high standards established back then are still passionately followed today: premium grade seafood, custom brining recipes, and a time-honored smoking process using local hardwoods and fruitwoods. Today, our eco-friendly, state-of-the art smokehouse in Belfast continues this proud tradition where our roots began on the coast of Maine. Ducktrap and Ducktrap River are registered trademarks of Ducktrap River of Maine. Š2015 Ducktrap River of Maine, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hu ngry Ey E
Party,
Party
When it comes to fabulous parties, there’s the extravagant whole-hog approach and then there’s the clever value-hunter’s strategy. Both succeed with local bounty.
I
By Claire Z. Cramer
ber your metric conversions, there are 28.3 grams in an ounce, so we’re talking about a very petite jar. But compared to other kinds of caviar in stock, helpfully listed on a big board above Simcox’s head, it’s a steal. For our ritzy party, we select the 125-gram tin of the German Osetra. Salmon is smoked in-house here, too, and it’s too tempting to pass up. There are traditional, citrus-basil, and other lightly smoked finishes. We choose a 16-ounce package ($20.99) of the scotch whisky-cured salmon, which Simcox recommends for its subtle charm. You can really go to town fantasizing gourmet dishes here. A lobe of bottarga (Ital-
dreamstime
N MATTERS OF CAVIAR, “You want a great experience straight from the spoon,” says Jay Simcox, behind the seafood counter at Browne Trading Company on Commercial Street. Jay knows his caviar. We’re planning two fantasy parties, one where money’s no object, and another with a thrifty budget. Both will offer delicious food, all locally sourced from a showcase of Maine providers. “We recommend and sell a lot of the German Osetra, because it tastes fantastic by itself. It’s the lowest price for best quality.” A 20-gram jar is $65. If you remem-
DECEmbEr 2015 53
H u n gry EyE ian cured mullet roe), delicious when shaved onto buttered fresh pasta, is $22.40. A dozen dainty quail eggs (have you had them sizzling in the little chambered cast-iron frying pan at Boda?) is $9.99. hen it’s upstairs to consult with wine maven Chris Miller about a Champagne worthy of the caviar. He endorses Alma Bellavista Italian sparkling wine ($35). “My absolute favorite is this Pol Roger ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ Champagne–they only bottle it in exceptionRoe, High & Low al years.” It’s $310, and the exceptionPictured: Domestic salmon roe caviar from Browne Trading Co. is $10 al year was 2002. per ounce. A 20-gram jar of German OseStop also at Sweetgrass Farm tra caviar is $65. Domestic caviar weight is Winery and Distillery’s tasting measured by the ounce, imported in grams. There are many more caviars, domestic and room on Fore Street for a bottle of imported, to be found at this seafood, gourtheir Back River Gin ($27.45). This met, and wine shop on Commercial super-smooth white lightning makes Street that includes tony Manhattan restaurants among its clients. a sensational martini that pairs up like Birthday Boy. Starta dream with smoked salmon. ers are wild white shrimp with harissa or Hitting Stride mango-lime sauce and smoked salmon rouOnce you buy into spending freely, you may lade using Browne’s salmon.” be surprised to discover just how fast your What time shall we be there? tastes head uptown. You might not even feel At HOME Catering Co. on Spring Street– like cooking. known to Portlanders as the little sandwich “Sunday I’m doing an 80th for a good clishop with exceptional Reuben sandwiches– ent,” says Evalin Stearns, who’s been a cateryou can order food to pick up for your holiday er since leaving a successful restaurant career feasts, or you can have co-owner chefs Matt in 1991. “It’s eight people, and I’m serving fiChamberlain and Brian Kowtko come to let of beef from Fresh Approach, au grayour house. “Fancy events are generally what tin gold potatoes from the farmers’ market, we do,” says Kowtko. “We both have a lot of and asparagus vinaigrette Portland restaurant experience”–including because it’s the favorFore Street for Matt and Congress Bar & Grill ite vegetable of the Smoked!
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Pictured: Ducktrap River Spruce Point Pepper & Garlic smoked salmon. Yhe 4-oz. package is available at Harbor Fish Market for $7.99, as is the 4-oz. package of Sullivan Harbor smoked salmon. Browne Trading smokes and cures salmon in-house–a pound of Scotch-cured smoked salmon is $20.99.
Fizzy
5 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Find ultra special-occasion Pol Roger champagne for $310 at Browne Trading and $12 La Luna prosecco. Prosecco may be the best value among sparklers; it goes for as low as $6.99 at Trader Joe’s.
CloCkwise from top: shutterstoCk; pol roger; duCktrap river of maine
for Brian. “We just did a birthday party for six women friends, regular clients. One of them is always turning 40, so they’re always getting together. They asked for a French theme, so we started with moules frites, then braised local lamb shank cassoulet, and pots de crème au chocolat for dessert. These kinds of dinners run in the $60 to $80 range per person, so it’s a lot like a restaurant.” You might roast your own turkey or ham at home and pick up the sides from the experts like HOME catering or Aurora Provisions. Aurora’s fall and holiday menu options include maple horseradish Brussels sprouts and sherry-creamed cipollini onions ($9.95 each per pound), and potato gra-
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223 Commercial Street 207-772-9463 DECEmbEr 2015 55
H u n gry EyE
thrifty, not cheap Local and delicious is not just for the Prius-driving well-heeled crowd, so brush that chip off your shoulder. Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you have to head for the mega-packs of frozen chicken breasts at the big-box stores. You just have to keep your eyes open. There are plenty of good ideas to be stolen from the fancy set. or example, we recently sampled Union restaurant’s divine mussel bisque. It involved a silky, pureed winter squash soup base with plump whole mussels, garnished with a swirl of crème fraîche dotted with truffle oil. Definitely party quality but rustic and simple enough to replicate affordably. A two-pound bag of plump, local Bangs Island mussels from Harbor Fish Market ($7.99); an organic winter squash and a fat fresh onion from the farmers’ market ($1 each per pound); and a
F
No Trifling Matter
Desserts count! Make an irresistible and easy Brownie Trifle using two boxes Stonewall Kitchen Traditional Brownie Mix ($11.95) and one jar of Stonewall Kitchen Sea Salt Caramel Sauce ($6.95) plus a few other pantry staples. Recipe is at stonewallkitchen.com Or pick up dessert. Fancy tortes at Falmouth’s European Bakery start at $22.95 for the six-inch. Pies at Two Fat Cats Bakery on India Street start at $15; cupcakes start at $2.50. Standard Baking has beautiful sugar cookies and other confections; the Rosemont Markets have cakes starting at $9.99.
bit of cream and sherry, and a first-course bisque is on its way. And did you think we weren’t having caviar? The secret bargain treat at Browne Trading is a one-ounce jar of domestic salmon roe–stunningly shiny orange globes bursting with sea flavor–for $10. Toast slices of rustic bread, top each with a smear of crème fraîche ($6.99 a pint at Hannaford) and a dab of roe, and set one afloat on each bowl of your bisque.
Another value from Browne: a 5-ounce package of creamy duck liver mousse is $6.50. Surrounded by baguette toasts, it’s just the thing with a glass of La Luna prosecco, $12 per bottle. “For great values in sparklers, you almost always want to choose prosecco,” says Chris Miller. “Super thrifty is usually a chicken braise or a main-course pasta,” says Evalin Stearns. “I do an eggplant dish where the slices are stuffed with ricotta salata, breaded and sauteed, and then baked with fresh tomato basil
Whether it is a hot and healthy lunch for your Board Members or an elegant Holiday Party, Our Town Catering & Events is your corporate and personal catering resource. Our event designer can assist with venue selection, rental needs, entertainment and any special requests.
Portland, Maine 04101 207.512.4085 www.OurTown.Catering Info@OurTown.Catering
5 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Courtesy stonewall KitChen
tin with aged gruyere ($7.95 per pound). Aurora can roast your turkey or turkey breast, too, unless you’d prefer grilled swordfish loin steaks with tomato caper aioli ($15.95 each).
sauce [and] fresh mozzarella and reggiano.” We have access here to spectacular local chicken. Pick up whole birds or parts at the Rosemont Markets or Portland Food Coop or from the farmers’ market. These may cost you over $4 a pound, which is nevertheless still a good value. Not up for chicken? Braise lamb shanks or beef short ribs or a porchetta-seasoned pork roast in your slow-cooker. For inspiration, head for the wonderful butcher shop at the Farm Stand in South Portland for local meat. As with the Rosemont butchers and the Vacchianos at Pat’s Meat Market, these are people who like to cook as well as eat excellent meat, and they’re all friendly and forthcoming with cooking suggestions. Another tip–they all make their own natural sausages. Layer your braise with lots of deep flavors with spices from the Mediterranean or Asia. The Rosemonts and Whole Foods carry the Maine-based and fantastic Gryffon Ridge line of organic herbs and spices. The gryffonridge.com website is a great place for low-cost, high-flavor ethnic recipes like
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358 Main St., Rte. 1, Thomaston 207-354-9237 www.maine.gov/corrections/industries/page7.html 358 Main St., Rte. 1, Thomaston | 207-354-9237 Opening Summer of 2013 New Windham Retail Outlet 608 Roosevelt Trail, Route 302, Windham, ME Now Open! New Windham Retail Outlet 608 Roosevelt Trail, Route 302, Windham, ME
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Family-Owned Old World Butcher Shop & Market Come find all the great flavors of the holidays in one store! Open Daily 8am-6pm • 799-3374 101 Ocean Street, South Portland
EL RODEO M E X I C A N
R E S T A U R A N T
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Daily Lunch & Happy Hour Specials Fresh Guacamole • Live Latin Music • Functions Catering • Delivery • Kids Eat Free on Sundays 147 WESTERN AVE., SOUTH PORTLAND • 773-8851 5 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
chicken curry and Vietnamese braised pork with caramel sauce. For main-course pasta, it’s off to Micucci’s for a look at imported pastas, or to South Portland for Terra Cotta Pasta’s line of fresh pastas ($3.99 per pound) that includes linguini, angel hair, and whole sheets. They carry a fresh ricotta that’s much creamier than supermarket (about $4 per pint). Everyone loves homemade lasagna, and it gives you the option to make it vegetarian if you like. Everyone loves spanakopita, too, and you can pick up phyllo pastry and feta at Micucci’s, not to mention Kalamata olives. Mediterranean peasant feasts call for red wine. “Scaia, definitely,” says Jacques DeVilliers, owner of Old Port Wine and Cigar. “It’s from the Veneto, everyone loves it, and it’s $10.99. Great value.” A little fancier: “We’ve got a Greek red–Oenos, a xinomavro from Naoussa ($21.99) that John Regas at Emelitsa raves about.” Sweet retreat orgeous desserts are made in and around Portland every day. If you’re not a great baker or confectioner, you’re in luck. You can leave it to the pros. Because you’re feeling extravagant, you order a Black Forest Kirsch torte from the European Bakery in Falmouth. The sixinch version is $22.95, which serves six to eight, and the 12-inch is $49.95. With a smaller budget but equally high standards, choose the chocolate stout cake from the Rosemont’s bakery. “We use Allagash Black stout,” says baker Erin Lynch. “It’s chocolate cake with chocolate chunks and chocolate ganache frosting. The other favorite since the very beginning is the ginger molasses with lemon drizzle frosting.” The sixinch bundt cakes are each $9.99 and serve six to eight. Add a scoop of Gifford’s awardwinning vanilla ice cream ($5.29 a quart at Hannaford), and you’re set. Or how about a bourbon pecan pie from Two Fat Cats? The nine-inch is $22.50. Maybe all you need after a feast is a hot cup of Alanzo’s Double Dark fair-trade from Coffee by Design ($14.50 per pound) and a chocolate truffle from Dean’s Sweets. An assortment of 16 is $29.50, and flavors include Hot Coffee (espresso/cayenne), Maine Sea Salt Caramel, and Moxie. n
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To see a showcase of more Maine food & drink visit portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2015/9/partyparty
When the weather outside is frightful, our firepits make it more delightful.
This holiday season a gift certificate from Gagne & Son can go a long way to warming the hearts of family and friends. They can use it toward the materials they need to create the perfect outdoor fireplace or fire pit. It’s a gift that will be cherished for many years to come. Stop in to one of our convenient locations to purchase your gift certificate or call 1-800-339-3313 for more information. Or go to gagneandson.com to see our entire collection. As the snow begins to fly and the magic of the season begins to take hold, we wish you and yours good times and glad tidings surrounded by those you love. Belgrade | Auburn | Westbrook | Kittery | Saco | Naples | Topsham | Holden SCAN HERE TO VIEW OUR ONLINE CATALOG >
6 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
L’Esprit de L’Escalier
Voyages de Vacances
A holiday in France surprises.
GIRAUD PAtRIck
A
B y R h e a C ô t é RoBBins
foot in Centre, France, still I wonder où sont les français du Maine. Tout partout. Everything everywhere. If I look for directions to the dry moat during our stay at Château de Cinq-Mar feudal castle in order to watch my three grandsons fence or play soccer, Ian, the youngest, explains, “Go by the French sign, blah, blah,” and follow the path. Luc, my middle grandson, insists we read–aloud!–from Harry Potter the second we climb into our tiny French car to visit more castles nearby. My husband and I have joined our son and his family along with another grandson, Xerxes, for their European castle tour of France. The most one can do is to transform, translate dioramas at the Museum of French Emigration to Canada into a vision that excites the imagination of all three generations: the vivid passage of our direct ancestors to New France from Tourouvre, France, where between 1634 and 1666, 246 inhabitants of Perche left their native land to settle in New France, a.k.a. Turtle Island. Or, by channeling our visit to Château de Langeais, a medieval castle, where Anne of Brittany married and became Queen of France, thereby uniting Bretagne and France for the first time, a feat she would repeat as she was twice crowned queen in her brief lifetime, 1477 to 1514. Who was Anne of Bretagne? Looking for her biography, I am transported to Wales, Maine, where one of her biographers, Helen Sanborn, lived–she of the Chase & Sanborn coffee and tea family, who traveled on several journeys to France beginning in 1908 to hunt for information on this frayant Breton woman and her influences. Inspiring others with her life, Anne of Bretagne now has her own rock opera by Alan Simon. Tout partout. One has only to look to see to know to hear to understand. n
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D e c e m b e r 2015 61
Wher e Recyclin g has Always bee n in Style
Forget Me Nots
5pm–12:45am
207-347-7557 bodamaine.com 671 Congress Street in Portland, Maine on the corner of State St. and Congress St.
Bayside american Café (formerly Bintliff’s) has been owned and run by Joe & Diane Catoggio since 2003. their craveable menu includes simple to decadently delicious items like housemade smoked salmon, corned beef hash, crab cakes, sandwiches, salads, Benedicts, and more. Come enjoy the food and drinks, and discover why customers love Bayside american Café. Breakfast, brunch, and lunch are served daily starting at 7 am. 774-0005 . 98 Portland St., Portland, baysideamericancafe.com. Brea lu Cafe has been serving up breakfast & lunch for 25 years! Favorite menu choices include 12 speciality omelettes, build-your-own breakfast burritos, Belgian waffles with fruit, eggs Benedict & homemade corned beef hash. enjoy a pint sized bloody mary, mimosa, or irish coffee while you feast on your favorite breakfast. open daily, 7am-2pm. 428 Forest ave., Portland, 772-9202.
Open Nightly no reservations no take-out parking available
Dining guiDe
Now located at The Shops at Falmouth Village, 240 U.S. Route One
Now acceptin g season al cloth in g and accessor ies 781-8252 U.S. Route One Falmouth, Maine
Tues–Fri 10–6 Sat 10–5 Sun 12–5
forgetmenotsfalmouth.com
Bruno’s Voted Portland’s Best italian Restaurant by market Surveys of america, Bruno’s offers a delicious variety of classic italian, american, and seafood dishes–and they make all of their pasta in-house. great sandwiches, pizza, calzones, soups, chowders, and salads. enjoy lunch or dinner in the dining room or the tavern. Casual dining at its best. 33 allen ave., 878-9511. Bull Feeney’s authentic irish pub & restaurant, serving delicious from-scratch sandwiches, steaks, seafood & hearty irish fare, pouring local craft & premium imported brews, as well as maine’s most extensive selection of single malt Scotch & irish whiskeys. live music five nights. open 7 days, 11:30am-1am. Kitchen closes at 10pm. 375 Fore St., old Port, 773-7210, bullfeeneys.com diMillo’s C’mon. now through December, relax and enjoy head Chef melissa Bouchard’s masterful creations. every day, she offers something new and delicious. try our early Dinner Specials, monday-Friday or our wonderful Port Side lounge, Portland’s getaway for grownups. happy hour includes a special menu mondayFriday, 4-7pm. open daily at 11am, Commercial St., old Port, 772-2216. always FRee PaRKing while aboard. El rodeo, an incredibly authentic mexican Restaurant and Bar, is locally-owned and familyoperated at their convenient South Portland location. open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. tableside guacamole, sizzling fajitas, delicious margaritas, and live latin music are to be enjoyed. See Facebook for daily specials. 147 Western ave., South Portland, 773-8851 Eve’s at the Garden, an oasis of calm and great food in the middle of the old Port. the perfect spot for meetings, special occasions, and a cocktail. ingredients from maine’s waters and farms: jumbo scallops, natural, sustainable pork, beef, fish, and shellfish, and maine lobster. home to the annual ice Bar, eve’s garden is perfect for outdoor dining in season. happy hour mon. Fri.; free valet parking. lunch 11:30am-2pm, Dinner 5-9:30pm. 468 Fore St., Portland, 7759090, evesatthegarden.com Great lost Bear a full bar with 70 beer taps of maine & american craft breweries & a large Belgian selection. menu features salads, burgers, a large vegetarian selection & the best nachos & Buffalo wings in town. Discover where the natives go when they’re restless! every day 11:30am-11:30pm. 540 Forest ave.,
6 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
RestauRant RestauRant Review Review Diane DianeHudson Hudson
in the Woodfords area of Portland, 772-0300, greatlostbear.com Hurricane Restaurant features the finest seafood and New england cooking on maine’s coast. Serving lunch and dinner seven days a week. Sunday brunch ‘til 3:30pm. Discover our award-winning wine list, enjoy $10 off every bottle of wine on Wednesdays. Wicked good house-made pastries, signature cocktails, and extraordinary five-star New england cuisine. reservations strongly suggested. Dock Square, Kennebunkport, 967-9111, hurricanerestaurant.com Kon Asian Bistro Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is upscale Asian with modern flair. Japanese, Sushi, Thai, chinese–or try our hibachi tables. Our private party room accommodates groups from business meetings to birthday parties. choose fresh, delicious items and enjoy our entertaining chefs preparing your meal in front of you. Family friendly; open mon.-Thurs. 11:30am-10pm, Fri. to 11pm, Sat. 1pm-11:00pm, Sun. 11:30am-9:30pm. 874-0000, konasianbistrome.com Maria’s Ristorante is Portland’s original classic Italian restaurant. Greg and Tony Napolitano are always in house preparing classics like Zuppa de Pesce, eggplant Parmigian, Grilled Veal Sausages, Veal chop milanese, homemade cavatelli pastas, Pistachio Gelato, Limoncello cake, and maine’s best meatballs. Prices $11.95 - $22.95. Tue.-Sat. starting at 5pm. catering always available. 337 cumberland Ave. 772-9232, www.mariasrestaurant.com
from top: courtesy tuscan brick oven, photo by Jeff roberts; Diane huDson
Pedro’s focuses on simple yet full-flavored mexican and Latino food. Offering tacos, burritos and an impressive array of margaritas, sangria, beer, and wine. Especiales de la semana (specials of the week) keep the menu varied and fresh and showcase different Latino cultures. Seasonal outdoor dining available. Open daily, 12pm-10pm. 181 Port rd., Kennebunk, 967-5544, pedrosmaine.com Pier 77 & The Ramp Bar & Grill are owned & managed by Kate & chef Peter morency. Pier 77 has a formal dining room with stunning views of cape Porpoise Harbor & live music each weekend, while the ramp is more casual, with its own bar menu at hard-to-beat prices. Open yearround. 77 Pier rd., Kennebunkport, 967-8500, pier77restaurant.com * *reservations recommended
Scratch-made Nice People Totally Authentic l Feeney’s Bulportland’s pub 773.7210 375 Fore Street in the old Port Facebook.com/bullFeeneyS @bullFeeneyS
Fireside, Freeport The Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro is just the place for feasting after a day of shopping.
T
here’s comfort food, which many restaurants can boast about serving. And then there’s comfort itself which is more rare. Tuscan Bistro in Freeport, a stone’s throw from LL Bean, offers both. Imaginatively lit, the airy, spacious dining room is studded with comfortable sofas and tables with comfy high-back armchairs. The flickering flames of the brick oven, front and center, can be seen from every corner. Its scent alone provides a welcome respite from the chills of the evening outside. We take a seat at the bar where, until 6 p.m., happy-hour drink prices are 20 percent off. A Makers Mark Manhattan and a Pear Rosemary Martini are each $8.80. Once seated for dinner, we peruse an affordable wine list from which we select dependable Lesse-Fitch Pinot Noir ($24). We begin with the most satisfying charcuterie. Ever ($18). The house-made grilled veal and rabbit sausages are superb; over-
the-top crispy, braised pork belly is heavenly. But wait! There’s also a jelly jar filled with velvety, deep-flavored duck liver mousse with various accoutrements. Going forward, we’re totally enchanted with the exquisite roasted squash and truffle sformatino ($11). Is that a new word for you, too? I still can’t pronounce it (nor could our waitress). Anyway, think souffle. This is a savory Italian egg custard dish, ingeniously concocted with roasted local butternut squash, pine nuts, white truffle oil, alfredo sauce, pink peppercorn parmigiana mousse, and balsamico. So stunning in its towering presence we have reservations diving into it. But we do–bellissimo! The excellent Cornish Game Hen ($24) is moist and flavorful. Perhaps that’s attributable to this all-natural, semi-boneless bird being brick-oven roasted. Accompanying roasted local carrots, brussels sprouts, and parsnips are equally successful, as are the parmigiana reggiano mashed potatoes. We will return for the popular woodgrilled pizza, the braised local rabbit with hand-cut pappardelle ($20), cannoli ($5), made with cinnamon basil ricotta and candied pistachios, or perhaps the Grand Marnier chocolate mousse ($6) with bittersweet chocolate and extra virgin olive oil. n Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro, 140 Main St, Freeport. Open daily, 11 a.m-9 p.m., 869-7200 or tuscanbrickovenbistro.com D e c e m b e r 2015 63
Coming March 2016 21mm
“A novel that captures 1920s Boston through the eye of a young Italian castrato seeking love.”
Boston Castrato
The
Colin W. Sargent
R
affi left more than Rom e behind. Snipped by a bishop as a boy, he is bundled off to America when the Church takes shame Forbidden to use his . voice, he explores oth er gifts that steal him into the society of Boston’s gangsters, necromancers, and crew surrounding the the wild poet Amy Lowell as he searches for a gen love song. What E. uine L. Doctorow’s Ra gtim e did for New York, The Boston Castrato does for 1920s Bosto n.
In exuberant and yet precise prose, Colin Sargent conjures a sweeping tale of lov e, murder, and rev enge. - Ch ris tin a Bak er kli ne , #1 Ne w Yor k Tim es Bes tse lli ng au th or of or ph aN Tra iN.
Wicked shards of humor and sophis ticated, astonishing word play reminiscen t of James Joyce’s Ulysses make up the heart of this incand escent novel by Co lin Sargent. A rare book, one that wil l settle into the sou l for a lifetime. - Mo rg an Cal lan ro ge rs, au th or , red rub Y he arT iN a Col d blu e sea
From Barbican Press of London and Hull Available For Pre-Order From Amazon.co.uk £9.99 / $17.95
www.BarbicanPress.com
Cover design : www.rawshock.co .uk
Colin W. sargent (www.colinwsargent.c om)
ISBN 978-1-9099
54-20-5
9 781909 95 4205
M a de i n Mai ne
Books are Back
It’s the season to curl up with a good book, and we don’t mean by scrolling type on a screen or with buds in our ears.
B y C l a i r e Z . C raMer
P
ublisher’s Weekly recently reported that the online book empire Amazon opened a bricks-and-mortar retail bookstore in Seattle. It’s 5,500 square feet of real books, the kind with actual pages you can pick up and flip through over and over without electronic assistance. A VP at Amazon told the trade paper that “we hope this is not our only one.” Is that so? Back here in the land of indie bookstores that weathered the mail-order bargains and ebook tsunami of Amazon.com by remaining treasured hubs for real books and the bookworms who love them, we are unimpressed. Maine publishers had a great year. So did Maine writers, an accessible tribe who regularly read and sign their new work at libraries and bookstores. Maine independent book sellers had a good year, too. The Sherman’s Books mini-chain just grew to six stores with the purchase of Maine Coast Book Shop and Cafe in Damariscotta from Susan and Barnaby Porter, who owned and ran the beloved institution for 40 years. Here we offer a few titles we enjoyed in 2015.
Joining the timeless category is Maine, The Wilder Half of New England, William David Barry’s 2012 extremely readable history of the state from its days as a native territory to present times. Full of illustrations, humor, insight, and vintage art and cartography, it’s a one-stop desktop reference. (Tilbury House, $30)
Nothing good comes of grudges among lobstermen, as readers discover in Of Sea And Cloud. The dark, moody tale set in a remote coastal fishing town is the first novel by Jon Keller, a commercial fisherman turned novelist. (Tyrus Books, $24.99)
Portland writer Kate Christensen has a way with memories and food. This year’s How To Cook a Moose follows her popular previous memoir, Blue Plate Special. Her novelist’s skills serve her retelling of her adventures, and some of them come with recipes. This is a woman who’s not afraid to cook a moose. (Islandport Press, $24.95)
Things get hot when journalist/sleuth Jack McMorrow investigates an outbreak of suspicious fires in the pretty little village of Sanctuary, Maine. Once Burned– Gerry Boyle’s 10th in this terrific series–is a page-turner. (Islandport Press, $24.95)
Maine’s most notorious and misunderstood critter is shown respect and empathy in wildlife biologist Geri Vistein’s fictional tale I Am Coyote. The novel, for middle-readers and up, follows the female Coyote from the Canadian plains to civilization on Mt. Desert. Your opinion of North America’s “song dog” will be forever changed. (Tilbury House, $16.95)
Out of the Past
Food and drink maven Kate McCarty’s Distilled In Maine, A History of Libations, Temperance & Craft Spirits covers everything from the rum trade to rum running during Prohibition to the temperance movement. Even more useful are chapters on present-day craft distillers like Sweetgrass and Liquid Riot, and there are plenty of photos and vintage illustrations. Michael Dekker’s French & Indian Wars In Maine concerns the turbulent years between 1675 and 1759, when British, French, and Native Americans were in perpetual conflict in what would become Maine. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Portland is a concise 135-page biography including many poems, transcripts of correspondence, illustrations, and vintage documents. (All are from History Press; each paperback is $21.99.) n DECEmbEr 2015 65
OYSTER PERPETUAL SUBMARINER DATE IN 18 KT WHITE GOLD
rolex
oyster perpetual and submariner are trademarks.
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
Retail Details ec. 6-Dec. 14 • Bodhi Day, Dec. 8 •
nukkah, D 2015: Ha
Winter Solstice, Dec. 22
aa, Dec. 26-Jan. 1 2016: New Year’s Day, Jan. 1 • Epiphany, Jan. 6 ec. 25 • Kwanz Christmas, D Jan. 14 Makar Sankranti,
• Mahayana New Year, Jan. 24 • Chinese New Year, Fe b. 8
Mardi Gras, Feb. 9 • Persian New Year, Mar.
20 • Easter, Mar. 27
Top: Corey TempleTon; gifT phoTos assoCiaTed wiTh respeCTive Company unless oTherwise noTed
Thai New Year, Apr. 13 • Cambodian New Year, Apr. 13 • Pas sover, Apr. 22-30
Heat Things Up Not too hot. extra chocolate. Shaken, not stirred. Why is it that the people with the special orders are always standing in front of us in line? Spice things up with an Aztec Hot Chocolate from Dean’s Sweets ($10.50 for 9 oz., 475 Fore St., deanssweets.com). celebrate the anniversary of December 16, 1773 with a Boston Tea Party blend from Dobra ($5 a pot, Dobra Tea, 89 exchange St., dobrateame.com), or get your caffeine fix in a festive way with holiday coffees from coffee by Design, featuring flavors such as Frosty’s Favorite and Jingle Bell Java ($15.50 for 16oz., coffee by Design, 1 Diamond St., coffeebydesign.com).
s s i M t ’ Don • The Nutcracker, Maine State Ballet Dec. 4, 5, & 6
• Copper Beech Tree Lighting, Portland Museum of Art, Dec. 5 • Merry Madness, Portland, Dec. 10, 5-10 pm
• The Nutcracker, Atlantic Ballet Company, Camden Opera House, Dec. 3
• The Nutcracker, Bossov Ballet, Dec. 11-13
• Sparkle Weekend, Freeport, Dec. 4-6
• Magic of Christmas, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 11-13; 18-20
• Christmas Prelude, Kennebunkport Dec. 4-13 • The Snow Queen, Portland Stage Company, Dec. 5-Dec. 23
• The Victorian Nutcracker, Portland Ballet, Dec. 12, 13 & 16 • Christmas by the Sea, Ogunquit, Dec. 11-13
Warm your heart and celebrate the merry season in Downtown Portland & the Old Port… D e c e m b e r 2015 6 7
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
Winter... ready, set, go!
Shake it All Up Experience Vena’s Fizz House at your house with an Infusion Kit. Vena’s takes the guesswork out of mixing up exotic cocktails by filling mason jars with tantalizing ingredients (such as dried fruits, organic cane sugar, and bitters) that will create Maple Old Fashioneds, Cherry Mojitos, Berry Tequila Smashes and other fancy quaffs just by adding recommended liquor. Kits are $8/half-pint, $12.50/ pint at Vena’s Fizz House, 345 Fore St., Portland, venasfizzhouse.com.
The Preppy Handbag traditional red and black buffalo check plaid is reworked into one of many Sea Bags totes, famous for their recycled sails. $165-$185, Sea Bags, 25 Custom house Wharf, seabags.com.
Klassy Koozie That can of PBR giving you cold hands? Wrap it in this Portland-made brown leather koozie from Kurier and drink in style; $25, for 16 oz. tall boy cans; Kurier, 615A Congress Street, shopkurier.com.
From parkas to ponchos, shearlings to scarves, reversibiles to wraps, vests, earmuffs, mittens and gloves...we’ve got you covered!
DI
DINO INTERNATIONAL FURS 343 Gorham Rd. South Portland, ME (Next to Talbot’s)
207.772.1344
D I N OF U R S . COM
f
6 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Dance with the Stars Hand-cut glass stars by Christine mcgrath to brighten your holidays. $32 for 7 inch stars. Compliments Gallery, Dock Square, Kennebunkport. complimentsgallery.com
…eavesdropping on wonders
too wonderful not to pursue.
Courtesy Photos
Cozy accessories from $99
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
Give the BEST Gift Ever!
Gifts Jewelry Home 10% off your purchase with this ad. Expires December 24, 2015.
thesockshack.com 564 Congress St. Portland ME Fabulous socks for men, women, and kids.
SHARE THE JOY
Holidays, Community & Coffee
esig
D e c e m b e r 2015 6 9
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever a comedy by Barbara Robinson
Armed & Glamorous
Pretty cotton paisley Womanswork garden gloves have extra-long sleeves with a pull cord at the top to tighten them and protect your arms from scratches and insects. the decorative buckle and synthetic leather palms are a bonus. Find them at O’Donals Nursery in gorham, estabrook Farm in yarmouth, and mainescape in Blue hill for $29. womanswork.com
Latitude and Longitude pendant and Maine charm in 18k gold Sterling silver cuff and ring, with 18k Maine on ring
ELIZABETH PRIOR Silver Gold & Glass Latitude & Longitude
Fore River Gallery 87 Market Street, Portland
www.epriorjewelry.com 7 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
courtesy photo
December 4 - 13 ■ Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
SO ST linen
“Burning the planet one tongue at a GOOD CHEER! ANNUAL SALE NOV 15 – DEC 30
“Burning the planet one tongue at a time” Captain Mowatt’s - Portland, Maine 207-773-8047 | CaptainMowatts.com
all in linen all season all made in maine 5 South Street | Portland, ME 774. 234.7678 www.southstreetlinen.com D e c e m b e r 2015 7 1
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
Visit the store
Consult
• Freshwater & Saltwater Fish
Aquarium Science Graduates on Staff
• Coral • Reef Tank
• Freshwater Specialist
•Unique Rain Forest Pond
• Saltwater Specialist
• Aquatic Plants
Installation We have all the tools & materials to set up the perfect aquarium in your home or office.
Maintenance • Cleaning services available! • Water quality testing • Leave the pet-sitting to us! • Moving services • Tank filling
(207) 887-4141 • Open Monday-Saturday 10am-7pm Sunday 11am-4pm easy-aquariums.com | Call or email with questions: info@easy-aquariums.com | 664 Main St., Gorham 7 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Give the Gift of Music Each year hundreds of enthusiastic people give to the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ showing their appreciation for the great music and events surrounding the Kotzschmar Organ. Your generous gifts account for over 30% of money raised each year.
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide …in the flickering windows and snow-dusted streets…
Something Blue Falmouth artist Bevin Strider homberg illustrates wildlife onto weathered barnwood–”the knots have character!”– and whales and owls seem to suit their wooden canvas. $25-$75, available at the Salty lobster, 88 main Street, Freeport. mermaidmeadow.etsy.com
Fresh New Look…Same Great Style!
Sturdy and pleasantly lightweight, this little wooden handbag measures 7-1/2” x 5-1/4”, just right for your phone and cards. matte-finished oak crafted by Bellota, available at Portland trading Co., $85. portlandtradingco.com
Maybe Just a Sip…
The unique boutique with vintage charm. Featuring elegant and casual dresses, sportswear, handbags, shoes, jewelry and accessories for ladies of all generations. 52 Exchange Street, Portland • (207) 772-1699 • tavecchiaboutique.com 7 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
in the mood for something a little stronger? Cuddle up next to the fire and drink like a norse god with a HoneyMaker Elderberry Mead from maine mead Works ($17/ bottle, maine mead Works, 51 Washington ave., mainemeadworks. com). or enjoy Rising Tide’s d’Hiver winter saison-style ale, brewed with rye and spices to produce a rich mahogany pour ($3 for a 12 oz. bottle, Rising tide Brewing Company, 103 Fox St., risingtidebrewing.com). Ring in the holidays with Cranberry Smash from Sweetgrass, a customer favorite cranberry brandy-fortified cranberry wine ($17 for 375 ml bottle, Sweetgrass Winery, 324 Fore St., sweetgrasswinery.com).
CloCkwise from top left: Bevin HomBerg; Courtesy new meadows media; d.Cole; Courtesy pHoto; james sanBorn
Mighty Little Oak Purse
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
They Fly by Night
What budding naturalist would wouldn’t want to find A Little Brown Bat Story under the tree? Melissa Kim’s board book (Islandport Press, $10.95), illustrated by Maine artist Jada Fitch, tells the story of one bat seeking shelter for the winter to avoid the powdery-nose fungus that threatens North American bats. The book is second in a wildlife series created with Maine Audubon. Find it in bookstores or at the Audubon’s Gilsland Farm in Falmouth. islandportpress.com
Draw Me a Bath Plunge into the tub with these Lavender Bath Salts from the Salt Cellar. Antiseptic lavender helps to soothe dry skin that comes with a Maine winter ($10, Salt Cellar, 172 Middle St., salt-cellar.com). Add a warm glow with a soy candle from The Primitive Keeper, hand-poured in Maine and available in scents such as Black Raspberry Vanilla and Gingered Bergamot ($16 for 16 oz. candle, primitivekeeper.com).
A Semi-Charmed Kind of Life A charming way to create a personalized gift–choose from symbols, letters, and birthstones to design your own. D. Cole recommends the birthstone and initial of a loved one; $29-$34 each, 10 Exchange Street, dcolejewelers.com
Museum Store and Preview Gallery pe Now O
n!
99 Main Street
WCM-2016-Winter-Magazine_v1.indd 2
Jewelry • Maine Gems • Gifts •
Bethel, Maine
•
207-824-3036
•
MaineMineralMuseum.org
10/21/15 4:45 PM
D e C e M B e R 2015 7 5
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
For your Stud likes: solid wood, nails. Dislikes: negative space, plaster. Stud-pop is the cute, colorful, $9.99 version of the standard contractor’s bigger, klutzier stud locator. Roll it back and forth slowly across a wall until it snaps to attention and sticks tight. manufactured by easy sy Street of Kennebunk, find it at studpop.com.
For the Millennial Boyfriend Who Has Everything
• PORTLAND’S Portland’s premier fishMARKET market • PREMIER FISH • COURTEOUS & KNOWLEDGEABLE SALES STAFF • Gift cards for gift giving • WIDE VARIETY OF QUALITY FISH &cheer SEAFOOD • party platters for holiday •• WE PACK TO TRAVEL & SHIP NATIONWIDE Traditional holiday seafood available • GIFT CARDS
• Wide variety of quality fish & seafood We pack travel & ship nationwide (207) •775-0251 or to (800) 370-1790 • www.harborfish.com
Happy Holidays to all!
9 Custom House Wharf • Portland, Maine 04101 • Mon-Sat 8:30-5:30
Monday–saturday 8:30-5:30 • sunday 9:00-4:00 (207)775-0251 or (800)370-1790 • www.harborfish.com 9 Custom House Wharf • Portland, Maine 04101 7 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Warm Hands, Warm Hearts Pop these felt hearts into the microwave for 20 seconds and then slip them in your pockets or mittens for 30 minutes of handwarming. These fair-trade felt feel-goods are designed in Portland and sewn in Nepal, $20/pair, available at mulxiply.com
Staff photo; portland general Store; courteSy photo
You’ll be showering in a winter wonderland with Peppermint soap from Sisters Soap, made with goat milk from appleton Creamery ($4-$5.50, mainesisterssoap. com); afterwards, massage some beard oil into that winter’s growth with a sampler box from the portland General Store; you’ll get three 15-ml bottles of their ginger, whiskey, & tobacco fragrances, and it’ll come in a nifty wooden cigar box ($75, Portland General Store, 43 York St., portlandgeneralstore.com).
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
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Eleven Elm Street • Camden, Maine 04843 • 207-236-2708
THOMASMICHAELS.com D e c e m b e r 2015 7 7
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
Mon. 10–6 207-625-3322 Tues. Closed 28 Main St., Weds. 10–6 Cornish, Maine Thurs. 10–6 Fri. 10–8 AtOnceAllAgog.com Sun. 10–4 Sat. 10–6 Major Credit Cards Accepted
Eat. Play. Save.
Learn from our Best Friend, Life is an adventure...enjoy it!
Everybody likes SAVINGS! The Perfect Gift for yourself or your best friend. Family Night. Date Night. Every Day. Portland Dine Around Club has given Mainers huge savings for 28 years. Members receive special deals for local attractions, over 300 Southern Maine restaurants, sporting events and more! Enjoy getting out and supporting our local economy while reaping the rewards.
PORTLAND DINE AROUND CLUB™ still only
$29.95
Visit Our Maine Mall Kiosk to Purchase! 207.775.4711 or visit the web to order.
dineportland.com
C 7 3 H X = . e ] 4 7 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
We’ve got you covered from A to Z: If you like Art & Antiques, Bakelite, Books & Benches, Chairs & Chandeliers, Decoys, Dressers & Dolls, Etchings & Elephants, Figurines, Frames & Fiestaware,
Gifts & Glassware, Headboards & Hutches, Ironstone & Ivory, Japonica & Jewelry, Keepsakes & Kitsch, Linens & Limoges, Mirrors & Mugs, Noritake & Needlepoint,
Orrefors & Ottomans, Pillows, Pottery & Pewter,
Quilts, Rugs & Rattan, Silver & Stained glass, Teapots & Tables, Urns & Umbrella stands, Vases & Vintage, Waterford & Wicker, X marks the spot, Yellowware & Yard art, and Zebra skin, then you will love
Great Stuff! Consignment A unique shopping experience in Freeport, Maine 475 US Route 1 (207) 865-‐1000
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
The Way Totes Should Be Shoulder your love for our state with this natural tote bag, designed and silkscreened in Portland; $20, 6 Free Street, pineconeandchickadee.com
Taste Bud Teaser
Courtesy Photos
Featuring five different flavors–Pucker Patch, Cotton Candy, Root Beer, Marshmallow Krispy Treat, and New England Berries, this high-fiber sampler pack from Coastal Maine Popcorn is a high-fiver for adventurous souls; $14.99 for a 5-pack, 114 Main Street, Freeport & 43 Exchange St., Portland coastalmainepopcorn.com
Holiday Inspiration Robert Tristram Coffin’s 1941 New england holiday essay receives a fresh treatment with Blue Butterfield’s intricate woodcut illustrations in the new book from Islandport Press ($17.95). celebrate Christmas In Maine’s release on a Free Friday evening, Nov. 20, 5 to 7 p.m., at the Portland museum of Art, including Portland Stage veteran Daniel Noel’s dramatic reading. coffin (1892-1955) was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and bowdoin alumnus; maine native blue butterfield, bowdoin ‘92, is a woodblock artist known for her “A Year In maine” calendar. refreshments provided.
…while we all search for holidays lost and found…
Largest & Most Affordable Selection of Maine Tourmaline and much more! Featuring Maine Artists & Designers Largest & Most Affordable Selection of Maine Tourmaline! Est. c.1930
A light & cozy topper for tees or dresses of 2 ply, 100% cashmere in many festive colors. Let us wrap and Featuring Maine ship for you!
Artists & Designers
American Bead Collection
TRUNK SHOW!
December 5-6 • 10am-6pm 9 Maine stone beads to choose from! Shop early for best selection!
13 Middle Freeport (across from CVS) | 207.865.1818 | rdallen.com 4 Compatible LinesStreet, of Charm Beads & Bracelets!
66 Front St, Bath 207-443-1796. 13 Middle Street | Freeport, ME (across from CVS) | 207.865.1818 | rdallen.com Also, Camden & Boothbay Harbor 800-414-5144
Swiss Time 86 Exchange Street Portland, Maine 04101 www.myswisstime.com Holiday Sale
Now till 12/31/15 Select Watches
OUR WARMEST WISHES
Up to 40% off
D e c e m b e r 2015 7 9
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
8 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
Holiday Gifts & Events Guide
OPEN DAILY at 9am Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Crustacean Cushions
Screened and made in Portland, these throw pillows celebrate Maine's most famous export. Loyal Citizen Clothing can be found at Joseph's in the Old Port; $65, 410 Fore Street, loyalcitizenclothing.com
Vegetarian, vegan, & gluten-free menu options
Located in the
L.L. Bean Flagship store Freeport, Maine
1912cafe.com | 207.865.6660
Visions of Sugar Plum Jam A gift you can eat on that very morning after the kids finish opening their presents. Spread Stonewall Kitchen’s sugar plum jam on toast or scones for a festive holiday breakfast.
Courtesy photos
Prelude Tree Lig
htin g
Uncommon Paws dog collars, leashes, harnesses and accessories are handmade in Portland, Maine. Easily adjustable for a perfect fit.
4, 5:30 pm, Friday, December ebunkport. Dock Square Kenn
www.uncommonpaws.com D e c e m b e r 2015 8 1
More Access, More Choice • With Shared Branching, there are more branches than any single bank in Maine – 170 branches in Maine and over 5,000 across the country. • Credit unions have the largest surchargefree ATM network in the state, with over 230 SURF ATMs. • We offer the latest in mobile technology for account access, to keep you connected across devices, wherever you may be. • Credit unions are about helping you out – with low loan rates, great terms and local decisions.
More than 660,000 Mainers use a credit union and own it. Find out how at mainecreditunions.org
Do l l a r s & sense Money Makeover (continued from page 33) Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes TD BanK tdbank.com Branches: 40; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: with certain accounts. Checking account fee: Free with min. $100 balance. Highest savings account APY & terms: .40%, $100,000 minimum balance Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 12.99% - 22.9% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: N/A Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.184% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.19%, 3/1 ARM Highest APY opportunity: 1.19%, 7-year CD, minimum deposit $250. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.25%, 7-year CD, $250 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .25%, $250 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes
CreDIT UnIons aCaDIa FeDeral CreDIT UnIon
acadiafcu.org Branches: 5; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $1.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .40% Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: As low as 10.90%. Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.99% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 5.64%, with 20% down payment.
Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 5.30%, 10-year fixed, 20% down payment Highest APY opportunity: 2.02%, 5-year CD Highest CD APY & terms: 2.02%, 5-year CD Best APY for 12-month IRA: .40% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes aTlanTIC reGIonal FeDeral CreDIT UnIon atlanticregional.com Branches: 4; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .10% Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99% to 22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.99%, members only Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.063% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.139%, 3-year ARM. Highest APY opportunity: 1.60%, 5-year Step-up CD/ IRA, $500 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.60%, 5-year, $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .40% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes. BanGor FeDeral CreDIT UnIon
bangorfederal.com
Branches: 3; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.35%, Money Market account, $25,000 minimum balance.
Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 7.9% to 10.9% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 1.99%, 2012 car or newer. Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.0%, members only Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.125%, 15-year fixed, members only Highest APY opportunity: 2.12%, 5-year Jumbo CD, $100,000 minimum balance. Highest CD APY & terms: 2.12%, 5-year Jumbo CD, $100,000 minimum balance. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .35%, $25,000 minimum balance. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes CPorT CreDIT UnIon cportcu.org Branches: 6; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: Some. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .20% Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 11.99% 17.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.99% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.125%, 3-yr. ARM. Highest APY opportunity: 1.60%, 5-year CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.60%, 5-year Best APY for 12-month IRA: .60% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes CUMBerlanD CoUnTY CreDIT UnIon
myccfcu.com Branches: 5; Minimum ATM withdraw: $20; Non-customer
Proud of our past. Focused on your future. As Maine’s Oldest Bank we’ve seen our share of history. Since 1827, through good times and bad, we’ve helped our fellow Mainers achieve financial security in the present while planning for tomorrow. Maybe that’s why so many Maine families bank with us, generation after generation.
252 Main St, Saco SACO BIDDEFORD WESTBROOK SCARBOROUGH SOUTH PORTLAND OLD ORCHARD BEACH
www.sbsavings.com
1-877-SACO-BID (722-6243) DECEmbEr 2015 83
How should your bank
account for you?
By knowing your name—not just your account number. By giving you access, not just service. By designing products that fit the way you live, not just the way you bank. By combining genuine with ingenuity. By being here, to take you anywhere.
1-800-860-8821 | CamdenNational.com | or visit one of our banking centers
Dol l a rs & s e n s e ATM charge: Varies; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.15%, $100,000 minimum balance. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.15%, New/Used car under 4 years old. Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.124% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.125%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 2.02%, 5-yr. CD, $75,000 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 2.02%, 5-yr. CD, $75,000 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.75%, $75,000 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No FIVe CoUnTY CreDIT UnIon fivecounty.com Branches: 15; Minimum ATM withdraw: as low as $5 depending on location; Non-customer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .15%, $100,000 min. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 13.75% - 21.25% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.0% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.128% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.451%, 15-year fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.06%, 5-yr. CD, $100,000 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.06%, 5-yr., $100,000 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .15%, $100,000 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes
New Roof? College Tuition?
Looking to Consolidate Debt? Look no further.
No Closing Cost Home Equity Loans* 1-800-750-0959 | Visit MaineLendingExpert.com for details about credit costs and terms! *All terms and conditions are subject to underwriting criteria, and may not be available to all borrowers. Present APR of 3.25% (current as of 1/1/15) will vary with the Wall Street Journal Prime Lending Rate, based on a margin of 0% to 1.5%. In no event shall the APR exceed 18%. Federally Insured by NCUA.
DECEmbEr 2015 85
Do l l a r s & s ense Maine savings FeDeral CreDiT Union
mainesavings.com Branches: 10; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: Yes; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes if qualified Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 2.0, $10,000 max. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 9.99%-18.99%. Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.69% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.128% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.125%, 10-yr. fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.56%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.56%, 5-year CD, $500 min.. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .35%, $500 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Maine sTaTe CreDiT Union
mainestate.cuview.net
Branches: 3; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: Yes; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No. Highest savings account APY & terms: .15%, $25 min. Credit card APRs: From 9.99%. Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.99% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.0% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 2.75%, 10-year fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.65%, 5-year CD, $500 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.65%, 5-yr., $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .50%, $500 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No oCean CoMMUniTies FeDeral CreDiT Union oceancommunities.com Branches: 5; Minimum ATM withdraw: $5 or $20; Noncustomer ATM charge: $3; Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, for most accounts Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .10%, $250 min. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.75%% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.128% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.415% 10-year Highest APY opportunity: 2.01% up to $20,000 in a Kasasa Cash acct. Can be combined with Kasasa Saver for 1.01% up to another $50,000. Highest CD APY & terms: .85%, 5-year, 1.81%, $500 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .45%, $500 min. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes PeoPles CHoiCe CreDiT Union
peopleschoicecreditunion.com Branches: 4; Minimum ATM withdraw: $10; Non-customer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.50%, Money Market savings, $250,000 min. Credit card APRs: From 9.90% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.49% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.0% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.25%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 2.30%, 7-year CD, $10,000 min. Highest CD APY & terms: 2.30%, 7-year , $10,000 min. Best APY for 12-month IRA: .45%, $10,000 minimum. Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No. ToWn & CoUnTrY FeDeral CreDiT Union tcfcu.com Branches: 6; Minimum ATM withdraw: $1; Noncustomer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharg8 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
es: Yes, with Rewards Checking. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: .15%, $25 minimum deposit. Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 8.9%-17.9%. Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.49% for new car; Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.47% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.81% 10-yr .fixed Highest APY opportunity: 3.01%, up to $10,000, with Rewards Checking. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.74%, 5-year CD, min $500 Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.5% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes
Daycare, Boarding & Spa
UNIVERSITY CREDIT UNION ucu.maine.edu Branches: 8; Minimum ATM withdraw: $5, or 20; Non-customer ATM charge: $2; Refund ATM surcharges: In some circumstances. Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 2.97 Kasasa Cash up to.$10,000 Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 7.99% to 17.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.49%, $7,500 minimum loan amount Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.875% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 2.875%, 10-year fixed. Highest APY opportunity: 1.20%, 5-year CD or 2.97% Kasasa Cash up to $10,000. Highest CD APY & terms: 1.20%, 5-year CD. Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.3% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes n
TheBrownDogInn.com 24 Crown Court, Freeport (207)865-1255 | info@browndoginn.com
Stay conncted with Facebook & Instagram! @thebrowndoginn DECEmbEr 2015 87
RICHARD P. WALTZ
Pl u mb i n g & He at i n g C o. In c . The Only Name You Need To Know
Sewer & Drain Services •Drain line & sewer cleaning •Video inspection & locating •Excavation for broken sewer & water mains •Power jetting •Basement flooding •Manhole & catch basin cleaning We have the equipment to install, maintain or repair all your sewer and drain needs.
Heating and Air Conditioning •New systems •System upgrades •Annual maintenance •High-efficency air source heat pumps for heating & cooling CALL US TODAY for information about all your summer cooling needs
Outside Improvement & Living •Patios & decks •Additions •Screened in porches •Windows installations (wood, vinyl, new & replacement •Siding installation (wood & vinyl) Step outside and remodel your outdoor living space this summer into a work space of beauty
Family Owned & Operated Since 1936 Now Under 3rd Generation Ownership Fully Licensed & Insured | Master Plumber License 510 (207) 772 -2801 | www.richardpwaltz.com | info@richardpwaltz.com
House of tHe MontH Colin W. Sargent
The Tory Lover The John P. Mellen House, Saco, $375,000
Michael eric BeruBe - MaineVirtualhoMetours.coM
W
hat a Christmas house. Whenever our family drove through Saco during the wonder years (first in a teal 1957 Ford, then in a metallic copper 1963 Ford Falcon convertible, and finally in an iridescent blue-green 1968 Mustang), my mother used to gaze dreamily at the crisp Federal lines of this lovely home at 15 North Street and say, “Oh, I love that house. Would I ever love to see the inside.” She loved the arched doorway, deeply set in luscious brick, painted white. She loved its roofline, faintly Dutch. Shaded by leafy trees, it made you dream of caring for it. My father seemed relieved when he’d say, gripping the steering wheel, “It’s not for sale, and it needs a lot of work.” This one’s for you, Mom. We’re going in. The John P. Mellen House has been owned by Arnold Manthorne and his wife Felice for 29 years, and they’ve done a lot of work. Arnold (yes, named for Benedict Arnold–he’s “a direct descendant on my mother’s side”) was a Boston lawyer who “tried cases of FDIC fraud for the government.” We enter to find a Federal center hallway with a classic, steep spiral stair flanked by a
formal living room on the left with fireplace and a large dining room on the right with fireplace–both with ‘Indian’ shutters. “There were signs below the wallpaper of a door halfway up from an earlier, straight stairway.” A mysterious door. My mother loved such things, along with “signatures and notes people had written below the wallpaper when we took it off.” A clue for you all: the “P” in John P. Mellen stands for Pepperrell. Mellen was an early shareholder in York National Bank. The European tiles were added to the dining room’s formal fireplace…when? In any case, the changes to this house were made with a good eye. “During the Depression, it may have taken a beating,” Arnold says. “We bought this house from the president of a small insurance firm who was more of a boat person. He didn’t give a damn about the interior of the house.” The Manthorpes do, restoring the original floors and the four formal wood burning fireplaces (there’s also a woodstove and another fireplace in the stone-floored, three-season atrium) and presiding over the recovery of the gardens. They’ve also
worked to make the house comfortable and energy-efficient. Interior magnetized acrylic storm windows keep the drafts away. The furnace is “about 10 years old, the wiring has been updated, and there’s been considerable exterior brickwork, including refurbishing the four elegant square wings that punctuate the roofline, as well as the chimneys. From my earliest memories, the house had Tory chimneys–white-painted, capped by a black stripe. Traditionally, this means its owners had English sympathies during the Revolutionary War. Like this house, Gen. Arnold was inspirational but complicated. The kitchen needs a further update, as does a five-room suite with kitchen where Felice’s mother stayed for twelve and a half years. “She hit 100,” Arnold says. There are four bedrooms, a dry basement with great brick arches, an attic, a classic red barn, “and $50,000 in gardening and flagstones.” This house is “move-in ready” because it’s worth making your own over time. Taxes are $7,366. n D e c e m b e r 2015 89
New eNglaNd Homes & living
THE HATCHER GROUP KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY
JOHN HATCHER
“A HOUSE SOLD NAME”
(207) 775-2121 WWW.JOHNHATCHER.US
Scarborough Higgins Beach Oceanfront 5 BR, 3 Full BA, 1 Half BA $1,199,000
Alfred Waterfront Estate 2 BR, 3 BA plus 2 separate guest homes $2,250,000
Falmouth Stunning Contemporary 4 BR, 2 Full BA, 1 Half BA $529,000
Portland West End Townhouse 4 BR, 3 Full BA, 1 Half BA $742,900
John Hatcher • The Hatcher Group 6 Deering Street, Portland, Maine 04101 207-775-2121• John@JohnHatcher.us • www.JohnHatcher.us
9 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
New eNglaNd Homes & living
237 Waldoboro Road, Jefferson, ME 04348 207-549-5657 • FAX 207-549-5647
Damariscotta Lake in Jefferson Is it time to be near the water? This 3.9 acre lot is waiting for your home or cabin. It is in within feet of the common beach and just a short distance from the common boat launch. Imagine next summer by the water..... $76,000 or a 1.41 acre for $ 37,900 www.BlackDuckRealty.com email: info@blackduckrealty.com
119 Pine Street, Portland
$1,200,000 • Francis Fassett House • Left side offered • Large 4,000+sf main residence • Two 1 Bedroom apartments • 1 Studio Unit
• One of Portland’s noted architectural gems • Historic West End beauty • Off-street parking for 4 vehicles • Fabulous details everywhere
Ed Gardner | Broker 511 Congress St., Portland, ME 04101 (207) 773-1919 For more info and pictures visit: www.Ed-Gardner.com
HARPSWELL Watch the sunset over Middle Bay from the deck of this classic Maine contemporary home. Situated on 10.8 wooded acres with many possibilities, this private home with 435 feet of waterfront is located only 5 miles from Bowdoin College. Features include an open floor plan, sunroom, two first floor bedrooms, plus two more bedrooms on the lower level, American chestnut paneling, pine floors, large deck, and three outbuildings for multiple uses. $585,000.
BRUNSWICK This attractive Meadowbrook home lives large! The circular floor plan provides access to living room, family room, & large kitchen perfect for entertaining. The light filled dining room & deck share lovely views of the back yard and gardens. There is a convenient first floor bedroom with full bathroom plus a second floor master suite, two additional bedrooms and full bath. It is close to town, walking trails, recreation fields and water access points. $348,000.
240 Maine Street • Brunswick, ME 04011 • (207) 729-1863 For Properties, Open Houses, Visual Tours – www.MaineRE.com
Basement Waterproofing Basement Structural Repairs Basement Sump Pumps Basement Humidity & Mold Control ...and Nasty Crawl Spaces too!
1-866-546-0706 TCHaffordPortland.com
December 2015 91
New England Homes & Living
9 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
WORDS By Lewis Turco
Shelf Life Shel
rediff.com
I
Paper is cool–just 561 years after Gutenberg.
began to collect books as soon as I could read, and I enjoyed reading so much I very early decided I wanted to be a writer, to my parents’ sorrow, for they wanted me to be a preacher like my father. I was soon myself bent over the old manual typewriter he’d used to write sermons, hunting and pecking out short stories. In junior high I wrote articles and poems for the school paper, and in 1949, just before I entered high school, one of my short stories won a prize in a summertime high school fiction contest. It was published by the sponsor, a local newspaper in Meriden, Connecticut, where I grew up. I’d been a paperboy since I was in the fifth grade, and in high school I was clippings librarian (called the “morgue clerk”) and cub reporter for The Morning Record. My seventh-grade shop teacher, John Houdlette of Lincoln Junior High School in Meriden, had a daughter, Jean, whom I’d noticed early on. In high school we were classmates and members of the same crowd. Some of the boys in that crowd started a science-fiction reading club called The Fantaseers, which supported a one-bookcase library at my house. In 2004, I published a book titled Fantaseers, A Book of Memories; there’s a photo of the Fantaseers’ library in it. By the time we graduated, of course, all those books were left behind and became part of my own collection. By the time Jean and I were married in 1956, I had books everywhere and no place to put them, so I brought a lot of them up to Jean’s family place in Dresden, Maine, adding them to the large collection that was already there. They were like snow: over the years they accumulated in drifts. In 1960 I began teaching English literature and creative writing at Fenn College, now Cleveland State University, and since then I’ve written a great many book and chapbook manuscripts, more than 50 of which have appeared in print. However, it was a late colleague of mine at the State University of New York at Oswego, where I directed the Program in Writing Arts and
taught for 31 years, who got me started as a bookseller. His name was David Winslow. He had a Ph.D. in folklore, but he had had several other careers as well, including selling antiques and books. He taught me what I know about books as a commodity when he and I, on weekends mostly, became what are known as “book scouts.” We’d sell the books we found upstate to downstate New York book dealers. And, of course, I also sold some of the books I’d been accumulating. One day David called me up to say there was a big sale of stuff in Hannibal, not far from Oswego. They’d advertised books, but when we got there all we found was a box of paperbacks under one table. Dave sneered and walked away to look at other things, but I went through the paperbacks and found one, a first-edition paperback original titled My Hope for America by Lyndon Baines Johnson. I bought it for 10 cents. When we got back to the car Dave saw I’d bought something, asked to see it, and then began to rag me about it. All I’d paid for it was a dime, but he acted as though I’d thrown away a fortune. By the time we got home I was furious and decided to wreak my revenge. My mother had been good with handicrafts, and she’d taught me how to bind a book. In college I’d bound my paperback textbooks so they’d last longer, and as an adult I’d taken to binding paperbacks and restoring old books as a hobby. So I took the
Johnson book, quarter-bound it in cloth and leather, put it in a package with an old leatherbound hymnal, and sent it with return postage to former President Lyndon Johnson. In an enclosed letter I asked him if he’d be willing to sign my book in exchange for the hymnal, which I hoped he would accept as a gift. Not a great while after that, I got his book back. President Johnson had signed a Presidential bookplate for me, and he included a letter on official stationery telling me he was delighted with the hymnal, which he was going to place in the L. B. J. Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. I pasted the bookplate onto the inside front cover of My Hope for America, and I tipped his letter into the volume. Then I called David and asked him to come over so I could show him a book I’d picked up for ten cents at a lousy sale in Hannibal. Later on, I sold the book for a lot of money on one of our downstate book trips. hen Dave and I traveled to a dealer in Johnstown, New York, I was shown an old book with no cover page; it was missing some other pages as well. At the time, I was collecting books and doing research for a book manuscript I’d soon write titled Satan’s Scourge: A Narrative of the Age of Witchcraft in England and New England 1580-1697. I thought I recognized the volume the dealer was showing me, despite its lack of a title page, so I bought it for $25. When I got it home, I looked it up. Sure enough, it was a first-edition copy of A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits, etc., edited, with a preface, by Meric. Casaubon and published posthumously in London in 1659. Dr. Dee was Royal Mathematician to Queen Elizabeth I, but he was also interested in spiritual matters. The book I’d found is one of the most famous occult books in the English language. It was a record of the conversations William Kelly, Dr. Dee’s con-man pal, had with “Madimi” and many other celestial beings, as he dictated them to the good
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Words Doctor who could see and hear nothing in the crystal Kelly used. Kelly came to a bad end. My wife and I saw Dr. Dee’s crystal ball– it was egg-shaped, really–in the British Museum while we were in England in 1993. I wrote to the Cornell University Library, which has a great occult collection, and asked them to send me photocopies of the missing pages. I then restored it and hand-bound it in studded, leather-covered wooden boards in 1971. Many years later, after I’d finished my own book, begun the Mathom Bookshop in Dresden, and gone online, I sold that book to someone in Australia for $1,000. During our summers in Maine I’d go out on bookfinding trips, sometimes alone, sometimes with Jean. Sometimes, her sister Nathalie would come along. One of the places we’d go was Frank McQuaid’s Book Barn in Edgecomb. He’d been a World War II bomber pilot, and I’d been a sailor during and after the Korean War. Another character who roped me into the bookselling business was Charlie Davis, still legendary in Oswego, New York, and in the worlds of folklore and jazz as well. He turned from music to business to poetry and fiction writing and editing. We crossed paths when he took a course in poetry writing with the late Roger Dickinson-Brown, then a member of the staff of my Program in Writing Arts at SUNY Oswego. Davis had grown up in Indiana. His father had been a close friend of a neighbor, James Whitcomb Riley, the “Hoosier Poet,” and Charlie early came under Riley’s benevolent influence. Later on, Charlie graduated from Notre Dame University and, upon his graduation, organized a group of musicians during the heyday of the Big Bands–he wrote about it in his book, That Band from Indiana–and was very successful on the swing and hot jazz circuits. Those of you who watched Ken Burns’s history of jazz on PBS may have noticed a marquee at the Brooklyn Theatre that read, “Charlie Davis and His Joy Gang,” which shared the billing with a young singer named Ethel Merman. Charlie’s band singer was another young person named Dick Powell. One of his compositions of the period was “Copenhagen,” a jazz classic that has been performed by nearly all the famous swing and jazz artists since it was introduced. The composer drew royalties from it twice a year until his death in his nineties. The first course Davis took was titled “The Nature of Poetry.” It was a beginner’s course 9 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
but stringent and technical. In it, the student must write verse exercises in every prosody, schema, and genre imaginable. Davis did well for Dickinson-Brown, and he began to involve himself in the extensive literary scene on campus. He gave readings with other students, and his work was always popular because it was…quaint is the only word to describe it. The Riley influence was clear, at least to the faculty if not to the students, who’d never heard of the Hoosier Poet. avis’s next course was a graduate seminar titled “Conference Course in Writing Poetry.” I taught it. The project involved writing a long poem, something he’d never done, and he was (atypically for the class) given a proscription: He was not to write a single rhymed couplet. Instead, he was going to do something difficult–for him, that is. “But what?” he asked, baffled. “Well, have you ever heard of William Carlos Williams?” “No, should I have?” “Yes, since he’s a famous contemporary of yours. Your first assignment is to read Williams’s Paterson.” Davis did so. No sooner had he digested the book than he began to write. Davis’s And So the Irish Built a Church is a story about Oswego written, like Paterson, in prose and verse, with diary entries, newspaper clippings, songs, and what-have-you (it is impossible for the reader to identify what Davis invented and what he researched), tossed together in a seemingly random, but for all that highly wrought, melange of lore and character and incident. Davis was so carried away he even composed a pseudo-19th-century musical piece and copied it out on aged paper suitably charred to look as though it had been saved from the conflagration that consumed the original church. It turned out to be 120 pages in length– and popular. Everyone was interested in reading the next installment, though Charlie, doing something totally new and experimental for him (except where he managed to sneak in a rhymed song against orders), couldn’t believe his classmates were serious when they applauded him. Since the publication of Charlie’s book, there have been people who know W. C. Williams who claim that …And So the Irish is more readable than its model. Since Paterson is a modern classic, this opinion is heretical. The main criticism of the Davis opus may be
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that it begins to a degree shakily. Riley is recognizable in the sentiment, and Williams in the form: the two do not mix well early on. But as the book progresses, Riley and Williams disappear and Davis rises above his sources to become one of the most engaging literary personalities of the late 20th century, just as the man himself was larger than life. Well, when Charlie had finished, he told me he was too old to start sending his book around to publishers and wait for them to accept it. He thought he’d publish it himself. So he gave himself, with my kibitzing, a short course in book publishing. When The Irish appeared it soon sold out, inspiring Charlie to launch his final career as a publisher. He asked me for a name for the press. I suggested “Mathom.” I told him it was a word out of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings that describes the sort of things that fill the burrow homes of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins: things one has no earthly use for but simply couldn’t bear to throw away. Charlie thought that accurately described the sorts of things he and I would publish (without asking, he assigned me as Editor-in-Chief of Mathom). Two years later, in 1979, I established my summer project, the Mathom Bookshop and Bindery of Dresden Mills, Maine, which would be the North American outlet for the books we published. As though hearing about the shop, books from everywhere began to fly in. Among the Mathom titles were Oswego Charlie Davis’s The Lake Trout and Legend Society’s Cookbook, 1980, and the story of Charlie’s career as a musical director, That Band from Indiana, 1982. More recently, there’s my The Green Maces of Autumn, Voices in an Old Maine House, issued in 2002. It’s a series of monologues by the people who live in the 1754 house built by Sylvester Gardiner on the property where my wife’s family has lived for a century or two. I opened my shop in the tractor garage of the farm on Blinn Hill Road, put a handmade sign out on the road, and began to sell some of the books. I started out with one short shelf of books. Pretty soon I added a shelf, and then another and another, and then I was building permanent bookshelves. One day the Maine State D.O.T. stopped by to tell me I needed to register my business with the sales tax office, and my signs had to conform to rules and regulations. Things were beginning to get expensive. I sold my books cheaply. Customers would stop by, and when they’d bought what they
wanted they’d tell my wife that I was charging too little for my collection. In 1995, I decided to salvage the barn. I put a new floor into the northwest corner where it had collapsed, then built a room on it with shelves, lighting, a phone, and other amenities. The next thing I did was move my books from the garage into the new bookshop, and while I was doing that, I decided to clean out my junk books and re-price everything. One of the books I ran across while I was doing this was a beat-up loose-leaf black cloth notebook bound in half red leather and holding a set of printed pamphlets, 390 pp., constituting a course in Business Law taught at M.I.T. during the school year 1895-96. The pamphlets were in very good shape, but the binder was well worn and the spine was crumbling. It belonged to “C. B. Paine,” who apparently took the course during his “2nd year,” according to an ink notation on the rear pastedown. In the garage I’d had a sticker price on this item of ten cents. There were two semesters’ worth of printed pamphlets in the binder, held in upsidedown by short cords. The name of the teacher was on none of the first semester pamphlets, but on those of the second semester I found the instructor’s name: Louis D. Brandeis, later to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. His specialty was business law, and, indeed, he was teaching at M.I.T. in the pertinent years. bviously, I was no longer going to sell the binder and its contents for ten cents! But what price was I going to put on it? 1995 was the year when the Mathom Bookshop went online, so I warmed up the computer and looked in Bookfinder and everywhere else. There was no trace of another copy anywhere in the world. All I could do was shrug my shoulders and put an arbitrary price on the Brandeis item. I thought $800 sounded pretty good. As soon as Business Law appeared online, a Washington attorney snapped it up. At least my second price was better than my first! It was never hard to find books to sell. Books found me. ❧ By the way, I have recently finished reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Umberto Eco. Titled The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, it is about an Italian rare books dealer who’s had a stroke. When he comes out of it, he remembers nothing of his actual life, only the books he’s read. n
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