Portland Monthly ® Magazine
Restaurant Week Preview • Precious Roses
Maine’s City Magazine
February/March 2011
Volume 26, No. 1
Sargent Publishing
Salon Perspectives 8 Ways to Hot While It’s Still Cool
February/March 2011 Vol. 26 NO. 1 $5.95
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The Year-Round Attractions Of The Woodlands Club Are Hard To Resist.
The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine has something for everyone. • Play golf on our Fazio-designed 18 hole championship course. • Play tennis indoors and outdoors on our clay and hard courts. • Work out in our state-of-the-art fitness center. • Swim year-round in our indoor and outdoor pools. • Participate in a variety of sports and fitness clinics designed for all ages. • Dine year-round in our fabulous new restaurant and lounge areas.
More than a country club it’s a way of life.
Call Mary Anne MacArthur at 207-781-3104, ext. 102 for more information.
39 WOODS ROAD, FALMOUTH, MAINE 04105 • 207.781.3104 • WWW.THEWOODLANDS.ORG
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Welcome to our Main Street.
Every year Androscoggin Bank, through our MainStreet Foundation, gives community organizations a little help. This year we gave close to $50,000 to non-profit organizations that help at-risk youth as part of our commitment to serve our community. Since 1870 Androscoggin Bank has been a resource to the communities it serves. The Bank has awarded more than $500,000 in grants since 1997 when the MainStreet Foundation was established. The Foundation further supports the services of non-profit organizations that help at-risk youth through art programs, education and home services.
bankoncommunity.com 2010 Grant Recipients City of Lewiston Department of Recreation Opportunity Farm for Boys & Girls Lewiston Housing Authority (Hillview) Tri-County Mental Health Services
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Tomorrow’s a BIG Day! Stay HGI Tonight! The Hilton Garden Inn Portland Airport® is adjacent to the Portland International Airport, and only 10 minutes from downtown. Guest rooms offer complimentary wireless Internet, 2 line telephones, voicemail, microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, Herman Miller Ergonomic desk chairs and 32” flat screen HDTV. Our heated indoor pool & whirlpool, NEW fitness facility by Precor Now open and a 24 hour airport shuttle and business center will keep you relaxed and connected. While American Grill serves breakfast & dinner daily, or our Pavilion pantry is open anytime! Plan your next event at the HGI Portland Airport and let our sales & catering team cater to your BIG day. Our New Castle Room holds up to 50 people. Call our sales department for details. To make reservations, Visit us at www.portlandhilton.com or call 1-877-STAY-HGI toll free.
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Inside
February/March 2011
26
10
clockwise from bottom left: REbecca gillenwater; bethany stone; Wikipedia; ritz p a r i s ; shawn colvin; cover inset: AARS
Features
31
26
Watcher in the Clouds
31
Incomparable You
How do you put a sticker price on a house made of straw? By Joshua Lobkowicz
35
Salon Electives
41
Modernism’s Beachhead
43
43
Pilots help save the environment one reconnaissance mission at a time. By Donna Stuart
45
Spectacular studios, exciting choices. By Karen E. Hofreiter Ahead of its time, a Blue Hill architectural wonder proves too ‘New York’ for the locals. By Brad Emerson
Run For Our Roses
Portland’s sweetest-smelling landmark you’ve never crossed the street for. By Jennifer K. Quartararo
A Man For All That
An exit interview with Portland city manager Joe Gray. By Robert Witkowski
16 Departments 10 From the Editor 12 Letters 14 Imperatifs 16 Performance Jessica Lauren Lipton 16 Goings On 25 Chowder Walls 49 Talking Shwartz Block 52 Cuiscen Shad Roe
Watch 57 Market Maine Painted Furniture & Sense 58 Dollars Inexpensive Yardscapes
62 Dining Guide Review 63 Restaurant Hug’s Italian Restaurant Special advertising sections
65 Guide to Wellness of the Month 81 House 5 Beach Road, Peaks Island New England 84 Homes & Living
91 Fiction “Ice-Out at Stoney Batter” By Don McMillan
Cover: Arne Trautmann. See story, page 35.
96 Flash February/March
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editorial Colin W. Sargent, Editor & Publisher
Shaking Up the Sidecar From the Garden
× 7" oil onMile canvasCafe The 5"Crooked Medling 24” xTracy 24” oil on canvas Bruce Habowski
Featuring original works of fine Featuring art, photography, photography, and and limitedlimitedart, edition prints prints by by regional regional edition and local local artists. artists. and
372 Fore Fore Street Street 372 Portland, Maine Portland, Maine 04101 04101 207 874-8084 (207) 874-8084 www.forestreetgallery.com www.forestreetgallery.com
What a blast to crack open the Washington Post’s Metro section and run into breathless posturing (even lecturing!) about how the Sidecar should properly be served. The cocktail has as many inventors as baseball, ice cream, or Facebook, but here’s one with a delicious Maine twist: Former Kennebunkport summer resident and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Booth Tarkington “supposedly invented” the Sidecar with his frequent theatrical collaborator Harry Leon Wilson (among their triumphs, The Man From Home) “during a creative moment in Paris” around 1907, according to Suzannah Mayberry in My Amiable Uncle, a loving tribute which covers Tarkington’s devil-may-care days in Europe (FFI, see his cosmopolitan novel The Guest of Quesnay). That’s over ten years before Wikipedia’s claim of a loopy World War I American Army captain being driven in a motorcycle sidecar in Paris to his favorite bistro. Tarkington’s ingredients of choice at the dawn of the last century were what they are today: cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice, and maybe a maraschino cherry. Glass selection and the possibility of a sugar rim are far more controversial. Consider the urban-chic self-consciousness of this “live chat” with “mixology fans” in the Post: Q: I have ordered a Sidecar at two restaurants recently. Both times, they were served in a Martini glass with the rim dipped in sugar. Is this part of the “martinification” of cocktails…?
Au contraire, mon ami. Our crack investigative team has determined that at Tarkington watering holes like Maxim’s and the Ritz in Paris, it’s more likely a Sidecar would have been served in a champagne coupe, a shallow, wide-rimmed vessel that enjoys notoriety of having been molded on the breasts of Marie Antoinette. It’s very likely a sugar rim did exist on the original version, as the drink is a variation on the Brandy Crusta, which enjoys that sweet periphery. At the blur of parties and receptions at his mansion “Seawood” on South Main Street in Kennebunkport, Tarkington’s friends were instructed to rhyme his first name with “Soothe,” easier to swallow if you’ve had a few Sidecars to let people know you’ve really arrived. Just a dash of history to impress the mixologist at the Mandarin Oriental next time you touch down. If people around you are amazed by your story/drink and ask if Booth Tarkington invented anything else, just wink and say, “F. Scott Fitzgerald.”
www.dcolejewelers.com
from top: Rhonda Farnham; file photo; boozeblogger.com; file photo
A: It is part of the “martinification” of cocktails, though I know places that have been serving them that way since the early 2000s. (I think my first Sidecar was served up with a sugar rim, and that was years ago.) The main difference is whether the drink is being served on the rocks, in which case it would go in the Old Fashioned glass, or up, which would call for the usual cocktail/Martini glass…
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Years
Years
ner Woodworki ort ng F .
E.H.F.
Celebrating 25 Years
165 State Street, Portland, Maine 04101 Phone: (207) 775-4339 Fax: (207) 775-2334 E-mail: staff@portlandmonthly.com www.portlandmagazine.com
Cab
. Inc
Portland TM
Furniture-quality cabinetry and millwork for the entire home.
E.H
PORT L
TM
INE AZ
D MAG AN
i n e t m a ke r s
Colin W. Sargent Founding Editor & Publisher
editor@portlandmonthly.com Art & Production Nancy Sargent Art Director Jesse Stenbak Associate Publisher staff@portlandmonthly.com Robert T. Witkowski Design Director Advertising Anna J. Nelson Advertising Director anna@portlandmonthly.com Lexi Helming Advertising Executive lexi@portlandmonthly.com Nicole Copeland Advertising Executive nicole@portlandmonthly.com editorial Karen E. Hofreiter Assistant Editor & Publisher Colin S. Sargent Special Features & Archives Jason Hjort Webmaster Diane Hudson Goings On · Flash · Reviews Cynthia Farr-Weinfeld Contributing Photographer accounting Alison Hills Controller interns Adam Chittenden, Rebecca Gillenwater, Joshua Lobkowicz, Michael Morris, Jennifer K. Quartararo, Maya Ranganathan, Elizabeth Schluge, Bethany Stone, Krystin Talbot
from top: Rhonda Farnham; file photo; boozeblogger.com; file photo
subscriptions To subscribe please send your address and a check for $39 (1 yr.), $55 (2 yrs.), or $65 (3 yrs.) to Portland Magazine 165 State Street Portland, ME 04101 or subscribe online at www.portlandmagazine.com
Portland Magazine is published by Sargent Publishing, Inc. All corre spondence 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 Alison Hills. Newsstand Cover Date: February/March 2011, published in Feb ruary 2011, Vol. 26, No. 1, copyright 2011. Portland Magazine is mailed at third-class mail rates in Portland, ME 04101 (ISSN: 10731857). 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 as signed for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to Portland Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and comment edi torially. Responsible only for that portion of any advertisement which is printed incorrectly. Advertisers are responsible for copy rights of materials they submit. Nothing in this issue may be re printed in whole or in part without written permission from the publishers. Submissions welcome, but we take no responsibility for unsolicited materials. 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. Portland Magazine is the winner of 27 American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA for excellence in publication design.
S a r g e n t
www.ehfortnerwoodworking.com | P: 207-845-2600 © Sarah Szwajkos Photography
P u bl i sh i ng , i nc .
February/March
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letters editor@portlandmonthly.com
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Smilla’s sense of Facebook
Terrific article [posted to author Patricia Pierce Erikson’s wall for her story “Meet the Other Pearys,” Winterguide 2011]. Wendy Mannis Scher Wow! This is awesome! Lili Siegenthaler [Congratulations!] A good read requires getting ink smudges on your hands. Eric Wilson Very cool. Diana Galaviz Erikson
Hanging with Norman Mailer
800.962.5529 207.829.3386 www.fatandys.com SHOWROOM:
373 Walnut Hill Road No.Yarmouth, ME
I read with interest the interview with John Buffalo Mailer [“When Your Name Is Mailer, You Can’t Phone It In,” December 2010]. In it, he is asked about an incident which I reported in my article for your magazine about Fortune Rock, the Mailers’ one-time summer home on Mt. Desert, in which his father swung him and his older brother over the railing of the balcony at that house. His response is that “In truth, I’m not certain that it really ever happened.” I can attest that it absolutely did. I was at the house with a mutual friend who sailed up Somes Sound with Norman Mailer, and we stayed for dinner. I had never met Mr. Mailer before and was interested, given the pugnacious public persona evidenced in television interviews and debate, and his record of sometimes violent aggression, to find him a completely charming, beautifully mannered gentleman and host. The only time the macho, competitive Mailer of his public image appeared was
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during cocktails, when, out on the balcony with his sons, he picked them up securely and swept them over the railing and back in–with the expectable squeals of delighted terror from the boys–like on a carnival ride. I certainly interpreted the incident as both a toughening challenge for the boys and an exhibition for the guests. At any rate, un comfortable myself around heights, it did in deed make an impression in an evening in which I admittedly was otherwise gob smacked not by Mr. Mailer’s celebrity but the amazing house. Brad Emerson, Blue Hill
Little Bit of Seoul
The Little Seoul article [“Big Heart,” Decem ber 2010] took me back to the early 1950s. Af ter I graduated from Brown in 1953, I went into Army Intelligence… I was to spend 18 months [in Seoul, Korea]. One evening I had dinner at a Korean home with a friend. The people featured three types of Kimchi. That was culture shock. I have never tried it since but admire you for your coverage. Thanks for the memory…we admire your genius in producing such a fine publication. Keep up the good work. Lincoln & Mary Nell King, Carthage, Texas
Shark Tankard
“Present 14 Maine beers chosen by an ex pert…” I wonder who this expert could be, since one selection is a wine (Honey Maker Dry Hopped Mead) and Dogfish Head is brewed in Delaware. Just sayin’… Jeff Brown, Saco
f o l i a j e w e l r y. c o m
Chasing emilia
I can’t thank you enough for including me in the [“Ten Most Intriguing,” November 2010] issue. I was truly honored. Opportunities like that give us indie artists a big leg up…! Emilia Dahlin, Portland
sailing to boston
I would love to meet Jean Fogelberg [“Wild Child,” April 2010] sometime. My husband Dan recently died of prostate cancer, and I started a non-profit in his honor named the “Dan Blue Prostate Cancer Foundation” in West Virginia… My husband, at the begin ning of our relationship in 1980, gave me the album The Innocent Age. Thank you for the great article. Pamela Blue, South Charleston, West Virginia
50 EXCHANGE STREET PORTLAND, MAINE
207.761.4432
Custom designs our specialty
February/March
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Impera Eat your heart out, Harrods. Augustabased Nancy Marshall Communications is the authorized promotional agent for Prince William & Kate Middleton’s official Royal Wedding memorabilia in the U.S. “Buy a replica of the wedding ring for $47!” says Marshall. theukgiftcompany.com
To dwell & back
Send me up, Scotty. The New York Times recently glossed UnhappyHipsters.com for its devilish rewrites of captions to Dwell magazine spreads. Here are two: “Startled passengers aside, turning the subway platform into his new apartment had been a breeze”; “They immediately regretted purchasing the Bibendum and Corbusier from the only modernist McDonald’s in the Netherlands.”
Night
Galleries
14 portland monthly magazine
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Flower Power
Frustrated by “dowdy mom” shirts, South Portland’s Liza Lynch has launched Zinnia Clothing–a fanciful line of catwalk-worthy (yet comfy) tees. zinniaclothing.com
Luminescent moon gardens are perfect for night owls, mosquito-phobes, and daytime workaholics. Channel your inner selenologist with Hutchings Greenhouse to create a twilight paradise with a variety of white flora. 989-2705
Lubec’s Bayside Chocolates sells sea shells by the seashore in heart-healthy dark chocolate. baysidechocolates.com
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Clockwise from top left: nancy marshall communications; Zinnia Clothing, LLC; maine historical society/greater portland landmarks; Coveside Conservation Products; robert witkowski; MAckenzie rawcliffe; interior design ideas
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Our City…
…Your Way!
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(207) 775- 4339 • portlandmagazine.com
Presents Prom 2011 Look for deftly written, lavishly produced Deering: A Social and Architectural History for its off-the-peninsula insights into the mysterious suburbs of what makes us tick. A perfect gift for the Portland lover in you. By William David Barry & the late Patricia McGraw Anderson. mainehistorystore.com/deering.html
Something Wild Prepare for close encounters of the bird kind with this Mahogany Panoramic Window Bird Feeder–a startling window on nature. $130, easy installation. wildbird.com/falmouth
Featuring top designers
Sherri Hill, Tony Bowls, Blush, Jovani, MacDuggal Couture and Pageant 343 Water Street
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207.582.7272
February/March
2011 15
Performance Michael Morris
goingson Events Calendar
Theater Biddeford City Theater, 205 Main St., Biddeford. Edges, Mar. 11-20. 282-0849 citytheater.org Good Theater, St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. Moonlight Magnolias, to Feb. 27; Bedroom Farce, Mar. 10-Apr. 3. 885-5883 goodtheater.com Penobscot Theatre Company, 131 Main St., Bangor. Dirty Blonde, to Feb. 27; To Kill A Mockingbird, Mar. 30-Apr. 17. 942-3333 penobscottheatre.org Portland Players, 420 Cottage Rd., South Portland. A Chorus Line, Mar. 11-27. 799-7337 portlandplayers.org Portland Stage Company, 25 Forest Ave., Portland. 2 Pianos 4 Hands, to Feb. 27; The Center of Gravity, Mar. 1-20; Halpern & Johnson, Mar. 29-Apr. 24. 774-0465 portlandstage.org The Theater Project,14 School St., Brunswick. Storytelling with Al Miller, Feb. 26 and Mar. 19; Readers’ theater, Feb. 26-27, Apr. 16-17; Shift by Charlotte Agell, adapted by Al Miller, Mar. 11-20; Charlotte’s Web, Apr. 8-10. 729-8584 theaterproject.com
Mirror Reflections Jessica Lauren Lipton, 26, is an artist, co-owner of the Sylvia Kania Gallery, and President & Founder of Maine Radio Project. See her latest installation, “Somme Nous les Jouets du Destin,” at the gallery through March 27. Can you give a description of yourself as an artist and a recent project you’ve done?
I strive to create art that moves others. I love doing installations–creating interactive environments people can experience and become a part of. One of my on-going series, “Confrontation as Affirmation,” consists of mirrors with phrases spay-painted on them, such as “You are right here” and “The next move is yours.” They are meant to make viewers hyper-aware of themselves while reminding them they control their own destiny. What’s the biggest compliment you have received?
University of Southern Maine Theater, Russell Hall, Gorham. Triumph of Love, Mar. 11-20. 780-5480 usm.maine.edu/theater Waterville Opera House, 1 Common St., Waterville. A Midsummer Night’s Disco Dream, to Feb. 20; Lend Me a Tenor, Mar. 11-13, 18-20. 873-7000 operahouse.org
Music Bay Chamber Concerts, Strand Theatre, 345 Main St., Rockland. Paul Winter Consort with Midcoast Community Chorus and artist Eric Hopkins, Feb. 27; Curtis on Tour–Spring, Solzhenitsyn and Stars!, Mar. 27. 236-2823 baychamberconcerts.org Bayside Bowl, 58 Alder St., Portland. Kill the Karaoke featuring Trainwreck and the Fuge, every W. 791-2695 baysidebowl.com The Big Easy, 55 Market St., Portland. Line of Force, every M; Hip-Hop Open Mic, hosted by Shupe and Ill By Instinct, every W; A Band Beyond Description, every Th. 775-2266 bigeasyportland.com Blue, 650 Congress St., Portland. Mark Oien & Friends, Feb. 23; Connor Garvey & Friends, Feb. 24; John Colvert, Feb. 25; The Cangelosi Cards Return!, Feb. 26; Port Veritas, Spoken Word, Mar. 1; Irish Music Night, Mar. 2. 774-4111 portcityblue.com The Choral Art Society, 50 Monument Sq., Portland. A Bluegrass Mass with Choral Art Society Singers, Apr. 30. 828-0043 choralart.org Cumberland County Civic Center, 1 Civic Center Sq., Portland. 21st Annual Maine Home, Remodeling & Garden Show, Feb. 19-20; Portland Pirates home games, Feb. 21, Mar. 1, 5-6, 8, 12-13, 22, 25-26, 29-30, Apr. 6, 10; Jeff Dunham,
When people tell me my art scares them, I’m getting under their skin. My mom and I created the gallery two and a half years ago as a place for both of us to create and also showcase other local artists. What’s your perspective on the accessibility of art in Portland, and how is the art scene evolving?
Art in Portland is everywhere; it’s ingrained in the fabric of the city. The most significant evolution is First Friday Art Walks–it’s no longer the time when “those artists” take over Congress Street. The arts district is finally coming around as a legitimate hub in Portland. What’s the purpose behind Maine Radio Project (a free form Internet radio station)?
We feature the music of local artists, interviews with local artists, and discussions about local issues in the arts community. You can find us streaming on iTunes. (For programming schedule, maineradioproject.org.) Where would we find you on a Saturday night in Portland?
Empire Dine and Dance. n
March 8 Shawn Colvin and Loudon Wainwright III at the Stone Mountain Arts Center
from left: Adam chittenden; courtesy shawn colvin
How did you become associated with the Sylvia Kania Gallery?
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from left: Adam chittenden; courtesy shawn colvin
Tidewater Millwork Cabinetry • Moldings • Doors • Turnings • Windows
Woolwich, ME • www.tidewatermillwork.com • 443-8020
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Mar. 9; Smucker’s Stars on Ice 25th Anniversary Tour, Apr. 8. 775-3458 theciviccenter.com Dogfish Bar and Grille, 128 Free St., Portland. Happy Hour with Travis James Humphrey, Feb. 25; Acoustic blues and roots jam with host Mike Beam, Mar. 1; Live jazz with the DelRosse Posse, Mar. 4; Matt Myer and the Junction Gumption, Mar. 5; Sean Mencher and his rhythm kings, Mar. 12; Griffin Sherry and The Ghost of Paul Revere, Mar. 24; the DelRosse Posse, Apr. 1; James Leavitt, Apr. 7. 772-5483 thedogfishbarandgrille.com Jonathan’s Restaurant, 92 Bourne Ln., Ogunquit. Dave Mason, Feb. 26; Bob Marley, Mar. 11; Leon Redbone, Mar. 25; Peppino D’Agostino, Apr. 1; George Winston, A Solo Piano Concert, Apr. 9. 646-4777 jonathansrestaurant.com The Landing, 353 Pine Point Rd., Scarborough. The John Lennon Song Project, Mar. 5; Karla Bonoff, Mar. 20; Livingston Taylor, Mar. 24; J. Geils of the J. Geils Band with Jeff Pitchell and Gerry Beaudoin and The Texas Flood, Apr. 2; Steve Tyrell & His Band, Apr. 3. 774-4527 thelandingatpinepoint.com Maine State Ballet, 348 Rt. 1, Falmouth. Sleeping Beauty, Mar. 25-27, Apr. 1-3, 8-10. 781-7672 mainestateballet.org Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. Stuart McLean & The Vinyl Café, Feb. 25; Mark O’Connor Quartet, Mar. 4; Riverdance, Mar. 11-12; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Mar. 13; The Three Bs: Brahms, Britten and The Beatles, Mar. 20; Bach Birthday Bash, Mar. 22; Avenue Q, National Broadway Tour, Mar. 24; Nikolai Lugansky, Mar. 26; Young at Heart Chorus,
Mar. 27; Imago Theatre: ZooZoo, Apr. 1; David Sedaris, Apr. 2; Universes: "Live from the Edge," at Hannaford Hall, USM, Apr. 8; Elvis Lives!, Apr. 9-10. 842-0800 porttix.com The Oak and the Ax,140 Main St. Suite 107 Biddeford. Jacob Augustine, Feb. 26; The Woes, Britta Pejic, March 4. theoakandtheax.blogspot.com One Longfellow Square, 181 State St., Portland. Dan Bern, Feb. 24; Buille, Feb. 25; Juanito Pascual, March 11-12 Riverdance at Merrill Auditorium
Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St., Portland. Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea, Feb. 24; Bobby Long, Feb. 25. 899-4990 portcitymusichall.com Portland Ballet, 517 Forest Ave., Portland. By Request, Mar. 25-26 and Around the World with Flat Stanley, "The Case of the Red Shoes," Apr. 9, at Westbrook Performing Arts Center, 471 Stroudwater St., Westbrook. 772-9671 portlandballet.org Portland Conservatory of Music, 202 Woodford St., Portland. Noonday concerts at First Parish Church, every Th: Elliott Schwartz & Company, Feb. 24; Keith Cook, guitar, Mar. 3; Nicole Rabata, flute, Chiharu Naruse, piano, Mar. 10; Kelia Ingraham, Christopher Stachnys, piano, Mar. 17; Christina Astrachan and Friends, Mar. 24; Venti Cordi, chamber music, Mar. 31; Frank Glazer, piano, Apr. 7. 775-3356 portlandconservatory.net Portland Ovations, Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. Mark O’Connor Quartet: An Evening of Strings, Mar. 4; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, Mar. 13; Avenue Q, Mar. 24; Nikolai Lugansky, Mar. 26; Imago Theatre: "ZooZoo," Apr. 1; David Sedaris, April 2; Universes: "Live from the Edge," Apr. 8. 842-0800 porttix.com
Feb. 26; Decompression Chamber Music Season Three, Feb. 28, Mar. 28, Apr. 25, May 23; Lake Street Dive, Mar. 1; Lindsay Mac and the Boom Booms, Mar. 3; Ralph Stanley, Mar. 4; the Portland Jazz Orchestra, Mar. 10, Apr. 21; Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde, Mar. 11; Antje Duvekot, Mar. 18; Steve Forbert, Mar. 25; Kevin Burke and Cal Scott, Mar. 26; Peter Mulvey and Po’ Girl, Apr. 1; Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Apr. 2; Junior Watson, Apr. 5; Chris Smither, Apr. 8. 761-1757 onelongfellowsquare.com
Portland Symphony Orchestra, Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland. Preu Conducts Bruckner, Mar. 8; Elvis Lives!, Apr. 9-10; The Three Bs: Brahms, Britten, and The Beatles, Mar. 20; Seasons and the Sea, Apr. 5. 842-0800, 842-0812 TTY portlandsymphony.com St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center, 76 Congress St., Portland. Good Theater presents Bedroom Farce, Mar. 10-Apr. 3. 775-5568 stlawrencearts.org The Space Gallery, 538 Congress St., Portland. The
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goingson Events Calendar
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Low Anthem, Mar. 7; Gustafer Yellowgold, Apr. 9; Middle Eastern Night with The Shavarsh Kef Ensemble and Alhan Middle Eastern Music Ensemble, Apr. 9. 828-5600 space538.org State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland. Flogging Molly, Feb. 26; Girl Talk, Feb. 28; Bright Eyes, Mar. 11. 956-6000 statetheatreportland.com Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dug Way Rd., Brownfield. Robin and Linda Williams, Feb. 20; Bob Marley, Feb. 25; Celtic Crossroads, Mar. 6; Shawn Colvin and Loudon Wainwright III, Mar. 8; Rodney Crowell: Chinaberry Sidewalks Tour, Mar. 10; Stone Mountain Live: The Guitar God Show, Mar. 12; Cherish the Ladies, Mar. 17; Carolina Chocolate Drops, Mar. 19-20; Mavis Staples and Billy Bragg, Mar. 24; Paula Poundstone, Mar. 26; Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Apr. 2; Tom Rush, Apr. 7; Claire Lynch Band, Apr. 8; John Hammond, Apr. 9. 935-7292 stonemountainartscenter.com
Don’t Miss Annual International Food Festival, 2 Fort Rd., South Portland. 6th Annual International Food Festival, Mar. 27. 741-5662 Black Mountain’s Third Annual Winter Fest, 39 Glover St., Rumford. Fun for the entire family, Mar. 4-6. 864-8977 Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Races, Fort Kent. 19th year of the famous 250-mi race with a purse of $29K, Mar. 4-8. 444-5439 can-am.sjv.net Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine, 2 Free St., Portland. Winnie the Pooh Audition Workshop, Mar. 2; James and the Giant Peach, to Mar. 6; Pets and More, Mar. 19, Camera Obscura, ongoing. 828-1234 kitetails.org Greater Portland Landmarks Lecture Series, Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St., Portland. James O’Gorman, Art Historian: "Picturing the Evolving Professional: Portraits of Nineteenth-Century American Architects in Historical Context," Apr. 5. 774-5561 portlandlandmarks.org Maine Boat Shows 2011 35th Annual Augusta Boat Show, Augusta Civic Center, 76 Community Dr., Augusta, Mar. 11-13; 40th Annual Portland Maine Boat Show, Cumberland County Civic Center, 45 Spring St., Portland, Mar. 19-20; Bangor Maine Boat Show, Bangor Civic Center and Auditorium, 100 Dutton St., Bangor, Mar. 19-20; The Maine Boatbuilders Show, 58 Fore St., Portland, Mar. 18-20. Maine Festival of the Book, Portland. Literary extravaganza including panel discussions, spoken word performances, poetry slam, and Book Arts Bazaar. Apr. 1-3. 871-9100 mainereads.org
riverdance/merrill auditorium
Maine Jewish Film Festival, Portland. A program of films exploring the Jewish experience, Mar. 26-31. mjff.org March Madness, Bath. A week of festivities, Mar. 12-17. 442-7291 Mardi Gras Ball, Eastland Park Hotel Grand Ballroom, Portland. New Orleans-style cuisine & Zydeco music and dancing with the Cajun Aces to benefit Cathedral School. 6pm, Mar. 5. Tickets at Bull Moose Music locations statewide. mardigrasportland.com Moose Country Safaris and Eco Tours, Sangerville. Snowshoeing, ice fishing, and tubing February/March
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goingson Events Calendar trips. 876-4907 moosecountrysafaris.com Moosehead Lake Region Snofest, Greenville. Annual Chocolate Festival, Feb. 20, 695-2702 mooseheadlake.org Ogunquit Mardi Gras, Ogunquit. Cajun meals, hat party, ice sculptures, and crowning of Mardi Gras King and Queen, Mar. 4-6. 646-2939 visitogunquit.org Old Orchard Beach Winter Carnival, Old Orchard Beach. Feb. 25-26. 281-2114 oob365.com St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, Ogunquit. Mar. 13. 646-2939 Sno Carnival, Stockholm. Traditional Nordic skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing events, March 5. 498-8736 Snofest Week, Greenville. Snowmobile fun including winter cook-in/cook-out and marshmallow roast, Feb. 18-25. 695-4543 mooseheadriders.org Sugarloaf, 5092 Sugarloaf Access Rd., Carrabassett Valley. Comedian Bob Marley, Feb. 24. 237-2000 sugarloaf.com Sunday River, 15 South Ridge Rd., Newry. Now is Now, Feb. 26. 800-543-2754 sundayriver.com
Galleries Addison Woolley Gallery, 132 Washington Ave., Portland. Photographs by Arunas Bukauskas, Barbara
Goodbody, and Melonie Bennett, to Feb. 25; Robert Nason, Mixed Media, to Mar. 26; gallery group show, to April 26. 450-8499 addisonwoolley.com Art Gallery at UNE, Westbrook College Campus, 716 Stevens Ave., Portland. The Feathered Hand: Installation Drawings and Prints by Alison Hildreth, to Apr. 3. 221-4490 une.edu/artgallery Atrium Art Gallery, 51 Westminster St., Lewiston. Area Artists 2011 biennial open juried exhibit of work in all media by artists in Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford, to Mar. 19. 753-6554 usm.maine.edu/lac.art Farnsworth Art Museum,16 Museum St., Rockland. Andrew Wyeth: Winter Exhibtion and Contemporary Works from the Collection, and Mind to Hand: Drawings from the Farnsworth to Apr. 3. 596-6457 farnsworthmuseum.org Galeyrie Fine Art, 190 U.S. Rt. 1, Falmouth. Gallery artists show, new offerings from the Osher Map Collection. 781-3555 galeyrie.com Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington St., Bath. A Maritime History of Maine; Snow Squall: Last of the American Clipper Ships; Distant Lands of Palm and Spice: Maine Ships and mariners in Deepwater Commerce, ongoing. 443-1316 mainemaritimemuseum.org Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq., Portland. Weston: Leaves of Grass, to Mar. 13; Rackstraw Downes: Onsite Paintings, 1972-2008, to Mar. 20; The Lay of the land: A Celebration of Art Acquired by the Friends of the Collection (19832010) to May 8; Youth Art Month Exhibition, Mar. 1 to Apr. 3. 775-6148 portlandmuseum.com
Tasty Events Azure Cafe, 123 Main St., Freeport. Dinner in Milan featuring Cellar Door Winery, Feb. 22; Dinner in Florence, Mar. 29; Dinner in Rome, Apr. 12. 865-1237 azurecafe.com Black Cherry Provisions, 56 Depot Rd., Falmouth. Wine tasting every second Sa, 2-5pm. 781-5656 blackcherrymaine.com Browne Trading Company, 260 Commercial St., Merrill’s Wharf, Portland. Wine tasting every third Th, 5-7pm. 775-7560 brownetrading.com Chef Encounters, The Salt Exchange, 245 Commercial St., Portland. Watch Executive Chef Jeffrey Hodgdon prepare your feast right in front of you at the Chef’s Table. Reservations required. 347-5687 thesaltexchange.net Hartstone Inn and Hideaway, Camden. Spanish Tapas and wine tasting, Mar. 31; Asian food and wine tasting, Apr. 7; Sushi and beer tasting, May 18. hartstoneinn.com Loon Lodge Inn & Restaurant, Rangeley. The Riverside Players in A Mystery Dinner Theatre production, Mar. 26. 864-5666 loonlodgeme.com Maine Maple Sunday Maple syrup farms throughout Maine open to the public, Mar. 27 287-3491 getrealmaine.com Maine Restaurant Week Restaurants throughout Maine offer tantalizing specials at bargain prices, Mar. 1-12. 775-2126 mainerestaurantweek.com
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March 27 Sunday River Eat the Heat Chili Cookoff & Firefighter’s Race in Bethel
Starring
Evan Lysacek Jamie Salé & David Pelletier
Kurt Browning
Old Port Wine Merchants, 223 Commercial St., Portland. Wine tasting every third W, 4-7:30pm. 772-9463 oldportwine.com
Ekaterina Gordeeva Todd Eldredge
Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto
RSVP, 887 Forest Ave., Portland. Wine tasting every second W, 4-7pm. 773-8808
Joannie Rochette
Michael Weiss Produced by
Salt Exchange, 245 Commercial St., Portland. Spirit tastings, last W of every month. 347-5687 thesaltexchange.net Sea Glass Restaurant, Inn by the Sea, Cape Elizabeth. Argentinean Wine Dinner featuring cuisine from the chef’s home country during Argentinean harvest, Feb. 24. 799-3134 innbythesea.com The West End Deli & Catering, 133 Spring St., Portland. Wine tastings every first F, 6-8pm. 874-6426 thewestenddeli.com rebeccas remedy
Sasha Cohen
Wine Wise Tastings, The Wine Bar, 38 Wharf St. Portland. Wednesdays at the Wine Bar tastings, weekly. 619-4630 winewiseevents.com –Compiled by Diane Hudson
Scott Hamilton
The CiviC CenTer • Friday, april 8 • 7:30 pM TICKETS ON SALE AT STARSONICE.COM Phone Charge: 1-800-745-3000 • Groups (10+): 207-775-3481 x348 • Senior, Kids & Family Discounts Find us online:
smuckers.com Boys & Girls Clubs of America will receive a donation for every ticket sold. Skaters may vary by city. Date, cast and ticket prices subject to change. Smucker’s is a trademark of The J.M. Smucker Company. Stars on Ice and logo are trademarks of International Merchandising Corporation. © 2011 All Rights Reserved.
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Celebrate Restaurants & Restaurant Week • March 1-12 Check portlandmagazine.com for updates
PORTLAND Back Bay Grill Boda bonobo Bull Feeney’s DiMillo’s On The Water Dry Dock Restaurant El Rayo Taqueria Eve’s at Portland Harbor Hotel Farmers Table Cinque Terre Corner Room David’s Restaurant Five Fifty-Five Five Fifty-Five Lounge Front Room Grace Restaurant Green Elephant Grill Room & Bar Gritty McDuff’s Havana South Hot Suppa! Local 188 Old Port Sea Grill & Raw Bar Pepperclub/Good Egg Cafe Pom’s Thai Taste almost single-handedly to Solo Bistro, Ri Ra Irish Pub
Ribollita Siano’s Sonny’s The Great Lost Bear The Salt Exchange Twenty Milk Street Vignola Walters Zackery’s Fireside FALMOUTH/ YARMOUTH The Foreside Tavern Muddy Rudder FREEPORT Azure Cafe Gritty McDuff’s Broad Arrow Tavern Gritty McDuff’s Maine Dining Room BRUNSWICK/TOPSHAM/BATH Clementine Restaurant Great Impasta Le Garage Restaurant No. 10 Water Sea Dog Brewing Co Solo Bistro CAMDEN/ROCKLAND Cappy's Chowder House
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Hartstone Inn Lily Bistro Natalie’s Natalie’s Bar Paolina’s Way LEWISTON/AUBURN & NORTH Anglers Davincis Fish Bones American Grill Fuel Gritty McDuff’s Mac’s Grill Slates Restaurant CAPE ELIZABETH/S. PORTLAND David’s 388 Saltwater Grille Sea Dog Brewing Co Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea WESTBROOK Casa Novello KENNEBUNK & SOUTH Academe Brasserie Anneke Jans Federal Jack’s The Run of the Mill Yellowfin’s
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Noted in Portland Magazine as one of Chef Gordon Ramsay’s favorite restaurants in Maine.
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Wood Flooring Made in Maine
Clockwise from top: Jorge Salcedo; courtesy Captain Daniel Stone Inn/Ted Axelrod Photography; nasa; (from left) MLB Hall of fame, portland sea dogs, MLB hall of fame (2); file photo
Curb Your Enthusiasm Not Playstation, pay station. Look for convenient creditcard parking in test locations like the Old Port by August. “If people are able to pay, they are more likely to pay,” says city parking manager John Peverada.
FOODIE WARS: Revenge of the Gastrognomes Weren’t we dubbed “America’s Foodiest Small Town” by Bon Appetit just two years ago? CNBC recently ranked Portland No. 4 in “America’s Top Foodie Cities.” It’s not that we’ve lost our edge– we’ve just outgrown our ‘foodie’ phase [“Eat 3.0,” Winterguide 2011]. Portland’s the uncontested No. 1 city of gastrognomes. And hey– wine-sipping Santa Rosa, California (No. 1)– we’re always accepting defectors.
NASA’s Star
Mixed Media
Readers world-wide admired the cover art that Maine’s William Zorach sculpted 61 years ago for the 20-Year Anniversary issue of Fortune magazine. As for pay? “Bill didn’t record that [commission] info,” says grandson Peter Zorach. Which is not to say he was chiseled.
High Sky
Remember, you were there when… In 1995, fans cheered shortstop Edgar Renteria here at the start of his famed career. Since then, the former Sea Dog has slugged two World Series-winning hits–in 1997 for the Florida Marlins and in 2010 for the San Francisco Giants. As a result, he joins some ‘questionable’ company in the baseball firmament, as we say in Red Sox Nation–Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Lou Gehrig–the only other players to have done the same.
Capturing comet dust and awards isn’t rocket science for Biddefordbased Fiber Materials, Inc., recently named 2010 Small Business Subcontractor of the Year by NASA Johnson Space Center. Praised by Sen. Olympia Snowe, the firm develops space-age technologies from carbon-matrix-composite heat shields (to protect interstellar dust collected on a three-billion-mile trip around the solar system) to launch-abort systems on NASA’s next-generation space vehicle that will, according to FMI President Spencer Tolis, “prevent the loss of life in accidents like the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.” fibermaterialsinc.com
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t’s a chilly winter morning on the 1,500-mile flight from Virginia as Janice Newman, pilot of the Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop, starts her descent for a refueling stop in Branson, Missouri. On board: fellow pilot Tom Haas and Linda Moore, former senior biologist at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park–and three Mexican wolves, the smallest and most endangered wolf species. Newman and Haas are volunteer pilots with LightHawk, a nonprofit with deep roots in Maine whose mission is “to champion environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight.” They are delivering the wolves to the Wildlife West Nature Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the two four-year-old females and one eleven-year-old male will live as part of a binational captive breeding program, the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan (MWSSP). The goal: a transcontinental “date” across the Basin and Range Province to help reintroduce Mexican wolves into the wild.
left images From top: persianhub.org; OSE ROBERTO QUESADA ARATHOON; Engholm/LightHawk
Watcher
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O u t d oo r s
in the Clouds
courtesy cessna
left images From top: persianhub.org; OSE ROBERTO QUESADA ARATHOON; Engholm/LightHawk
LightHawk aviation, a Maine-based consortium of ‘knights of the sky,’ is thinking and acting globally as they commit startling, environmentally good deeds. by by D Do on nn na a SSttua uarrtt
Hidden from view, the shy animals lie curled up in deep beds of hay in burlap-covered dog crates set in the rear of the cabin. Moore, the wolves’ caretaker during the flight, detects their growing agitation. She taps Newman on the shoulder, signaling her to slow the descent. “It’s like they’ve got baby ears. I now know you have to plan the descent so as not to hurt them,” explains Newman, looking back on her first ‘wolf flight’ more than a year ago. Flying out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, she and Haas have since ferried other Mexican wolves to pre-release facilities in Washington state, Missouri, New York, and Arizona in order to accommodate breeding. “We do over 1,000 flights each year for hundreds of environmental groups,” says Portland-based Rudy Engholm, LightHawk’s executive director. A former lawyer and long-time environmental activist who lived off the grid for ten years, Engholm founded Northern Wings, an environmental flying service similar to LightHawk, in 1992. “Doing these kind of flights connects you in a very special way to the land, the creatures, and the issues. When no one knew what a million acres of clear-
Left, from top: Endangered Mexican wolves are slowly being reintroduced to their native, wild habitat with the help of the Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan and LightHawk volunteers who assist in transporting the animals. Rare Orange-breasted Falcons were flown from a breeding program in Wyoming to Belize, where they were reintroduced into the wild. LightHawk executive director Rudy Engholm conducts environment-saving missions on his Lancair Columbia 400 TC aircraft. “When I got out of college I never imagined I would be running a wild wolf dating service,” says Engholm. He has a commercial pilot certificate, a law degree from University of Michigan, and a portfolio of missions to exotic places like Belize. This page: LightHawk uses small aircraft to gain big steps towards fulfilling their philanthropic endeavor to “mobilize enough volunteer pilots, aircraft, and resources to help tip the balance toward sustainability for every major environmental issue within our targeted areas of focus.” February/March
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Exclusively shown at Distinctive Tile & Design
Effervescence
O u t d oo r s cut Maine woods looked like, we were able to bring that understanding.” When North ern Wings merged into LightHawk in 2003, Engholm joined LightHawk’s board of di rectors, becoming its executive director four years later. “There’s such a sense of passion in this organization about what can be ac complished with this tool [the small plane] and great people.”
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ightHawk flights, all of which are provided free of charge to Light Hawk partners, are either scientific and technical (involving research, data col lection, aerial photography, or wildlife trans port) or educational, designed to show policy-makers, stakeholders, and the media the consequences of their decisions. LightHawk flights have enabled Maine Audubon to make an aerial survey of loons on the state’s northern lakes–important since loons in the wild are said to be a barometer measuring the effects of climate change, mercury and lead contamination in lakes,
(Continued on page 68)
Tale of Two Styles (continued from page 27)
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clockwise from top left: Giles Ashford/Riverkeeper aerial support by LightHawk; courtesy Amy Costa/PCCS/LightHawk; kewlwallpapers.com; R. Engholm/LightHawk
Clockwise from top left: LightHawk aircraft performing aerial patrol for Riverkeeper conservation group over a stone and asphalt quarry near Poughkeepsie, New York, where suspicious discharges into the Hudson River have been observed; Marc Costa of Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies takes photos of eelgrass beds off the coast of Massachusetts from a LightHawk aircraft. LightHawk-donated flights allow PCCS to monitor the health of eelgrass beds which grow in shallow bays and coves, tidal creeks, and estuaries and serve as nursery grounds and habitat for marine wildlife. Much of the eelgrass along the Eastern seaboard has been destroyed; “Tracking [bobcats] from the air is a game-changer for scientists and conservationists [in] understanding the habits of these energetic , fiesty cats,” says LightHawk’s Bev Gabe; Engholm’s sunset view over Maine’s “Deer Isle on a donor flight.”
February/March
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Banks blink. Assessors scratch their heads. How do you establish a value for one-of-a-kind houses that are both lovable and wacky-doodle?
courtesy Marcia Wake Architect
by J o s h ua Lo b ko w i c z
Congratulations! You’ve just built a magic house that looks like it’s made from dollops of whipped cream. Yes, but will buyers love it? There’s no way to determine its value.
“[My house is] energy-efficient, structurally sound, code compliant, light, livable, comfortable, and attractive. I was certainly influenced by growing up in the home of a sculptor and painter, and I was inspired at a young age by the imaginative Catalan architect, Antonio Gaudi,” says Marcia Wake of her Sculpture House.
Or maybe you’re trying to insure a house that’s covered in slate–everywhere, not just the roof… How can anyone get a bead on this incomparable home? Looking for a bank loan to help you complete your underground Hobbit Hole that looks as though it’s straight out of Lord of the Rings? “It’s incomparably cool,” the bank’s appraiser says,
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r e a l e s tat e
Whipped -Cream Castle “The curves are soothing and calm… The light is constantly and gently changing as it sweeps across the curved surfaces… Some ‘old time’ Mainers seem to have trouble understanding my house. These people seem to need to be able to categorize a house with a label like ‘cape’ or ‘ranch.’ They’re the ones who say things like ‘very interesting house–nice site though,’” says owner Marcia Wake of her Sculpture House.
“but perhaps a bit eclectic.” And therein lies the problem, Bilbo Baggins. It’s easier to take the Precious from Gollum than it is to get the recalcitrant real estate valuation schematics to put a price tag on originality. Particularly if your home is made of a cuttingedge Green material that’s not the expected kind of cutting-edge Green material. Well before the Three Little Pigs cut their first deal with Freddie Mac, the market has been suspicious of a house made of straw.
“My house in Beals is made of straw bales,” quips Robert Patterson. “It’s best suited for yearround living. Due to the thick walls and a lot of lime plaster on the inside and outside, it changes temperature very slowly.” His environmental readings and low heating costs are sensational; he only has to run a wood heater for short periods of two to three days in the winter. Extraordinary at night, the house delights and surprises the eye like a postmodern hunk of (Continued on page 70)
clockwise from top left: Bethany Stone; courtesy Marcia Wake Architect; jesse stenbak
This John Calvin Stevens’s slate house “is a larger home with beautiful woodwork. You can’t find another in the area that’s built like it… The construction is superior and done with red slate, mined only in one place in the world,” says owner Ronald Dubois.
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clockwise from top left: Bethany Stone; courtesy Marcia Wake Architect; jesse stenbak
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Obsessions ble is, he’s leaving for Los Angeles. How do you say goodbye to the perfect hair stylist? Just like dealing with any lost love, you listen to your mother’s sage advice: “There are always more fish in the sea. Play the field.” Perhaps this could be fun. After all, as Liz Phair croons, “Isn’t this the best part of breakin’ up, finding someone else you can’t get enough of?” And yet, there will always be the naysayers who whisper you’ll never find another who will treat your tresses right. Take, for example, a recent Travel & Leisure reader survey in which Portland denizens were ranked No. 29 in “attractiveness” and No. 31 in “stylishness” out of 35 cities across the U.S. (A brief email exchange with the editors of the survey article–which wisely advised us that lobster bibs could not save us from being a “blur of bland”–admitted “it wasn’t a scientific survey,” with one confessing she “loves Portland.” So, apparently, do other readers, who praised us for being the fifth most relaxing retreat in the U.S.) My apologies, Travel & Leisure, but this jilted style bachelorette won’t be staying home to wash her neglected hair–I’m jumping headfirst into the dating pool!
Akari
“If you’re good, people will find you,” says Alan Labos, owner of Akari, a chic, threestory, white oasis of calm in downtown Portland. Have your hair coiffed by an award-winning stylist (Geoffrey Blais won 2010 Stylist of the Year at the New York Fashion Show); take years off your com-
“The salon is an urban sanctuary and an experience in itself.” –Sarah Beliveau, general manager, Akari, Portland plexion at the full-service medispa; relax with a hammam treatment (a purifying skin-polish followed by aromatherapy in your private steam room and a calming massage); snack on smoothies and light fare at the in-house Bistro; shop for the perfect dress or accessory by designer labels like Katherine Barclay and Kooba; and 3 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
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quickly freshen up your ‘do at the Bumble & Bumble Bar with complimentary use of B&B hair products. akaribeauty.com
Coco Cheveux
The Blow-Dry Bar is the “knock-out” feature at this spacious South Portland gem. Choose from a “cocktail” menu of treatments like the Moisturizing Mojito and Frizz-Free Kamikaze. Monthly memberships give you a do-it-yourself option, with use of complimentary hair products. “You’ll also enjoy a soothing shampoo with head massage and aromatherapy in the dimly-lit ‘lather room’ and animated conversation, drinks, and
“Maine is casual and tends to be conservative… But if you want funky & trendy, you can find it–you’ve just got to ask.”
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–Tiffany Conway, owner, Coco Cheveux, South Portland snacks while you wait for your color to set in the Coco Café. Men will feel right at home in a separate area with big-screen TVs,” says owner Tiffany Conway. Specials include the “Coco Coiffure”: three services for $99, M-F 9 a.m.-3 p.m. cococheveux.com
Fabu
“Our customer service is what sets us apart,” says Ginger LeClair, manager of Fabu in Portland. ”And you can’t beat the [fifthfloor] fantastic views of Casco Bay.” Sit back and enjoy the ultimate in pampering, including complimentary wine. The extensively-trained staff includes a Board-Certified hair stylist, “the equivalent of having a mas-
“We try to focus on what people don’t think of doing for themselves.” –Ginger LeClair, manager, Fabu Salon & Spa, Portland February/March
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Obsessions
“We strive to make everyone feel relaxed and not rushed… We really work with the individual toward a healthy lifestyle and cater to the ‘whole person.’We like to call ourselves a ‘one-stop shop.’”
nine stones body • face • spa
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–Sarah Heeley, COO, Head Games, Portland
Vitamin C Facial Wild Lime Scalp Treatment
ter’s degree in hair.” Look for rotating monthly specials. fabusalonandspa.com
Gift Certificates Available Groups Welcome
207-772-8480
Head Games
www.NineStonesSpa.com 250 Commercial Street, Portland
The “Zen-like atmosphere” at this downtown Portland salon and spa–named one of the top 100 salons in the U.S. two years in a row by Elle magazine–is complemented by a minimalist decor with a spark of whimsical fun. Relax with a complimentary local beer, white wine, or even a mimosa! “With any service, you can enjoy free use of the Heate Suite [a sauna and infrared head therapy unit],” says COO Sarah Heeley. Also make sure to take advantage of first-visit and refer-a-friend discounts, along with free tanning on Tuesdays (with any service). headgameshair.com
Lucinda’s Day Spa
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Get your wellness treatments at the favorite spot of the nation’s top health doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and his wife Lisa. “Our unique massages include ashiatsu [where the masseuse walks barefoot on your back] and bamboo [where muscle kinks are gently worked out with warm bamboo ‘rolling pins’],” says owner Lucinda Malbon. Book your bridal party or next girls’ outing in the private mani/pedi room, perfect for large groups. Check for month-
“Dr. Oz and his wife, Lisa, come in.” –Lucinda Malbon, owner, Lucinda’s Day Spa, Scarborough and Cumberland Foreside 3 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
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Lucinda’s
Head Games on Free Street serves up complimentary drinks with its style services and treatments.
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Luxury like this eludes words–“it simply must be experienced,” says owner and
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rebecca gillenwater
(Continued on page 65)
207.829.3100
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Inside Story
Modernism’s Beachhead
The Pavilion (center) was a breakthrough modernist design constructed in Blue Hill. It’s flanked on the right by Hammer & Tongs blacksmith shop and on the left by the 1842 Stevens building, home to the legendary Rowantrees Pottery studio.
WHY
courtesy Blue Hill Public Library (2)
did Blue Hill Pavilion, Maine’s most exciting structure of 1946, last just a dozen years before it was deemed “too New York” and demolished? ’Twas provincial taste that killed the beast.
F
by B r a d E m e r s o n
or the first half of the 20th century, the advance of modern art and architecture was viewed with alarm and suspicion by many. Blue Hill was no exception. Oh, there’d been flirtations with modernism in the village of mostly white clapboards and gray shingles, but not so much as to threaten public safety. In 1911, a Chicago bottled-water tycoon erected a small, Prairie-style summer house–modern, but not so radical as to disturb the populace unduly. In 1938, an artistic heiress risked an International-Style villa on the shore east of town, but life went on. In 1946, Walter Gropius and The Architect’s Collaborative (TAC) designed a gull-wingroof house in nearby Brooklin, which caused slight sputtering (‘looks like a school!’). Little did the good people of the region suspect that the modern movement was about to strike Blue Hill with hurricane
(Continued on page 74)
February/March
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Roses
Center image: Rebecca gillenwater; Roses, clockwise from top left: Rebecca gillenwater, AARS (5)
Run for Our
E
ven longtime residents poke their heads in here, asking where Portland’s famous Rose Circle is– even though it’s directly across the street!” says the information specialist at the Visitors’ Center in the Castle at Deering Oaks Park. “It’s such a shame, almost as though it’s cultivating its own invisibility.” Then, too, dancing through traffic to cross State Street Extension, “it’s like live-action frogger, or a scene out of Bowfinger.” On top of that, you may have to gingerly step over a sleeping figure or two on your way over there. Talk about a rose among thorns. Hidden by a protection hedge and screens of parked cars, the Karl Switzer Rose Circle, established in the 1930s and ablaze annually with 600 varieties of the flower, isn’t just an American beauty, “it’s one of
Landmarks Award-winning roses are closer than you may know–you just have to cross the street. by J e n n i f e r K . Q ua r ta r a r o
the most prestigious municipal rose gardens in the Northeast, and the only one in Maine,” says city arborist Jeff Tarling. As such, it’s earned the right to preview each year’s All-America Rose Selections winners before they’re available in stores–like a vivid movie trailer. In light of recent budget cuts ($1,500 was spent on roses in 2010, with less available this year), Tarling is launching a volunteer effort along with a community-awareness initiative that may include new signage, a website, and a tour event to catch the first blooms in early July. Says Tarling, “We hope our efforts will increase the number of Portlanders enjoying the beautiful garden.” Because you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. n For more past and present All-America Rose Selections winners, visit rose.org.
If it plays in Portland…This spring, cross State Street Extension in Deering Oaks Park to get the first glimpse of this year’s AllAmerica Rose Selections award winners, which have yet to hit the flower shops. Past and present winners gracing Karl Switzer Rose Circle (center) include (clockwise from top left): Julia Child (2006), Carefree Spirit (2009), PinkPromise (2009), Dream Come True (2008), Dick Clark (2011), and Moondance (2007).
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Join us for a literary extravaganza!
April 1-3, 2011
Portland
The Maine Festival of the Book brings together readers and writers to enjoy readings, panel discussions, book signings, activities, and performances. Friday, April 1
Youth Outreach in the Community
7:30 pm
Abromson Center, University of Southern Maine, Portland Opening Night: An Evening with Julia Glass & Stewart O’Nan Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 after March 28
Saturday, April 2 FREE!
9 am - 4 pm Abromson Center, University of Southern Maine, Portland Readings, Book Sales, Signings, and Author Discussions Come meet the authors as they discuss memoir, gardening, mystery, mothers and fathers, fly fishing, China, the Wild West, and more! Fifty authors including Paul Harding, Sarah Braunstein, Lily King, Melissa Coleman, Susan Conley, Caitlin Shetterley, Margaret Roach, Christopher Corbett, Colin Sargent, Liza Bakewell, Shonna Humphrey, Hannah Holmes, Bruce Spang, Richard Foerster, and many others. Kid/youth programs too!
7pm Annual Poetry Party
Libations, Spoken Word performances and Poetry Slam (Location to be announced; presented by Port Veritas)
Sunday, April 3
10 am - 3 pm Book Arts Bazaar, Wishcamper Center, USM, Portland (Presented by the Kate Cheney Chappell ’83 Center for Book Arts) 7 pm Portland Stage Company, 25A Forest Avenue Longfellow’s Shorts: Ron Currie, Jr. A dramatic reading of selections from Everything Matters! (Presented by the Portland Stage Affiliate Artists)
For more information visit www.mainereads.org The Maine Festival of the Book is produced by Maine Reads in collaboration with community organizations statewide.
(207)-871-9100 ✷ info@mainereads.org FM11 44-47 76-79 Gray.indd 44
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E x i t I n te r v i e w Stepping down after a decade as city manager, Joe Gray reflects on Portland’s startling changes since he arrived here from Madison, Wisconsin, 41 years ago.
A Man For All That Our toil's obscure and a' that The rank is but the guinea's stamp The man's the gowd for a' that
What though on hamely fare we dine Wear hoddin grey, an' a' that Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine A man's a man, for a' that For a' that, an' a' that Their tinsel show an' a' that The honest man, though e'er sae poor Is king o' men for a' that From “A Man’s A Man For A’ That,” Robert Burns,1797
by R o b e r t W i t ko w s k i
If your career were a movie, give us the trailer.
The most difficult call I ever got was in the middle of the night from Jeff Monroe after 9-11, telling me it appeared two of the terrorists started their day in Portland. Sometime in the morning–I think it was 3 a.m.–I found myself standing there, watching these two guys going up the escalator on tape. They looked just like any young businessmen in their 30s, talking, and you knew they knew they’d be dead in three hours. It woke me up to the intense feelings people have.
photos by adam chittenden
On that note, didn’t you fire Monroe as Portland’s Director of Ports & Transportation in May 2008?
Well, not just Jeff. It was a difficult decision in a tough budget year. We had to make lots of cutbacks equally significant. We also eliminated the head of Parks & Rec and many other positions… There was some adjusting, but nothing that led to interruption of services. Did Portland save a lot by collapsing the Monroe position and its support functions?
Oh, God, yeah! We saved $300,000 annually. We were able to turn the International Marine Terminal over to the state, and we got out of the Capital Fund. The fire chief is responsible for all of our Homeland Security; the Harbor Commission, made up by Portland and February/March
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Keeping you and your family
Keeping family and your family safeyou all winter long safe all winter long all spring
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Exit Interview South Portland, continues its operations; and cruise ships are handled by a private contractor who negotiates with the cruise lines. What’s the most unfair criticism you’ve had?
I didn’t have enough visibility. It’s probably the comment I’ve most heard over time. Not that you’re Mr. Cellophane! Ocean Gateway is a wonderful step toward the future.
Ocean Gateway was part of a broader plan for the eastern part of the waterfront. And had all the elements been carried out, how it would have fit into that plan would have been very visible to the community. Because so much of that other plan has floundered due to the economy, Ocean Gateway stands out there by itself. People are impatient after three or four years. The reality is, these are 10- to 20-year redevelopments. The new megaberth will handle virtually all cruise ships in operation, and we’ll be in position for the next generation of ships coming. Homeberthing here would be a big boost. But you have to take the long view, like Bayside [neighborhood]. It’s a disappointment to lose the ferry [to Nova Scotia], but it’s my understanding that sometime in 2012 we will have some service.
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As a property owner on Peaks, were you more or less sympathetic to the secessionist movement?
We bought our place on Peaks Island shortly after we moved here in the 1970s. I certainly understand the feeling that the island is unique; nonetheless, it is a neighborhood of the city, and all neighborhoods feel they are unique. As a city, there are trade-offs between neighborhoods–you don’t get everything you want. Look at the East End–we had to close a branch of the library. You can’t say the East End is going to secede. I understand Peaks’s uniqueness, but to me it is part of the city.
Celebrating our bicentennial throughout 2011
What‘s the biggest difference in the city now compared to when you began at City Hall, after coming from University of Wisconsin in 1969 with your master’s in hand?
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Diversity of population and the transformation of downtown with real estate and the arts and culture, which are so important to the downtown.
You don’t mean the arrival of L.L. Bean and the Portland Public Market? Those great victories now seem like challenging losses.
The reality is, we’ve got Renys taking both 4 6February.indd p o r t l a1n d m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e
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Olympia Sports and L.L. Bean’s space. Renys has a long tradition of locating and serving downtown markets. It’s actually very exciting. This is not going to be a long-time gap, which was a concern. The Public Market is really on the fringe of the Arts District, so it was certainly a disappointment but more for Bayside redevelopment. We were worried after the voters turned down the library’s relocation there. We’re talking about a rather large space–25,000 square feet in a uniquely designed building. But at the end of the day, we were able to work quickly for successful reuse [by PowerPay] that brought a considerable number of jobs. You were with the Redevelopment Authority when Reiche School & Community Center was built. With 20/20 hindsight, how successful was urban renewal in the West End?
© Nadra Photography
I think in the long run, things have worked out. We are what I call a “Slow-Growth Community.” We are very much a consensus community and get neighborhood input; that was not the case when I came here. Development was based on a few people sitting with the city council making decisions on what was or wasn’t good for the city. I think what helped change that was the Models Cities Program. It encouraged very significant citizen input and really helped start a lot of the neighborhood organizations that exist today in terms of wanting some input on how their neighborhoods get shaped. That’s had a very positive impact on the city. Overall, the design quality of what’s been built here has been sensitive to the historic character of the city–beyond criticism for the regulations.
The Portland Club
Relate an experience or situation where you’ve thought, “Only in Portland…”
Moose running through the streets! The police and public works were calling me with updates as they were tracking the moose, not only through Deering Oaks but all the way up Brighton [Avenue].
Simple
Stylish
Smart
What would you most like to see happen in Portland?
The Bayside area [developed] with a grander plan, and the waterfront vision realized. I’m proud of the work we did with the East End and waterfront in terms of the master plan, but it’s also one of my biggest frustrations. A lot of the things the plan advocated were approved but not able to be built because of the great recession.
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(Continued on page 76)
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talkingwalls Leah Whalen
Congress Squire For over a century, the Shwartz Building (1920) has been the vantage point for downtown. But get the cameras ready–now it’s makeover time!
C
adam chittenden
an an architecturally interesting, historically mixed-use building be comparatively invisible in the heart of Portland’s Arts District? The Shwartz Building, on the southwest corner of Congress and High streets, has spent most its 91-year history watching other aspects of Congress Square change. First, the flashy Eastland Park Hotel (1927) and State Theatre (1929) stole the limelight across the street. In 1983, all eyes turned to Henry Nichols Cobb’s post-modern Charles
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Shipman Payson Building at the Portland Museum of Art. Yet few photographers bothered to turn around and snap at the building that cast the shadow in which they stood–odd, given its unusual features and history. “It seems neglected,” says architect Jim Sterling. Perhaps that’ll change now that the Shwartz is undergoing an extensive rehabilitation itself, funded in part by state and federal historic tax credits. The round clock tower is the first remarkable aspect here; it may have been designed to echo the cupola and steeple of the First Unitarian Church that once stood beside it on High Street. (This area of Portland, at the turn of the last century, was known as Zion Hill because of its profusion of churches; standing in Congress Square, one could have counted at least five steeples.) The Shwartz is also unique in its orientation: The entrance sits neither on Congress nor High, but precisely on the corner. Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth notes, “Nathaniel Warren’s original mansion (built around 1850) on the site was angled. The monumental portico that signified the entrance to the house faced right onto Congress Square.” At the time, the square was primarily residential. But the business district of Portland crept westward in the latter half of the 19th century; by the early 20th century, a developer had big plans for the site.
D
avid Shwartz started out in the clothing business but quit in 1913 to take up real estate. He purchased the Warren Mansion in 1917 and was eager to do something eye-catching on the same site by capturing the existing structures and building out and up from them. He engaged Fugione & Romano, contractors, to make “interior and exterior alterations and additions,” creating a new 20th-century facade around the heart of the Warren Mansion and adding a whimsical tower. “There are still the most amazing Greek Revival fireplaces throughout the building,” says Christopher W. Closs of Greater Portland Landmarks. Because they built around the original structures that framed the corner, the unusual angling of the Warren Mansion’s entrance was preserved. To disguise the fact the floors of the buildings were at different levels, they
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staff illustration/file photo
inserted brick panels in the facade. To create a sense of uniformity, they created a brick parapet to run around the top of the building. Still, all seven of the bay windows are unique in size and shape. Keeping the original rooms meant many small tenants could be accommodated: a 1920 list includes Shwartz’s real estate offices, a Christian Science reading room, a hairdresser, a “mechanotherapist” (massage therapist), and a dentist’s office. For street-level retail, the early flapper could find McGowan and Coyne, selling
gous to the famous CITGO sign in Boston’s Kenmore Square.” Recently, Allen and Walker Antiques occupied the space; they’ve since moved to Longfellow Square but style the move as temporary while restoration moves apace. Artist Michael Waterman, famous for his garret studio in the Shwartz tower, seems a casualty of improvements and is uncertain whether he’ll return. “It’s a fine building, but I’m a painter–my day is spent in front of my easel, not thinking about practical matters.” The longtime owner of the Shwartz is
state and federal credits, plus we have a small grant from the city of Portland to restore the facade,” says Sterling, whose firm is leading the way. “Architecturally it’s really just going to be cleaned up–we took all the junk hanging there and shaved it off, so I think its presence as a building will be improved.” What will the next century bring for the Shwartz Building? “Originally the upper floors were a warren of very small spaces that didn’t meet code. Geoff Rice is leaning towards residential on the up-
women’s and misses’ sport suits, “assuring you the same interested personal attention as in the past.” Years later, a generation of Portlanders bought Greyhound Bus tickets in the same space; afterward, shoppers learned they could depend on Tripp’s Family Eyewear. Like an incandescent crown, a Coca-Cola sign at the top of the building captured the Forest City’s imagination in the 1960s. Shettleworth rhapsodizes, “It was almost analo-
Geoffrey Rice, who owns a number of buildings in this city and collects Waterman’s work. The rehabilitation got under way about two years ago “when the city did an inspection and found a lot of code violations,” Sterling says. Originally the goal of the project was to bring the building, with a current assessed value of $878,100, into code, but it has blossomed “into historic rehabilitation with the
per floors, so we’ve eliminated a lot of rooms and created bigger and more legitimate apartment layouts.” The ground floor will still offer retail space with priceless double exposure on a corner that, with the reopened State Theatre, seems poised for its headshot. Perhaps a chic bistro, perfect for a preshow bite? n
>> More: Visit Online Extras at portlandmonthly.com. February/March
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CUIscene Judith Gaines
Class: Samba drumming workshop Project: Rhythms from Brazil
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Two
Weeks
Spring melts more than snow. season’s delicacy dissolve on
T
he king of the herrings, the silvery sweet shad is the stuff of legend–and a gourmet delight that signals the coming of spring. “Look for it when the shadbush blooms,” says chef Sam Hayward of Portland’s Fore Street restaurant. “If you can find a shadbush, that is.” Or start the anticipation when the first crocus pokes its gay little head out of the ground and the forsythia buds and fiddleheads curl. But exactly when is up to the fish, not the calendar. Sometime near the onset of spring, shad begin to migrate north from their winter home in Florida to ancestral rivers along the East Coast where they spawn when the waters begin to warm. As early as February or as late as June they can be found specifically in Chesapeake Bay, the rivers of the Carolinas, in the Delaware, the Hudson, the Connecticut, and even in Maine’s Kennebec, Saco, and Androscoggin rivers. At Harbor Fish Market on Custom House Wharf, owner Ben Alfiero sells out almost as soon as he can write “shad roe” on his chalkboards. “We never know when it will arrive, but when it comes, it doesn’t hang around long,” he says. “It has a real cult following.” Shad’s Latin name, Alosa sapidissima, means “most savory.” Hayward has been serving shad and shad roe in Maine since 1977. “I’m totally in love with it. Serving it is always a challenge, but it
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y Bu ! e W ld
Go
Notice
Let the silkiness of this the taste buds.
ben dehaan
seems to be getting easier.” The challenge is largely because shad is “a very, very, very bony fish,” says Nick Branchina, director of marketing for Browne Trading Company, which sells all the shad roe it can get but passes on the shad itself. Maine’s MicMac Indians claim shad once was a discontented porcupine. The porcupine asked the Great Manitou to change it into something else. So the god “seized the animal, turned it inside out, and tossed it into the river to begin a new existence as a shad,” says John McPhee, a shad enthusiast who has written a book about them. Shad flesh is a darkish color. “Some people still think of white as pure and clean and darker fish as less desirable,” Hayward says. “So there’s bias to overcome.” Furthermore, shad are a protected species in many states, so they can’t be caught in large numbers. And catching them is no piece of cake, either. During migration, shad live off their winter fat stores and don’t eat, so they aren’t tempted to nibble on a lure. Author Francis Day writes that the refined, sensitive shad “delights in quiet and musical sounds,” so fishermen sometimes fasten bows of wood to their nets “to which are suspended a small number of bells, which chime in harmony together on being moved.” Others try to catch shad in weirs or by fluttering a colorful object at their faces, which they bat to get out of their way–and get hooked in the process.
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Whenever and however fishermen manage to catch shad, those who know the fish well say the difficulties are worth the effort. The shad itself has a nutty, buttery flavor and “a silky texture, when it’s prepared properly,” Hayward says. And the pleasures of shad roe are legendary. Cole Porter immortalized it in his popular song, “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love),” and Rudy Vallee crooned the lyrics: “Why ask if shad do it? Waiter, bring me shad roe!” Contemporary cookbook author Steven Raichlen observes, “Raw shad roe is not for the squeamish: two soft, squishy, bananashaped egg sacs, containing about 300,000 eggs, connected by a veined, often bloody membrane. But cooked it’s the sort of fare one Sautéed shad roe with Pommery mustard cream sauce, grilled sweet onions, and bacon lardons served with watercress leaves and matchstick potatoes.
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should savor, kneeling with one’s head bared… Imagine the richness of sweetbreads, the subtle liver flavor of foie gras, and the sensuous crunch of the finest caviar.” There are many ways to cook shad and its roe. Hayward roasts the fish in a wood-burning oven, skin-side down, and serves it with a sauce of white wine, shallots, butter, and sea salt or perhaps an apple cider gastrique. He says he loves to serve the roe by sautéing its lobes wrapped in bacon or slightly searing them in duck fat. Others like to mix the roe with scrambled eggs. The key is to watch the roe carefully and not let it overcook. “And you have to be careful not to hurt yourself,” Hayward says, “because the eggs can pop like popcorn and explode!” Whatever the preparation, McPhee says there’s nothing quite like the first signs of shad migration, which send “amps and volts through the likes of me.” The phone rings and all someone needs to say is, “They’re in the river!” n
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Marketwatch Sarah Cumming Cecil
from top: Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (SET of 6 Country Thumb back Chairs in Mustard Yellow Paint with red pinstriping); cyr auctions
Wavy Gravy
I
f you believe the black & white pictures, 19th-century Maine was frightfully monochromatic. Until you stumble into your first piece of Maine Painted Furniture and see how bright some of these tigers can burn. According to Bob Grant, Auction Manager for Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, the style of the painted furniture–not the paint itself–defines whether a piece is credited with having “State of Maine paint” as opposed to “New England paint,” a more generic moniker. Modes of expression can be straightforward or imitate natural wood grain, with one style not necessarily better than the other. Grain painting evolved in response to the high cost of European and American fine furniture. Most locals early on couldn’t afford fine furniture, so they dressed up simple furniture with fancy paint. Faux grain painting was designed to trick the eye and suggest the piece–often made of backyard wood like poplar or pine–was created from the finest mahogany or rosewood. Country craftsmen took it to another level. Less concerned with grandiose faux finishes than decoration, they made the grain pattern nearly abstract. Maine practitioners are famous for their cheery, bright colors. Simple striations created with something like a comb set the stage for sweeping swirls with a brushy brilliance reminiscent of a Howard Hodgkin painting. A single example of one of these antiques, mixed with minimalist furniture, creates a strong statement in a contemporary home. Auction prices vary widely, but it’s all about condition. A Hepplewhite State of Maine paint-decorated lamp table sold at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries recently for $24,150. “That stand was perfect,” Grant says, “100-percent original. There’s a huge difference
Maine Painted Furniture lights up modern spaces as statement pieces.
From top: Set of six country thumb back chairs in mustard yellow paint with red pinstriping from the Northeast Harbor estate of Rear Window and Dallas star Barbara Bel Geddes sold for $750 in 2010; L.L. Bean family grain painted dry sink sold for $12,500 in 2009.
in value once anything is monkeyed with.” Even the addition of wood blocks or a little glue at the joints can bring down the value. A circa-1850 State of Maine grain and paint-decorated blanket chest sold at James D. Julia Auctioneers in August for $6,900. Prior to that, a Mainebuilt, circa-1840 pine dry sink from the L.L. Bean family camp at Crystal Lake in Gray, “in ace grain-paint condition,” sold at the former Cyr Auctioneers for $12,500. Locally, custom-made furniture took a major turn in 1836, when Walter Corey opened for business on Portland’s Exchange Street. Corey introduced interchangeable, mass-produced parts to the manufacturing process, thus increasing product output and reducing the price. Within five years the price of a chair dropped from $20 to 37 cents, “heralding the transition from craftsman to factory,” says Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., state historian. “Even though these chairs were made in massive quantities, they were hand-decorated by people in the factories who continued to apply faux graining and decorative elements.” Today, Corey chairs sell for a range of prices. In 2006 a single circa-1840 Corey chair featuring rosewood grain painting sold at Northeast Auctions for $522. At press time, an Internet search turned up a set of six Corey chairs with a $925 price tag–but a more timid personality. n
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dollars&sense Karen Hofreiter
Of
& Green Spending too much money and quality time with the lawn mower and garden hose? Surprise–your grass could be the culprit.
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ho said red is the color of love? In the U.S., it’s more likely to be green that incites our inner passions. Americans spend more time per year caring for lawns and gardens (73 hours, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics) than getting intimate with their significant others (49 hours, according to Durex). Beyond leaving our loved ones high and dry, keeping our lawns perfectly manicured is draining our wallets. Between watering, fertilizing, mowing, busting pests, weeding, pruning, and disposing of yard waste, you may be spending more money than you think. Add exotic, high-maintenance landscaping, and your expenses double.
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The American obsession with yards in the perfect shade of deep green and checkerboard-patterned mow lines costs us an estimated $40 billion a year. How much of your cash is spent keeping the grass greener on your side of the fence depends on many variables, including ‘controllable’ aspects like the size and shape of your yard, type of grass and plants, and health of your soil, and ‘uncontrollable’ aspects like rainfall and gas prices. If you’re like most of us, the silky carpeting you love wiggling your toes through every summer is Kentucky Bluegrass–the most common cool-season lawn grass in the U.S., coveted for its lush density and intense bluepurple shade. But this European import is high-maintenance, as most non-native grasses and plants are, and that means you may be spending more on your lawn than you want–or have–to.
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Mow Money
The cost of mowing hinges on gas and time. Gas usage varies with current oil prices and type of mower you have. With the “average American homeowner spending an estimated 40 hours per year mowing his or her lawn (yardener.com),” current gas prices hovering around $3.35 per gallon, and a “walk-behind mower that uses about a half gallon per hour (Home Owner’s blog),” you could be spending $65+ per year. But unless you cherish your sweaty outings with the mower, the real expense lies in the opportunity cost of your time. Forty hours–a full work week–is time that could be spent making extra money in overtime, playing ball with your kids, taking a cooking class, or volunteering. Consider this startling nugget from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: The average father of school-age kids spends 1.6 hours a week on lawn and garden care activities, which is more time than he spends on reading, talking, playing, and doing educational activities with his kids combined.
Water Wipeout
Just because we don’t live in Phoenix, Arizona, doesn’t mean water for lawn and garden care isn’t a significant expense, even during a year with average rainfall. Calculating the exact yearly cost of water is tricky, since it depends on countless variables. “Type of grass, type of soil, and percent of organic matter present in your soil are just a few of the considerations,” says landscape designer Irene Barber, who consults with O’Donal’s Nursery in Gorham. “Most New England soils do not have enough organic matter to support Kentucky Bluegrass lawns. Organic matter provides nutrients along with moisture-absorbing properties, and as most ‘newly developed homes’ create lawns, the watering required is going to be more than the average recommended one to one-anda-half inches of depth per week.” For the sake of putting a hard dollar amount on water costs, however, we did some calculations using averaged variable constants and came up with a rough estimate. Assuming average rainfall from April through October and using current City of
Portland water costs, a third-acre lawn of Kentucky Bluegrass in Portland will cost $150+ to keep you in the green.
Expensive Extras
“The average home gardener uses few pesticides on his or her lawn; however, we do tend to use a fair amount of fertilizer… A non-native grass is going to need more fertilizer to maintain that desired green look,” says Terry Skillin of Skillins Greenhouses in Falmouth. And the more you use it, the higher the long term costs. “Chemical fertilizers…deplete the soil of nutrients found naturally… Over time, more fertilizer is needed.” So what’s the cost of all those grass vitamins and bug sprays? According to Justin Gainster of Piscataqua Landscaping in Eliot, “For us to come and do one application of fertilizer and pesticide runs about $85 each.”
Keeping your pocket In the Green
The good news: Inexpensive solutions are both “low-maintenance and better for the environment,” says Barber. Here she and Skillin share with us a few ways to save.
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Plant Cold-hardy, Native Grasses
Fescue(s), bentgrass, little bluestem, and sedges are all great options. “These grasses are considered ‘low-mow’ or ‘no-mow’ due to their slow rate of growth. Because they typically have deep roots, they are more draught-tolerant and in turn require less watering. And because they require very little mowing–which weakens their defenses against insects–pesticides are not required,” says Barber. “These grass types also come in ornamental varieties that are taller or have color differences. For example, there’s a fescue called ‘Elijah Blue’–very popular right now– and a carex with a wider and variegated blade called ‘Ice Dance.’ Ornamental grasses are not for mowing–their varied colors, heights, and textures are meant to add more interest to a landscape.” The cost to switch over? It depends. “If you want to do it quickly, you’ll have to top dress your lawn with loam and reseed, which can be expensive,” says Skillin. He suggests rejuvenating smaller sections one year at a time. Another option is to let native grasses take over throughout the course of several years. “Na-
tive grasses are present in almost all existing lawns over ten years old. If you allow your lawn a transition period and let the grass grow 5-6 inches or higher, you’ll begin to see the native grasses become dominant, overshadowing the shorter, weaker grasses,” Barber says.
Consider Your Geometry
Plan smart when designing your landscaping. “For my yard, I avoided hard angles and close ‘interruptions,’ such as driveways and sidewalks, to cut down on mow time,” Skillin says. Stick with curved edges along landscaping, gardens, and driveways when possible to keep mowing time to a minimum.
Ditch the Mower
Who needs grass? Instead, replace your lawn with rocks. “There are a variety of stone aggregates to choose from. Round pea gravel is perfect for bare feet–very massaging. The key is creating balance; a rock lawn is not as cooling as grass, so you need to incorporate lots of plants or shade trees,” says Barber. Costs of switching over vary, so consult with a local
landscape company.
Get Into Yardscaping
Yardscaping entails landscaping with plants “which are hardier, more draught-tolerant, and require less overall maintenance, including deadheading, weeding, and pruning,” says Barber. “For people who want to reduce the size of their lawn, replacing that space with low-maintenance shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennial gardens is the way to go. Plants lend depth to flat, green spots, give vertical appeal, and provide visual topographic change. When an open green lawn is desired for activity use, the key is to use a seed or sod mix diverse in grass types for cool season and hot season performance and for providing a healthy ecosystem.” When you use ornamental grasses, stick with those that are native or cultivated from natives. For additional information, refer to localJAIDENofLANDSCAPIN ly informed nurseries, the University firm that specializes in Maine Cooperative Extension, or Maine’s residential and comm YardScaping program (yardscaping.org). n
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Anthony’s Italian Kitchen Voted “Best in Portland” three years in a row. Pizza, pasta & sandwiches. All homemade recipes, including lasagna, chicken parmesan, eggplant parme san, meatballs & Italian sausages. Variety of hot & cold sandwiches. Beer & wine. Catering available. 151 Middle St., lower level, Portland, 774-8668. * Billy’s Chowder House makes seafood dreams come true, serving the freshest seafood around, whether fried, grilled, broiled, stuffed, or over pasta. The chowders are all homemade & the lobster rolls have been featured in Bon Appétit. Surrounded by the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. 216 Mile Rd., Wells, 646-7558, billyschowderhouse.com. The Black Tie Market & Bistro will satisfy anyone’s craving for great food served w/flair & fun. Now serving light breakfasts & lunches & everything you need to entertain at home. Madeto-order paninis & wraps, soups, home-baked desserts, & fresh salads. Try our candy bar, gelato, or a great bottle of wine. Now hosting wine tastings! 756-6230, theblacktieco.com. Boda is a “Very Thai” kitchen & lounge. Delicious selections of Thai home-style entrees, street-vendor inspired grilled skewers, tapas, & a full bar. Vegetarian options available. Come experience an eating culture of Thailand! No reservations & parking available. Late-night menu served until 1am. Open Tu-Su from 5pm-1am. 671 Congress St., Portland, 347-7557. Brea Lu Cafe has been serving up breakfast & lunch for 22 years! Favorite menu choices include 12 specialty omelets, build-yourown breakfast burritos, Belgian waffles w/ fruit, eggs Benedict & homemade corned beef hash. Lunch features homemade chili, fresh made-to-order sandwiches, burgers & wraps. Open daily, 7am-2pm. 428 Forest Ave., Portland, 772-9202. Bull Feeney’s Authentic Irish pub & restaurant, serving delicious scratch-made 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 whiskies. Live music five nights. Open 7 days 11:30am-1am. Kitchen closes at 10pm weekdays, 11pm weekends. 375 Fore St., Old Port, 773-7210, bullfeeneys.com. Clementine Restaurant 44 Maine St., Brunswick. Chef-Owner Dana Robicheaw offers the culinary expertise he acquired at Johnson & Wales & other Portland fine dining establishments. Exquisite food & fine wine in a relaxed atmosphere. Join us for a three-course, prix fixe menu for only $25. Tu-Sa 5-9pm. 7219800, clementinemaine.com DiMillo’s On the Water serves the freshest lobster, seafood, Black Angus cuts of beef, Italian fare & more. DiMillo’s offers fabulous views of the water in Portland Harbor from every table Famous lobster Roll, clam chowder, haddock chowder, lobster stew & delicious salads. Serving from 11am. Commercial St., Old Port, 772-2216, dimillos.com. Eve’s at the Garden takes a fresh and local approach to food. Chef Jeff Landry uses ingredients from Maine’s coastal waters and farms: jumbo scallops, naturally raised pork and beef, sustainably raised fish and shellfish and Maine lobster prepared Mediterranean style. Free dinner valet. Lunch 11:30-2, dinner 5-9:30. 468 Fore St., Portland. 523-2040, portlandharborhotel.com. Fish Bones American Grill A casual upscale restaurant offering creative American cuisine. Specialties include grilled thin crust flatbreads, unique entrée salads & creative dinner offerings. Located in the heart of Lewiston in the historic Bates Mill complex with off-street parking. Come get hooked! Lunch & dinner Tu-F; dinner only Sa; seasonal brunch Su. 333-3663 fishbonesmaine.com. * The Good Table “Honest, good food.” Made-from-scratch brunch, lunch & dinner. A well-rounded menu w/choices to please every palate. W/inspired blackboard specials, the kitchen always takes advantage of locally-grown produce & seafood. Full bar w/seasonal cocktails. Seasonal hours. 527 Ocean House Rd., Rte. 77, Cape Elizabeth, 799-4663, thegoodtablerestaurant.net. Grace A 160-year-old Methodist church engulfed by huge cathedral ceilings & beautiful stained-glass windows. Our eclectic menu & house-infused cocktails provide a perfect atmosphere for any occasion. Reservations are recommended w/ample seating at our circular 30-seat bar, or in our comfortable cocktail lounge. Open Tu-Sa evenings at 5pm. 15 Chestnut St., Portland, 828-4422. The Great Impasta, a long-standing restaurant located on Maine St., serves Mediterranean-inspired food w/ a concentration on Italian dishes. This restaurant is a favorite of both locals & those from away. Incredible, fragrant aromas from the open kitchen hit you the moment you walk through the door. Vegan & gluten-free menus available. 42 Maine St., historic Brunswick, 729-5858, thegreatimpasta.com.
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Great Lost Bear A full bar w/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., in the Woodfords area of Portland, 772-0300, greatlostbear.com. Jacqueline’s Tea Room & Gift Shop Authentic afternoon tea in an exquisite English setting. Over 70 of the finest quality loose-leaf teas to accompany your four-course luncheon of scones, finger sandwiches of all kinds & desserts. Great for intimate conversations & parties. Reservations only (not required for shopping). 10:30am-3pm. Tu-F & alternating weekends. 201 Main St., Freeport, 865-2123, jacquelinestearoom.com. Jameson Tavern is one of the oldest historic taverns in Maine and is said to be the site of the signing of the papers separating Maine from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Tavern has a bar and dining room and serving seafood, Maine lobster, steaks, pasta, and award-winning clam chowder. Our lobster stew was featured on FoodNation with Bobby Flay as a “fine Maine Restaurant.” 115 Main St., Freeport, 865-4196 jamesontavern.com * JP Thornton’s Bar & Grille offers upscale, fresh cuisine in a casual pub setting. Known in the Portland area for having a “Cheers-like” atmosphere, locals & those who stumble across this hidden jewel of Foodie favorites can enjoy hand-cut grilled steaks, fresh seafood & house appetizers w/a great selection of microbrews & specialty cocktails. 740 Broadway, S. Portland, 799-3100. Little Seoul Restaurant Authentic Korean cuisine and sushi bar in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Quality food at reasonable prices. The service is excellent at Portland’s newest culinary experience. Located in the heart of the Old Port. No reservations needed. Open for lunch, dinner and takeout M-Th 11:30am-9pm, F-Sa until 10pm. 90 Exchange St., Portland, 699-4326. Lotus Chinese and Japanese Restaurant, 251 U.S. Route 1, Falmouth, Maine (Falmouth Shopping Plaza). We feature fullservice bar and lounge area, sushi bar, Chinese traditional food not available outside of Boston, friendly atmosphere and courteous service. 781-3453 Margaritas Mexican Restaurants & Watering Hole! Always free hot chips & salsa, legendary margaritas & the house specialty, the sizzling fajita. Happy hour M-F 4-7pm & free hot appetizers. 242 St. John St., Union Station Plaza, 874-6444 & 11 Brown St. near the Civic Center in Portland. Other locations in Lewiston, Augusta, Orono & Portsmouth, 774-9398. Maria’s Ristorante, est. 1960 is Portland’s finest Italian cuisine. Maine Sunday Telegram’s 4-star restaurant. Homemade sausages & the finest meatballs around, thick Veal Chops a la Maria, Zuppa De Pesce Fradiavolo, homemade gelato & Italianstyle cakes. “Preserving the authentic Italian dining experience.” Lunch & dinner Tu-Sa, $13-$25. 337 Cumberland Ave., Portland, 772-9232, mariasrestaurant.com. Miss Portland Diner, a Portland original. Visit the famous 1949 Worcester diner car serving breakfast all day & homemade diner classics. Beer, wine & liquor. Open daily from 7am-9pm. Located at 140 Marginal Way, Portland, 210-6673, missportlanddiner.com. One Dock Creative, contemporary New England Cuisine & traditional Maine favorites in a relaxed setting overlooking the Kennebunk River. The menu offers “small plates,” such as duck spring rolls, flatbread signature pizzas, pan-seared scallops in a maple glaze & a lobster & chipotle cheddar macaroni & cheese, proving to be fan favorites. W-Sa 6-9pm. Kennebunkport Inn, Kennebunkport, 967-2621, onedock.com. Pat’s Pizza offers a full bar & family dining experience in the heart of Portland’s Historic District. Pat’s offers a full menu of appetizers, entrees, desserts & of course, pizza! We also have a large selection of salads & sandwiches for lunch. Large parties welcome, please call ahead. Located at 30 Market St., Old Port, 699-4455, patspizzaoldport.com.
diane hudson
The Pepperclub/Good Egg Café Two favorites, same location! The Pepperclub (“Best Vegetarian” & “Best Value” in Frommer’s Guide to New England) has creative world cuisine. Blackboard menu lists five vegetarian, three fish & three meat entrées, including an organic beef burger. Relaxed, affordable dining on the edge of the Old Port w/free parking. Pepperclub, daily from 5pm; Good Egg Café, Tu-F 7-11am, Sa-Su 8am-1pm. 78 Middle St., 772-0531, pepperclubrestaurant.com. Pier 77 & The Ramp Bar & Grill are owned & managed by Kate & Chef Peter Morency. Pier 77 has a formal dining room w/ stunning views of Cape Porpoise Harbor & live music each weekend, while the Ramp is more casual, w/its own bar menu at hard-to-beat prices. 967-8500, pier77restaurant.com. * Pom’s Thai Taste Restaurant, Noodle House & Sushi Bar was voted “The Best of Portland ‘09” by Phoenix readers, w/ vegetarian & wheat-free options, a kid’s menu, made-to-order noodle soup & $1 sushi every M & Tu. 571 Congress St., Portland, 772-7999. Also in S. Portland, Pom’s Thai Restaurant
Base Camp Sugarloaf’s beloved Italian hot spot comes down from the mount to delight Falmouth diners.
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ocated in the former haunts of Johnny’s Bistro, Hug’s Italian Restaurant is rapidly assembling a fan base that includes regular patrons of the original Hug’s at Sugarloaf Resort (opened in 1985 and still going strong) as well as newbies like us. Hungry for some zesty food, we start our meal with a bottle of Chianti Ruffino ($28), chosen from the list of reasonably-priced Italian wines. The eclectic menu champions family-style dining, with extensive options for sharing. Our gorgeous, fresh salad arrives in a big bowl, its dressing in perfect balance, with none of the acidity of a typical “Italian” dressing. It’s addicting. My Veal Francaise ($23.95) is an ample serving of tender, boneless breast lightly battered in egg and bread crumbs, its flavor highlighted by lemon butter sauce and mushrooms. The accompanying pasta (your choice of angel hair, fettuccine, shells and penne, or linguine) is superbly al dente, smothered in your choice of red sauce or garlic butter. Unable to decide which way to dress my fettuccine, I ask to have it tossed in garlic butter with a side of red sauce, since it’s a point of pride here to respond enthusiastically to special requests. My partner’s dream dish tonight is spinach-and-roasted-garlic raviolis ($20.95), tossed Mediterranean-style with artichokes, broccoli, mushrooms, kalamata olives, and Hug’s Italian Restaurant pine nuts and sautéed with olive oil, butter, garlic, and 204 U.S. Route 1, Falmouth lemon. A generous smattering of fine feta adds the Tuesday-Sunday, 4-9:30 p.m. perfect touch. 781-3342 For dessert, the velvet tiramisu ($6.50) and classic spumoni with claret sauce ($4.50) make for a spoonlicking finale. Asked about the unusual name, owner Beth McKenney says, “The [Carrabassett Valley] Hugs had a great reputation under that name, so I could see no reason to change it when I took it over. Keeping the same goodwill for the Falmouth venue also makes sense as our established clientele at Sugarloaf will recognize our presence here.” Sweet, embraceable, no matter what you call it, we agree with Beth: two Hug’s are better than one. n
>> Visit Restaurant Reviews at portlandmonthly.com. February/March
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at 209 Western Ave., 347-3000 & Thai Taste Restaurant at 435 Cottage Rd., 767-3599, thaitastemaine.com. Rivalries Sports Pub & Grill An upscale sports bar serving creative pub food in a fun and comfortable atmosphere. Known for some of Portland’s best casual food, Rivalries’ menu has something for everyone. And with 30+ HD TVs and every major pro and college sports package, you won’t miss a game! Conveniently located in Portland’s Historic Old Port District. 774-6044, rivalriesportland.com
73 Mile Road Wells, ME 04090
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Saeng Thai House Authentic Thai food, w/an upbeat tempo & tantalizing dishes-zesty flavor awaits you here. Entrees include crispy noodle pad Thai, house specialty seafood choo chee, pad Thai, ginger fish, Sushi & much more. Eat in, take out, or delivery available. 267 St. John St., Portland, 773-8988, & Saeng Thai House 2 at 921 Congress St., 780-0900. The Salt Exchange American-style tapas, using local, organic & sustainable ingredients. Extensive beer & wine list. Wine tastings W 5-6:30pm include complimentary canapés. Open for lunch Tu-Sa 11:30am-3:00pm & dinner 5:30-9pm. (F-Sa, until 10pm). Lounge open Tu-Sa 11:30-close. 245 Commercial St., Portland, 347-5687, thesaltexchange.net. Silly’s, chosen “Best Bargain” by Yankee magazine now features something for everyone including weekend brunch along with vegan & gluten-free options. Silly’s staff, voted “Best Service” by Phoenix readers, presents all-scratch kitchen food in a whimsical setting either inside or in the garden patio. Open Tu-F 11am-9pm and Sa-Su 9am-9pm. 40 Washington Ave., 772-0360, sillys.com. Stonyfield Cafe (formerly O’Naturals) serves natural & organic flatbread sandwiches, tossed salads, rice & noodle bowls, soups, kids meals, organic tart frozen yogurt & Sunday Brunch. Quick service for people on the go…but our leather couches, wireless internet & comfortable atmosphere will entice you to stay. Chicken, roast beef, wild bison meatloaf, wild Alaskan salmon & many vegetarian items–there’s something for everyone. Falmouth, 781-8889, stonyfieldcafe.com. Twenty Milk St. U.S.D.A. prime & choice steaks & the freshest seafood, combining award-winning classic American cuisine
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w/fine wines in a warm & inviting atmosphere. Crab cakes w/ lemon shallot mayonnaise, baked escargot, charbroiled chililime scallops & sumptuous desserts. Complimentary valet parking. Dinner daily; also breakfast, lunch & brunch. Portland Regency Hotel, 774-4200, theregency.com. Varano’s Italian Restaurant Food so good, you may never cook again. W/stunning views of the coast & the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. The best Italian food north of Boston. The menu offers signature Italian dishes & special family recipes & the comprehensive all-Italian wine list is a Wine Spectator award recipient since 2002. 60 Mile Rd., Wells, 641-8550, varanos.com. Vaughan Street offers breakfast and lunch. Soups, salads, baked goods, tortilla rollups, traditional sandwiches and our specialty: fresh-baked focaccia sandwiches. Daily we make sandwiches that promise a unique and delicious experience. You’ve gotta try it! Conveniently located across from Maine Medical Center. 235 Vaughan St., Portland. 277-8993, vaughanst.com Walter’s is one of Maine’s most popular restaurants. Chef/ owner Jeff Buerhaus is inspired by global influences. Seasonal menus are accented by creative daily specials. Extensive wine list & inventive cocktail creations complement menu offerings. M-Sa lunch 11:30am-2:30pm, dinner from 5pm, bar menu 2:30pm-midnight. Su brunch 10am-2:30pm. 2 Portland Sq., 871-9258, waltersportland.com. Wells Beach Steakhouse & T-Bone Lounge serves prime & all-natural steaks, fresh seafood & delicious salads, w/Kobe sirloin steaks, set in a plush atmosphere. Enjoy a selection from the highly allocated new world wine list, or a signature Wells Beach martini under the starry ‘sky’ of the lounge. 73 Mile Rd., Wells, 646-2252, wellsbeachsteakhouse.com. * Yosaku Authentic Japanese culinary experience, designed by owner/chef Sato Takahiro. Premium sushi, sashimi & rolls, plus traditionally cooked Japanese cuisine for the sushi-shy. Best deck dining overlooking our tranquil Japanese garden & waterfall. Lunch M-F 11:30am-2pm, Sa-Su noon-3pm. Dinner 5-9:30pm, F-Sa 5-10:30pm. 1 Danforth St., 780-0880. *reservations recommended
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Salon Electives (continued from page 39)
internationally-trained stylist Matthew John. Beyond expert pampering, Matthew John Salon is one of the few places in the country that offers balayage, a method of creating natural looking highlights. But if
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“We’re not just selling a haircut, we’re selling a [“man cave”] experience.” –Julie Juliano, owner, Mensroom, Portland Mensroom
Inside this high-end “barber-spa” in Portland is a space that “feels like a man cave,” says owner Julie Juliano. Entertainment options include pool table, numerous televisions, complimentary beer and wine, and well trained female stylists “who know the stats from last night’s game and closing numbers of the Dow Jones” almost as well as they know hair. “Our clients include members of the Portland Pirates and television/movie star Johnny Knoxville,” says Juliano. Enjoy twofor-one haircuts and $2 PBRs on Tuesday nights. mensroomsalon.com
“We pay attention to our clients 100 percent of the time.” –Jennifer Leigh, owner, O2 Salon & Spa, Portland
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>> More: Visit Online Extras at portlandmonthly.com. February/March
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Watcher in the Clouds (continued from page 28)
and land lost to development. The organization has also provided dozens of flights to Maine’s land trusts, helping them monitor and better understand the thousands of acres in their care. While LightHawk isn’t an advocacy group, the issues it helps illuminate often are controversial. Engholm explains, “Whenever you have resource issues that deal with land, you have multiple points of view. A lot of what we do is showing people what’s at stake–and often you can’t do that easily from the ground, whether it’s logging issues or California’s Marine Life Protection Act,” a highly contentious issue that’s had LightHawk flying missions over the state’s coast for the last five years. “From the air, you try to see what unites people–not what divides them. As one official [in California] said, ‘We found common ground in the air.’ Only when they could see it together could they come together.” LightHawk flies missions all over the U.S., Canada, and south into Central America. Engholm admits that in Mexico planes have been met by armed soldiers, and there are places like southern Panama where the organization won’t fly. Having its small planes mistaken for drug traffickers’ is one risk it won’t take. Risk is what LightHawk tries to take out of the flying equation. Each flight is meticulously planned; many flights require countless hours of advance planning, securing special permits, working with government agencies, translating documents, and handling all the necessary technical aspects.
A
ccording to Engholm, “Our single most complicated flight was probably flying rare Orange-breasted Falcon chicks from Sheraton, Wyoming, to Belize last June.” Since the plane–carrying a biologist, the 42-day-old chicks, and 150 pounds of frozen quail (“the chicks’ in-flight meal”)–wasn’t allowed to stop in Mexico, the turboprop refueled in Texas, a stop which had to be cleared with U.S. Fish and Game. The importance of the birds’ safety was paramount: Fewer than 30 nesting pairs are in Central America today, and a significant percentage of Central America’s Orange-breasted Falcon DNA was on the flight. The 12-member staff, spread across the U.S. and Mesoamerica, coordinates all the missions flown by nearly 170 volunteer pilots. “We run a decentralized, multi-national
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[concern] with the number of people who can fit around a family dining table. We try to be judicious about what we do,” Engholm says, noting that LightHawk uses highly efficient aircraft and purchases carbon offsets so the operation is carbon neutral. He estimates this year’s carbon footprint, including staff travel and all mission-related flights, will be about 272 metric tons, assuming 25,000 gallons of aviation fuel. “A single one-way trip from San Francisco to Rio de Janeiro in a 747 would use roughly 40,000 gallons. If society is willing to ‘spend’ these vast amounts of emissions on so many other activities, doesn’t it make sense that we at least invest a small amount of our energy in saving the irreplaceable pieces of wild nature? “The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces [according to Paul Ehrlich in A Sand County Almanac],” concludes Engholm. “That’s the perfect analog for what we do. We try to protect all the pieces of nature–the wildlife, habitats, and diverse ecosystems.” n
The Maine SCHOOL OF SCIENCE & MATHEMATICS “We have one of the world’s best science and math magnet schools in Limestone, Maine. Motivated teachers, motivated students and affordable access make it work.’ - Governor LePage
>> More: Visit Online Extras at portlandmonthly.com.
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r e a l e s tat e Swiss cheese. And what was his reward for daring to be different? “There was definitely some talk that ‘someone was building a strange house’ in the neighborhood,” he says. “I knew of the problem [of getting a mortgage] before we built. Since I did a large part of the work, the dollar investment was not very large, so that was not a hardship.” “People who want to build an alternative home often have a vision of what that’ll be like, but when it comes time to construct it, they have trouble getting mortgages. They usually end up going after private money or using their own. A bank is just not going to do it,” says
“I wondered if I could use snow as a form for a house, and I [loved the idea of] an energy-efficient home. So I put the two ideas together. Being underground [is] more efficient because you are only fighting the earth temperature in the winter. That fluctuates a lot less than air temperature, which traditional homes deal with… The inside has a conversation pit, a huge kitchen, two bedrooms, two full baths, and a laundry room. It’s completely suited to yearround living,” says Jim Sysko of his subterranean home.
Hobbit House
courtesy Michael Cramer
Incomparable You (continued from page 32)
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Bale Me Out!
courtesy robert patterson
courtesy Michael Cramer
“For many years I’d been fascinated by the French architect Le Corbusier, especially the Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp. I was thinking I’d like to have something like that, something that had mass to it and curves and an interesting appearance… There’s a playful quality about my home. It has lumps and bumps you might think of as defects in a traditional home. Here you leave those there, intentionally,” says Robert Patterson of his straw bale home in Beals.
Tom Landry of Benchmark Realty. Mortgage consultant Jeff Hess agrees. “The fact that they are incomparable can be the biggest stumbling block for a lender. The bank’s concern is whether or not they could sell the home, and this is true of any unique property, regardless of how smart or energy saving, because the potential audience is so much smaller.” And it’s not just contemporary houses, either. John Calvin Stevens’s Horace F. Farnham House at 318 Brighton Avenue has dumbfounded onlookers for years for its 100-percent pink slate exterior. Just because the original owner who built this mansion in 1902 was a local building materials magnate and no doubt had connections to get the slate, how hard is it for 21st-century owners to keep it in good nick? Appraised for $616,000 by the city of Portland, who knows what its market value might be if it weren’t sheathed in such a rare, expensive coat? Jim Sysko, owner of the Tolkienesque underground house in Newry, makes no such claims to tradition with his creation. “A snow mound was actually the original frame for the house. We covered it with sawdust and plastic so it wouldn’t melt; then we started applying concrete.” The result is a quiet, energy-efficient, two-bedroom, two-bath, domeshaped house, nestled into a hillside. “It’s warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It’s everything you want a house to be.” Except appraisable. And even if you can get financing, you have to deal
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Enjoying Retirement Together “We wouldn’t think of living anywhere that wouldn’t welcome our dog,” say Thornton Oaks residents Jim and Deanna Baxter. Bailey rides on the back of Jim’s bike as they enjoy Brunswick’s bike path along the Androscoggin River. The three also enjoy kayaking. “We keep the kayaks on top of the car and the bikes on the back,” says Deanna; “it’s a lot easier that way to get up and go. Even those who no longer keep pets enjoy interacting with the four-footed residents. “Our Scotty, Bailey, is very popular!” adds Jim. Are you looking for pet-friendly community to call home? To learn more about Thornton Oaks, contact Henry Recknagel at 800-729-8033 or thoaks@gwi.net. We also invite you to visit our website to meet more of our residents.
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with subcontractors shaking their heads. “I had an exterminator once who was both terrified and enraged at the sight of it– ‘What kind of house is this? I can’t exterminate this!’ He practically fled,” says architect Marcia Wake of her curvaceous Sculpture House, hidden away in the Windham woods. “It’s almost traditionally wood framed,” she says, though the walls, inside and out, have all been hand-plastered into smooth, swooping surfaces. Considering the difficulties encountered by these ‘incomparables’ as a whole, what does it say about our institutional inability to accept change or even a fabulous new idea? “It doesn’t have to be a new idea,” says Wiscasset’s Roy Farmer. “I had a devil of a time selling a historic water view home made of bricks that just happened to be shaped like an octagon,”–the Capt. George Scott House, built in 1855. You can imagine the potential buyers responding to the unconventional room sizes: ‘Where could I put the entertainment center with our 96-inch flat-screen TV’? The first brick comparable that comes to mind is designed by Thomas Jefferson in southern Virginia–his retirement mansion, Poplar Forest. Value: priceless. So in these dark woods you do the best you can. “When it comes to appraisals, we need to go out and find homes that are as comparable as possible,” says Chris Kara-
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courtesy Glen Adolphsen
Alan Adolphsen designed and built this cordwood home in Hope, Maine. “It’s made from Maine Quaking Aspen (frequently called Poplar) with hemlock beams. It’s heated exclusively with wood and has gravity feed water, making it quite self-sufficient,” says his brother, Glen Adolphsen.
george of Beacon Appraisals. “In Maine, that isn’t easy–especially with homes that are very unique unto themselves.” So how do appraisers figure it out when it comes to a home with straw walls or bedrooms beneath six feet of earth? “We pick key features and try and find them in other properties to demonstrate that that facet is comparable; we look at shape and size, bedroom count, location, etcetera. Sometimes when dealing with a unique home you need three, four, five, or more comparables. “Some appraisers are intimidated by that process,” Karageorge says. “And lenders often don’t want to pay the fee that is appropriate to appraise a unique home which needs multiple comparables to value.” Worse than that, Hess says, is, “A lot of lenders set overall policies to shy away from homes with non-traditional qualities.” It doesn’t matter, then, that these homes are super energy-efficient? “People can be very myopic when it comes to solving the energy crisis,” says real estate agent Avery Caldwell. “This is Maine after all, not San Francisco.” Either way, we’re still in America. As Hess puts it, “Lenders will have to open up to follow the trend or risk losing out on that market.” n
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Inside Story Modernism’s Beachhead (continued from page 41)
force: Lynn Thompson and Dorothy Chester Heywood, both born in the 19th century, had arrived in town. An artist and writer, Thompson was the mother of architect Benjamin Thompson, who was working on the Brooklin project with TAC. Thus introduced to the area, she and partner Dee Heywood bought a large old summer house at a low postwar price, and in the time-honored tradition of architects’ mothers everywhere, Thompson commissioned her son to give the French Provincial house a makeover. Out went the curved staircase, in went risers suspended by rods from the ceiling. Out went the French doors, replaced by a wall of glass. “That lovely old house!” cried the people. Thompson and Heywood were only warming up.
to which they added a radically modern wing called the Pavilion. It is not known why Thompson did not use her son for the design–although surely he had input–but rather called upon Eaton Tarbell Associates of Bangor. Tarbell as-
a sleek, handcrafted design with clear nods to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West and Rudolph Schindler’s Rodriguez house in Los Angeles. Tempered by traditional Maine materials and scale and with its skewed side elevations and the front canti-
Blueberries & Picasso The main salon at the Rowantrees Pavilion, ca. 1950, featured modern decor and views of Blue Hill Bay.
T
Blue hill Massacre: Up here with the gulls, Lynn Thompson assembled 50 works by Rothko, Pollock, Motherwell, Klee, Picasso, and Rouault, purchased in New York though the Betty Parsons and Downtown Galleries…calling her exhibit “Picasso & Pie.” Soon her son’s company station wagon was making runs from Harvard Square to Blue Hill, bearing modern furniture from his Design Research flagship store to sell at the Pavilion. Next season, the Pavilion was advertising Noguchi lamps, Jens Risom furniture and more, making it the unofficial first outpost of the store that brought modern design to America. In 1967, an insurance agent whose tastes ran to something more traditional demolished the building vilified as just “too New York.”
signed the product to chief designer Cooper Milliken, who’d recently graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With bold patrons who had a generous budget and wanted something outside the box, Milliken, a quiet intellectual, produced
levered over the millstream, the building arrived just in time for the mid-century. It was the first new commercial building erected in the village’s commercial district since the late 1800s, and its progressive design caused uproar. Sheila Varnum of Row-
courtesy Brad emerson; file photo
hompson is remembered as kind and generous, and in the opinion of her daughter-inlaw, Jane Thompson, typified the “pioneer, get it done” spirit that prevailed after the war. Heywood was quieter and more methodical but no less visionary in outlook. They threw themselves into the cultural life of the community. Thompson assembled a collection of fifty works of avant-garde art, including Rothko, Pollock, Motherwell, Klee, Picasso, and Rouault, purchased in New York though the Betty Parsons and Downtown Galleries. She offered to exhibit her collection at the local library as a fundraiser. Fearful that modern art alone was not a sufficient draw, she offered blueberry pie as the refreshment, calling the exhibit “Picasso & Pie.” Thompson made it known in the local newspapers that she would personally bake a pie and airfreight it to Picasso in France, that he might participate from afar in the opening (history does not record his reaction). The exhibit was a runaway success, and Thompson and Heywood were emboldened to begin a new, bigger adventure. In 1948, Heywood invested in Adelaide Pearson’s Rowantrees Pottery in Blue Hill. Heywood wanted to diversify the business, founded during the Depression to boost the local economy, by adding a weaving line. She opened a Rowantrees showroom in Manhattan, probably designed by Ben Thompson. In Blue Hill, they purchased the 1842 Stevens building, 7 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
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antrees remembers that many felt the project was just “too New York.”
courtesy Brad emerson; file photo
I
nside, natural materials and sloping walls combined with exposed joinery to create drama. Glass walls captured light and views of the nearby harbor. It was a stunning building, one of the most daring of its era in Maine. The opening was attended by Robert Motherwell and Betty Parsons. Unfortunately, the Rowantrees joint venture did not succeed, the New York showroom was shuttered, and the business was recast as The Blue Hill Pavilion. Although Thompson claimed never to hold a mixing spoon until after she was fifty, she and Heywood opened a full restaurant. In attempts to increase cash flow, they offered the option of mail-ordering their cakes and pies. Local weaving continued to be featured, and for the first time in the area, French cheeses were available, a fact that did not go unnoticed in a New York Times article. Art exhibits, which had first been mostly on consignment from the Metropolitan Gallery in New York, shifted to local under the direction of Francis Hamabe, hired in 1951 as art director. In 1955, when Ben Thompson founded Design Research–the first retail store devoted to modern furnishings–his mother, ever a step ahead, had a member of his office staff making runs via station wagon to Blue Hill bearing DR inventory to sell at the Pavilion. By the next season, the Pavilion was advertising Danish pottery, Noguchi lamps, and Jens Risom furniture, making it the unofficial first outpost of the store that brought modern design to America. By the 1960s, despite critical and popular acclaim, the Pavilion continued to be a financial and physical drain, and Lynn Thompson, now seventy, moved to Cambridge. The Pavilion was leased and became a tearoom and gift shop until it was finally shuttered two years later. In 1964, Thompson wrote a slim cookbook-memoir of the venture, titled Picasso and Pie, which remains a cult classic. Ironically, the building would stand only three more years, demolished in 1967 by its new owner, an insurance agent whose tastes ran to something more traditional. One of Maine’s gutsiest adventures into the new lasted barely a dozen years. n Brad Emerson is an antiques dealer and writer living in Blue Hill. Follow his blog on local architecture at thedowneastdilettante.blogspot.com.
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Exit Interview A Man For All That (continued from page 47)
We’ve come full circle with the working waterfront–from the Karen Sanford days of protecting maritime businesses with a waterfront referendum in the 1980s to the recent decision to repeal some of these restrictions. Taking the long view, what are your thoughts about that?
I don’t think it’s undoing [restrictions]–as opposed to many, many ports, most of the waterfront property is privately owned–it’s recognizing what’s always been an issue over the last 30 or 40 years: how to achieve an economic balance that protects the traditions of the working waterfont as it relates to fishing and lobstering and yet recognizes the need of pier owners to reach a level of return on their investments so they can reinvest in the piers and wharfs. But pier owners, and even the lobstermen who were concerned about being displaced, admitted there are significant vacancies in the buildings on the piers–25 percent up to 45 percent–[and] they recognized the need to encourage investment.
Is that struggle with losing fishing boats due to Federal regulations shortening time out at sea, forcing boats to other ports so the fishing grounds are closer to “home”?
Oh, yeah, I think that certainly impacted it. On the other hand, I sit on the Fish Pier Authority, and the feeling is in a couple years the fishing stock may be replenished and we may see some degree of relaxation in many of those regulations that will help us. What decision would you reverse with today’s hindsight?
Some budget decisions on operations–snow operations and trash collections operations– where clearly it gets back to the impact of what you see on the streets. What best represents the city to you?
Certainly Portland Observatory. Longfellow Square is very meaningful to me, and Casco Bay Lines is another feature.
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Traveling outside Maine, what’s the perception of Portland?
We’re an isolated community somewhere near the Arctic Circle with an endless winter. What did you do that was most “John Menario-like” and what did you do that was most “Tim Honey-like”?
John was the first manager when I came here. He was instrumental in urban renewal and downtown redevelopment work. A.J. Wilson was responsible for the first expansion of the Jetport. Tim was A.J.’s assistant, and he under-
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took making the waterfront a priority–he took the first look at a master plan. Bob Ganley had to deal with the transformation of downtown due to the loss of retail base and look at other options. We had the Downtown Master Plan that called for creation of the Arts District. So some of the foundation for that transformation was done during Bob’s tenure but continued under mine in terms of actually seeing it happen. With the exception of A.J.–he’d been a deputy mayor in St. Louis and was the only one you could say came “from away”–the tradition of city managers going back to the mid-1960s has been local. I don’t consider Bob “from away”since he was city manager in South Portland and came over to Portland. It will be interesting as [the city council and mayor] go through this [selection] process on whether the new city manager will be local or “from away.” Tim is still in the community, over on Bradley Street. He does a lot of international work and community development in African countries.
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We’ve tried to keep business in Portland with tax increment financing (TIF). But we’ve seen UNUM, for instance, switch their headquarters to Chattanooga in spite of this. What are your thoughts about TIFs as a public financing method used to promote commercial and industrial development?
They moved their headquarters, but UNUM maintains a significant presence. We need to be judicious when we give TIFs–what will the financial arrangement between the organization asking for the TIFs and the city be, and what financial return will be given back to the city. There’s criticism about [the TIF] keeping Pierce Atwood [from leaving Portland by decreasing their taxes], but [the site of their new
Directly behind Walmart and Regal Cinema February/March
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Exit Interview offices at 258 Commercial Street], as it was, over the life of the TIF, would’ve generated only $640,000 in taxes. Under the arrangement with Pierce Atwood in that building, the city is getting more than $2.8 million. It’s hard to see the Guy Gannett building on 390 Congress Street looking so lonely now, when it was once such a nerve center–our Daily Planet. Did you offer inducements for them to remain on the peninsula as owner/occupants?
The new owners [of the Press Herald] had excess space in their South Portland printing facility, and we knew there were internal discussions about moving all their operations–including news operations and corporate offices–to the South Portland plant, and we did not want to see that occur. We had discussions with Richard Connor and other senior leadership. Not that the city offered them anything–we didn’t–but we impressed upon them the importance we felt about the newspaper keeping a presence in Portland. I don’t know how persuasive our arguments were, but I guess the proof in the pudding is they maintained a significant presence, albeit in a much better space.
Did your bouts with cancer over the last few years have anything to do with your retirement?
No, I’m in full remission, so they tell me. I go every six moths for checkups. It really had nothing to do with it; it’s strictly a personal decision my wife and I made: For our 40th anniversary, my wife and I went to Greece last October. We were staying with friends on the island of Rhodes. She’d been retired 18 months. We talked about if the time was right for me, and we came to the conclusion while sipping wine and looking at the Aegean Sea. What is your personal opinion of the elected-mayor structure voted in recently by Portland citizens?
I don’t think we needed it. The present system works well. The reality is, the manager is still the CEO of the city and will carry the full responsibilities I had–none of that changes. [The manager will be appointed by the mayor], but it’s still a council decision, and the council needs to be comfortable not only with the dayto-day operations of the city but also with the intangibles: There is a chemistry that needs to exist between the manager and the council, a
level of confidence and trust in each other. In terms of the mayor, [the new city manager and the mayor] are going to have to work that out between them. The charter envisions the mayor being the spokesperson for the city and laying out a plan for the city, but the manager still has all the day-to-day responsibilities. What do you feel are your most significant achievements as city manager over the past decade?
My work on the East End waterfront–I take pride in the framework we were able to set up for that development; the work in Bayside, which started when I was in the planning office and is now a goal of the [Downtown Portland Corporation] and Economic Development Department; and I’m ultimately very pleased with the shoreway access plan [created] with Portland Trails. There’s Ocean Gateway terminal, of course, and the growth of the cruise ship industry here. I also feel the transportation initiatives such as the airport expansion and its level and frequency of service are impressive
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for a city of this size. Visiting relatives in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was struck that a city roughly three times the size of Portland only had two airlines! What’s your favorite restaurant?
We live on State Street, so right now, one of our favorites is Local 188. We go there a lot. Espo’s is a favorite spur-of-the-moment place. When we are on the ferry, another spur-of-the-moment for seafood is Gilbert’s Chowder House. We enjoy the Regency’s Armory lounge for a drink at night, and it’s a very pleasant atmosphere. In the summer we really like going to Portland Harbor Hotel’s garden lounge. It’s a really pleasant place to have a drink and relax. Are you running for Mayor?
(Laughs) No.
What would your 2011 self say to your 1969 self?
It was worth the ride! n
>> More: Visit Online Extras at portlandmonthly.com.
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On Peaks Island, facing downtown Portland, this million-dollar view is going for $799,000.
all photos courtesy ashmore realty/Leigh Whittemore
Sunset Boulevard F
acing west/southwest on Peaks Island, “looking out over Diamond Passage, the waterway between Peaks and the Diamond islands,” Idletide on 5 Beach Road has front-row tickets to the island’s longest beach as well as unforgettable sunsets above the glow of downtown Portland. Price of this million-dollar view is $799,000. Sturdy and modest, this “beachfront contemporary has a shingle exterior, an open floor plan on the first floor, and a set of two bedrooms and what the sellers call ‘the grandchildren’s room’ (bunk and trundle beds) on the second floor,” according to Ralph Ashmore of Ashmore Realty. “There’s also an attic that February/March
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could be finished as an incredible bedroom.” On the entertaining level, “A verandah deck overlooks hundreds of feet of sandy beach right at your doorstep.” As you step into the dining room, you’re bowled over by direct water views that certify this as a party house. Other goodies include “a brick fireplace, hardwood floors, two baths, a galley-style kitchen [in charming knotty pine], three sitting decks, and a garden shed. “Originally, there was an old cottage here. In the 1990s, a new cottage was built by a Freeport architect on the same footprint, which allowed it to be much closer to the beach than if you’d been working with a raw piece of land and were building with the current setback.
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your home? “The lot is shaped like a little prow, so there are great panoramas that sweep off the beach from Hussey Sound to South Portland,” taking in Fort Gorges, the numinous shapes of the islands, and the sparkles of the skyline. Strolling through you own lilac gardens, you’re steps from the classic Trefethen Evergreen Improvement Association yacht club for boating and tennis–considering the lucky geography, it’s almost as though you’ve stumbled on nature’s gated community. n A striking video of the house and its unique situation is available for viewing on http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=H7KLJwImizU.
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g
IDLETIDE Built directly on Peaks Island’s westerly seashore; at the
Berwick $142,000
end of a quiet dirt lane is a contemporary shingled year-round cottage with spectacular views from every vantage. Reasonably offered at $799,000. Peaks Island: pristine, quiet island living at the “door-step” of a wonderful city. Portland: rated as one of the top small cities in the country. Some call it the best of both worlds and the fortunate ones have made it their primary or second home. Among them is longtime islander Ralph Ashmore. Ralph has specialized in island real estate for nearly 30 years & possesses the expertise to assist you through the important process of purchasing an island home.
A S H M O R E R E A LT Y 20 Welch Street, Peak Island, Maine 04108 207.766.2981 • ralph@ashmorerealty.com
WWW.ASHMOREREALTY.COM
Scarborough $179,900 Specializing in short sales and distressed properties. Government and REO listing broker.
South Portland $164,900 For a free listing of Maine foreclosures visit www.martymyrealtor.com or call my cell at 400-4413 762 Main Street South Portland, ME 04106
Marty Macisso
mmacisso@hotmail.com Phone: 400-4413
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g
Falmouth $1,200,000 Edie Boothby 523-8111
International Exposure International Exposure Local Expertise Local Expertise
North Yarmouth $599,000 Mark Fortier 523-8108
Gray $459,000 Chris Jackson 523-8116
Falmouth $2,500,000 Sandy Johnson 523-8110
Falmouth $299,900 Bob Knecht 523-8114
Cape Elizabeth $975,000 Susanne Lamb 523-8105
Cape Elizabeth $1,374,000 Cindy Landrigan 523-8106
Portland $675,000 Gail Landry 523-8115
Scarborough $398,500 Dianne Maskewitz 523-8112
Portland $495,000 Rowan Morse 523-8107
Cumberland $1,435,000 Steve Parkhurst 523-8102
Portland $595,000 Tish Whipple 523-8104
Portland $395,000 Jeff Davis 523-8118
www.townandshore.com www.townandshore.com one union wharf • Portland • 207.773.0262 one union wharf • Portland • 207.773.0262 February/March
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g
Armstrong Painting 20 Years of experience working for you with great references to back us up!
Rocky point...
...This property is truly amazing. Over an acre of beautiful woods (with numerous walking paths among the ledge and fir) along 375' +/- of a gorgeous rocky shoreline. That’s the very secluded spot. Set right on that rocky edge, this 4 bedroom seasonal cottage offers 180 degree views - sunrises to sunsets - with only water & islands in between. They will take your breath away. The cottage? Just renovated from head to toe and done with the perfect touch. All on Peaks Island, a neighborhood of Portland reached by yr-rd ferry service that runs 16 times a day for the 20 min. trip. $945,000
Commercial & Residential Interior & Exterior Painting Utilizing low VOC “green” Products Power Washing & Professional Spraying
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Diamond Cove, Great Diamond Island, ME | www.portisland.com
MICHAEL A. JACOBSON BROKER
RANGELEY
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RANGELEY
Gorgeous 3-BR Errol Log Home $649,500
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“Your Real Estate Source for the Rangeley Region” Caryn Dreyfuss – Broker 2455 Main Street Rangeley, ME 04970 P.O. Box 1234 (207) 233-8275 www.realestateinrangeley.com Email: caryn@citycoverealty.com
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Snowmobile Camp w/ Rangeley Lake Access $139,000
3-BR Chalet with Access to Haley Pond $339,900
Minutes to Rangeley Village and Saddleback Mtn. $249,900
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g
Our Specialty...
Installing Your Dreams! Dennis Ganem, Pres.
24 Longmeadow Rd. • Scarborough • 885-9993 • Fax: 885-9168
Cape Elizabeth Waterfront Home $1,595,000
Falmouth Woodlands CC $779,000
Portland West End Historic District John Calvin Stevens Condo. Rare opportunity to own in this landmark property with elegant fireplaced LR, lg formal DR, 3 BD, office, 2 BA, covered porch. $550,000
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February/March
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g BrUNSwICK
HarpSwell
SOU surr 1.6
Anyone who knew this property on Mere Point in the 1940s would not recognize it in the cozy compound there today. Situated on .3 AC on Sunset Way with approximately 80' of water frontage and fabulous sunset views over Maquoit Bay, is an attractive and comfortable year-round home. All on one floor are open living and dining/kitchen areas divided by a two sided stone fireplace, a full bath with laundry and Jacuzzi tub, a study, guest bedroom and master suite. A few steps from the house is a small guest house, and on a separate .87 AC lot across the street is a spacious yard area and detached three car garage with overhead storage. $615,000.
Here at the highest point on Orr’s Island, luxury year round living or splendid vacations are inevitable. Sunrise over the ocean, Casco Bay and its islands, Mt. Washington and glorious sunsets reflected in Harpswell Sound provide the incomparable views. Handicapped accessible, entertainment style living, dining, family areas, a chef’s kitchen with stainless steel appliances, two main floor master suites, one with sitting room and dressing room, two small guest suites and recreation room on the lower level, daylight level, a large open deck as well as contiguous covered porches, an insulated, two car oversized garage with workshop space, professional landscaping, neighborhood access to the water, all just minutes from the marina and yacht club. $699,500.
CU neig 5,00 Tim
240 Maine Street • Brunswick, ME 04011 • (207) 729-1863 For Properties, Open Houses, Visual Tours - www.mainere.com
237 Waldoboro Road, Jefferson, ME 04348 • (207) 549-5657 • FAX 549-5647 237 Waldoboro Road, Jefferson, ME 04348 • 207-549-5657 • FAX 207-549-5647 Jefferson - This beautiful brick home has many features. First-floor bedroom with bath, open kitchen, living and dining area, a formal living and dining room, 2-car garage and a fabulous view of Damariscotta Lake! $250,000
Windsor - This 44+/acre parcel includes 20 acres of open field. Sitting on this parcel of land is a privately located 16'x60' Maple Leaf single-wide home for you to live in while building your rural Maine farm. $164,000
Jefferson - Ward Log Home Nobleboro - Delightful cottage with 10 acres and common on waters edge - move right in! boat launch and beach on $424,900 Pittston - What a beau- Damariscotta Lake. $449,000 tiful lot bordered on two sides by the Eastern River located in a real Maine rural village within walking distance of the general store. A well-maintained 1830s cape includes 2 chimneys, deck, porch, garage, with 4 acres of open backyard. $174,500 Jefferson - Beautiful cottage Newcastle - Charming cabin on Damariscotta Lake with on Damariscotta Lake with fantastic sunsets! $449,000 much potential. $148,500
YAR in t 5 BR lizfl
Jefferson - Watch the sunrise over the pond in this waterfront cottage. $299,900 Jefferson - Truly a beautiful piece of Maine–19.3 acres of land with 770' of waterfront on a quiet and peaceful pond! $324,000
FAL casu hdw por 121
www.BlackDuckRealty.com • email: info@blackduckrealty.com www.BlackDuckRealty.com • email: info@blackduckrealty.com 8 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e
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SOUTH FREEPORT Fantastic views of the harbor and surrounding islands. 2,200 square feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1.6 acres. $599,000 Tim Kennedy Cell: 632-0557
YARMOUTH Spectacular waterfront setting overlooking Little John Island. 3.6 acres, 3,200 square feet, 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath. $1,200,000 Tim Kennedy Cell: 632-0557
FREEPORT Eight lots to choose from with deeded waterfront access, 40 acres of open space, public water & sewer, and new common dock/float system coming summer of 2011. $149,000-184,900 Tim Kennedy Cell: 632-0557
CUMBERLAND FORESIDE Great waterfront neighborhood with deeded water access. Over 5,000 square feet, 5 bedroom, 3.5 baths. $879,000 Tim Kennedy Cell: 632-0557
FREEPORT Antique Colonial on 3/4 acre lot in Porter’s Landing. Wide pine floors, Indian shutters, 4 frpls (3 gas), 6 BR, 4.5 ba, vaulted entry, attached garage w/loft, automatic generator. $495,000 Pat Rabidoux Ext. 106
CUMBERLAND French Country home bordered by conservation land. 4,200 sq. ft. open layout w/2sided stone frpl, 4+BR, including master frpl, total 5 baths, central air, security system. $525,000 Pat Rabidoux Ext. 106
YARMOUTH Unique historic home set on 2.2 acres in the heart of Yarmouth Village. Over 6800 sq. ft., 5 BR, 3.5 baths. $1,250,000 Dave Fleury 831-4772 lizfleury@rheritage.com
FREEPORT Beautiful custom built Cape set on 2.5 acres in a premier Freeport neighborhood. 3,000 sq. ft., 3 BR, 2.5 baths. $549,500 Dave Fleury 831-4772 lizfleury@rheritage.com
NORWAY Beautiful 4 BR, 2.5 BA Cape on 1.84 ac. HW floors, gas frpl, 1 fl. master suite & laundry. Large deck & att. 2 car garage. $245,000 Kate Huntress 207-232-9416
FALMOUTH Architect-designed Farmhouse offering casual elegance. Open floor plan w/3 gas fireplaces, hdwd & tile floors. Spacious rooms, 5 baths, screened porch & bonus room. $699,000 Mike Lepage Ext. 121/Beth Franklin Ext. 126
NORTH YARMOUTH Updated Greek revival with hardwood, granite, MBR suite. Prime location in Village for home & business. $439,000 Mike Lepage Ext. 121/Beth Franklin Ext. 126
CUMBERLAND New 55+ Community at Osgood Village. Quality construction and attention to detail w/2 BR, 2 BA, 1 car attached garage. Radiant heat, granite & quality appliances. $250,000 Mike Lepage Ext. 121/Beth Franklin Ext. 126
207-846-4300 www.rheritage.com rheritage@rheritage.com | 765 Route One, Yarmouth FM11 84-90 NEHL.indd 89
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N e w En g l a n d H o m e s & L i v i n g
Local - Savvy-Responsive
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fiction Don McMillan
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ven after nearly nine months they couldn’t bear to answer their landline, but when the reverend’s voice filtered through the speaker they knew it meant it was finally ice-out on Aziscahasset. Wade loaded the packed duffel bag into the Dodge Caravan that had seemed so barrenly large since the previous Labor Day weekend. He’d stuffed in snacks and pajamas and water, the same way he’d done a little more than four years earlier, when Serena’s contractions had shrunk to five minutes apart. After they branched off the turnpike at Auburn, the fresh frost heaves bucked their minivan to momentary weightlessness as the road hugged first the Androscoggin then the Dead River on its winding path up into the mountains towards the Québec border. The yellow “Moose Crossing” signs that threatened collisions seemed to be bluffing, even at dusk. They pulled over at the canyon where one time Serena had strapped Hannah to her chest in the Snugglie and pointed down at the rapids. Before Hannah, Wade and Serena would slide down the stone chutes like kindergarteners. When they reached the cabin, they walked barefoot down to the boathouse with a flashlight. Halfway to the water, the ground grew soft. Wade kicked at the bare oval with his heel as if that would stimulate some kind of growth. He shone the light at the ground. “This is her babygrass spot,” he told his wife. “She loved doing that with you,” Serena said. They still could hardly pronounce her name. Hannah had helped Wade patch the previous spring, tossing handfuls of grass seed from her perch atop his shoulders. He told her it was OK as long as she kept her eyes shut really hard and threw them way far out in front. Or else the sandman will come visit your eyes while you’re sleeping, and grass will grow out of my bald spot.
At the boathouse Wade stepped on the bench and reached up blindly for the key. The lock was so small and rusty he probably could have pulled it open. Even after he snapped the lock open, the sliding door wouldn’t budge. “Work it hard,” Serena told him. “It might just be caught on a paddle.” He let her enter first. Moonlight reflected off the lake and filtered in through the wavy glass panes, stretching distorted shadows along the length of the canoes and dinghies. One beam reached all the way across to the green plastic tub that still held her toys. After Hannah had vanished into Aziscahasset the end of the previous summer, they’d dodged the relatives and colleagues
robert witkowski illustration
Ice-Out at Stoney Batter and counselors and weathered the ceremonies and managed to stay together. But they both knew they hadn’t faced their grief–only postponed it through the ritualized mourning and the fall. Finally, Veterans Day weekend, they’d fought until they’d collapsed and then made love across the kitchen tiles and decided they had to do something up at the cabin where Hannah was happiest, something once the ice melted because by then her birthday would be just around the corner. The wooden beams above held fly rods and spider webs. To shore up the roof, Wade had added diagonal beams that met in a point at the center. Serena reached up and took a Mason jar from the one of the rafters and showed it to Wade. “They’re still here.
Thank God.” She’d put the lupine petals in the jar two Junes ago, one afternoon when she’d brought Hannah in the backpack for “flower-picking and moose-sighting.” They left the boathouse unlocked and walked to the end of the dock, its surface almost entirely underwater. Hannah had been baptized there her first Labor Day, when the reverend had to get on his knees and reach down over the slanted planks to get enough water to fill his silver chalice. Last September he’d driven all way down to do the memorial service in Portland. And he’d promised to call them right at iceout in the spring, when they could stretch the long black plastic pipe across the lawn and over the rocks and into the lake in order to draw water back up into the cabin. They walked back up together. Wade uncorked a bottle of red he found in the bottom of the food closet he’d built. Except for the previous summer, he’d taken on one major project per year. “I’m surprised it didn’t freeze,” he told her as he worked out the cork he’d split. He brought her a glass on the futon. Years ago, when they’d come over for Saturday nights away from Bowdoin, they’d had to sleep together on the same futon, right next to the wood stove. “Do you remember that time we saw a moose swimming across the lake?” he asked her. “Had his huge nose and rack above the water?” “I tell my freshmen how fast moose can swim and they don’t believe me,” she said. She swirled her cup but did not sip. He broke a cracker for her. “That was before Hannah.” Before Hannah. After Hannah. When they finished the bottle, they climbed under the quilt on the bare queen mattress. Serena put her Mason jar on the floor next to the bed. At dawn they walked back down to the boathouse, plumes of mist rising from the lake. They worked free their canoe. “Lift with your knees,” Wade reminded her. He’d put on the ten pounds she’d lost since last fall, often staying at the bank until eight, then drinkFebruary/March
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On the Shores of Rangeley Lake, Maine 1 mile south of Rangeley Village
ing too much beer after he came back to her and the student lab reports she’d spread out across the kitchen table with her own white wine. “One…Two…THREE.” They maneuvered the canoe through a little opening between a sailboat and a mound of life jackets and seat cushions. Serena sidestepped a tangled reel and a torn fish net while Wade stepped over a deflated inner OPEN tube that lay like a sad, flat “O.” An array of This 100-year-old Authentic Maine Lodge offers YEAR ROUND paddles stood propped in the corner, some distinctively rustic guest rooms and suites initialed in indelible ink, others anonymously communal. Dine100 lakeside in aold casualauthentic atmosphere orMaine enjoy cocktails This year Log Lodge offers distinctively andguest lighter fare in the Pickford Pub. with breathtaking They managed to pass the canoe rustic rooms and suites views. Expanded parking accommodates trailers. • Bed & Sled easily through the tight threshold. “We’re OK,” • Spectacular Sunsetstofrom the accessible by snowmobile ITS trails via Dining the lake. Room he said as he stepped backwards down the • Relax in the Pickford Pub with Cocktails and Lighter Fair two steps. They didn’t have to carry it as far Our new lower facility is perfect for as they reunions, and family gatherings Perfect weddings, Setting for: Accessible by had during the fall, after the dam had Snowmobile orbeen Carlet out, when the water was so • Reunions Ski & Stay Packages with low the rocks pushed their points above the Free Wi Fi • Weddings surface. Logs too heavy to haul to the other Saddleback Mountain and Sugarloaf USA • Family Gatherings Tours Welcome shore were stacked where the rocks met the boathouse. The lighter driftwood Wade 16 Pickford Rd., Rangeley, Maine 04970 • 864-LOON (5666) would tether across the lake each July so www.loonlodgeme.com 16 Pickford Rd., Rangeley, Maine 04970 the small beach on the cabin’s side would Look for our sign on Route 4, 1.5 miles south of Rangeley Village 864-LOON (5666) ~ www.loonlodgeme.com be clear. Last year Hannah had watched him paddle the logs away as she’d balanced on her bottom in the sand and played with the white plastic colander instead of the toys.
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hen they got to the small half moon of beach, Serena laid two safety cushions inside the shell of the canoe. They placed Hannah’s miniature paddle in the middle, between the caned seats, near a rectangular patch Wade had glued on a few years earlier. Serena rested the Mason jar in the open loop of the miniature orange life preserver they used to strap around Hannah. Serena walked in the water to get to the bow. “My God. This water is absolutely frigid.” “It’s only been water all of maybe two days.” When Wade stepped into the stern, earwigs shuttled across the fiberglass interior. The two of them paddled towards the middle of the lake, empty as a still bathtub. The tips of their paddles broke the surface of the water together. The canoe cleaved a steady line to the opposite shore. When she lifted her paddle he said to her back, “That time I took her out with the rod and we just kind of drifted out in the
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middle here. She touches the rod and I’m trying to explain the whole catch-and-release thing. But she makes her sad face like there’s no way a fish is going to survive getting hooked in the mouth, pulled into a canoe, then thrown overboard.” Serena stroked twice, then rested her paddle back on the edge again. “And on the way back from Stoney Batter, she’d always fall asleep. I’d be paddling these big, long strokes on our way back, glide a little after each pull–Hannah Marie loves the little whirlpools I make. I point toward the boathouse–and she just kind of drifts off, sinks right into her life preserver.” “Do you remember who gave her that life preserver?” When they reached Bowley Rock they took another break. The bow gently corrected itself like a weather vane. “Is this the deepest part?” she asked him. He looked to the opposite shore, then back toward Bald Mountain. “Just over a hundred feet dead center. One hundred seventeen.” “When we brought her way out here that time, I told her only God could stand up here.” They drifted closer to Bowley Rock and its single tree. “Remember how that little kid who came over to our stretch of beach a couple times with his mom would call this Bowling Walk?” Wade said. “I’ve always wanted to spend a night out here,” Serena said. “Just sleep on top of it.” As they rested, a black beak cut up through the water’s surface in front of them. “I love the white ring he wears around his neck,” she said. The loons were returning from seclusion to reclaim their domain while the motorboats continued to hibernate in the marinas. “Wonder if he got anything,” Wade said. “Do you know loons have one mate forever?” “Is that who they’re calling for at night?” Wade said. “They can’t walk on land because their feet are set too far back.” The clouds reflected off the glassy surface, puffy cumulus patterns in reverse. “What was the name of that island? I mean, what did we call it?” Wade asked. “Hannah’s? …Wasn’t it Treasure Island?” “Treasure Island,” he said. “Only good pirates there.” “You think she would have gotten bored
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fiction
Making History Today Homes and Barns
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up here in the summer, when she got to be a teenager? Or when she was ten…twelve?” Wade didn’t answer. They knew they’d tacitly acknowledge her phantom fourth birthday over Memorial Day weekend. They glided toward the shore and squinted for rocks they’d see easily later in the summer when the water subsided. They wanted to get all the way across to the area the fisherman called Stoney Batter. Only canoes were allowed beyond the white buoys, inside the ring of exposed rocks a glacier had shed. “We’ll be OK in a canoe,” Wade said. “We’re barely in the water. Actually, the water’s so high right now you could probably get any kind of boat in there.” “I know–it was my uncle,” Serena said. “Your uncle what?” “My uncle who gave her the life jacket.” “What life jacket?” he asked. “Her life jacket. The one that was too big. So when she drifted off in the canoe it would push her cheeks up.” Wade looked back. Bald Mountain swelled over the hump of his shoulder. The first blueberries of the season would ripen on the summit by late July. He pointed across to the mountain. “That tower at the top is so rickety it always scares me to death.” They’d promised Hannah the spring she turned six that the three of them would climb all the way up. Then they would let her climb up the fire tower ladder. “I think they use it more for a weather station now than for fires,” Serena said. When they got inside the ring, they stopped paddling. “You dared take her in here?” she asked. “You can just poke around with your paddle to find the rocks. Plus, end of summer the dam’s out so a lot of rocks are actually sticking up through. You can even see all the fish that try to hide over here.” Serena pointed her paddle blade down at the water. “What kind is that?” “Pike… No, salmon. It must be a salmon it’s so big.” He’d given Hannah a little spin rod with a cartoon character on the reel for when she got older. Far off, the sun caught the silver belly of a fish as it broke surface. “Did you see that one!” he said. “Loon come back up?” “No. The fish.” He pointed with his pad-
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dle. “Over there. There’s brookies in here.” They meandered until the sun had risen directly over Bald Mountain. Wade turned and lay all the way back between the seats; the middle rib of the canoe rubbed up against his spine as they floated. She nudged his neck as if to say ‘sit up,’ then pulled out some of the traces of lupine from the Mason jar she’d stored in the boathouse. She massaged a petal between her thumb and index finger, turning it into a purple dust that was too light to fall, like pollen. Wade took the jar and poured the petals into her cupped palms. She paused for a moment, then thrust the violet-tinted vestiges over the side. A gust caught them and blew them back over the length of the canoe before they settled beyond the stern, sprinkling across the lake water without a splash as Wade and Serena turned their heads to look back.
WORLD PREMIERE
or, The Disinvention of the Airplane
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“Ice-Out at Stoney Batter” is excerpted from a novel-inprogress by Don McMillan, a former reporter for The York County Coast Star. He resides on Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Oquossoc.
by
Gregory Hischak March 1-20
Illustration by Marty Braun
hey’d rushed in choosing a headstone. Taken the funeral home’s suggestions for hymns. Sequestered themselves upstairs and ignored the knocks. Deleted messages unheard. Afterwards, as they drifted, they heard the lamenting vespers delivered by the loons, their evensong emanating above the stilled vastness of Aziscahasset Lake. They glided for a while near the opposite shore until the breeze began to pick up. “We’ll have to come back out here again next year, too,” she told him finally. They paddled back toward the boathouse, then coasted gently toward the shore. As they approached, the birch leaves caught the breeze and ruffled like tiny paper tambourines. A cool, northwesterly wind was blowing down from Québec. The canoe’s bottom scratched a fresh rut into the wet slope of sand. After they pulled the canoe out of the water, they held each other and let themselves cry. They rolled up their jeans and walked sandy-toed up the tired lawn and around the rocks and the babygrass spot that bore its bare patch like a fontanel. Inside the cabin, they climbed back under the quilt. n
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