Portland Monthly Magazine May 2008 by portlandmonthlymagazine

MAY 2008 VOL.23 NO.3 WWW.PORTLANDMAGAZINE.COM$5.95 TM GREEN WITH ENVY Why Can’t the ‘Experts’ JustAlong?Get Just Who is Greener-Than-Thou? IRA ROSENBERG WANTS TO LOVE YOU | FICTION BY SALLY DIXON | BAR LOLA | FIDDLEHEADS: HERE TODAY… GREEN WITH ENVY Why Can’t the ‘Experts’ JustAlong?Get Just Who is Greener-Than-Thou? IRA ROSENBERG WANTS TO LOVE YOU | FICTION BY SALLY DIXON | BAR LOLA | FIDDLEHEADS: HERE TODAY… LIVING WELL AND LOVING PLANET MAINE LIVING WELL AND LOVING PLANET MAINE DEUX DINNER COMPLIMENTS OF THE 20-MILE CLUB DEUX DINNER COMPLIMENTS OF THE 20-MILE CLUB ÀÀ • Empowering Photovoltaics • Tilting at Windmills • Feasting for Free • Empowering Photovoltaics • Tilting at Windmills • Feasting for Free PORTLANDPORTLAND Maine’s Award-Winning MagazineMaine’s Award-Winning Magazine

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Features May 2008InsideRETREATSWHIDBEYDISTRICT/DECK:DOWNTOWNPORTLANDWITKOWSKI/SKYLINE:ROBERTBYILLUSTRATIONPHOTOGARDNER;LAURENCECOMMERCE;OFCHAMBERAREADUBUQUEWITKOWSKI;ROBERTIMPROVEMENTS;HOMESEASONSGREIG/ALLBOBOFCOURTESYLEFT:TOPFROMCLOCKWISE MAY 2008 9 Cover: ‘Locavores’ celebrate Maine life with the 20-mile meal! See story, page 39. 39 3343 23 Helter Shelter Living close to the land on Somes Sound. By Brad Favreau 28 The Lion in Winter “Take the knife out of my heart!” Auto magnate Ira Rosenberg’s Shakespearean twist on wheeling and dealing. By Colin Sargent 33 Return of the Native Maine’s eagles have landed. By Cathy Genthner 37 Green With Envy? Is your new photovoltaic roof really ugly–or do your neighbors secret ly covet it? All that glitters is not green. By Ben McCanna 39 The 20-Mile Club ‘Locavores’ love all edibles near and dear. By Judith Gaines 43 Wind in the Willows Controversy buffets Maine’s wind farms. By Donna Stuart 47 Diving for Dinner A trash course in five-star dining by Maine’s Freegans. By Judith Gaines 37

ISTOCKPHOTOAGENCY;SWANSMITH/THER.MARGARETISTOCKPHOTO;BOILY;CHANTALLEFT:TOPFROMCLOCKWISE 10 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE 107 17 Departments89In Every Issue 12 From the Editor ”Blood Pineapples.” Just what is the carbon footprint of that juicy fruit you’re enjoying? By Colin Sargent 51 Fit as Fiddleheads Maine’s indigenous fern puts on the Ritz. By Judith Gaines 54 Personal Shopper Fashion & the environment: together again for the first time. By Amy Louise Reynolds 56 Market 18th-centuryWatchfurniture pieces with a Maine pedigree command record 21st-century prices. By Sarah Cumming Cecil 59 ForPerformancecomicTammy Pooler, it’s all about timing. By Todd M. Richard 13 WeLettershearfrom readers about Bette Davis and Gary Merrill, coastal real estate bargains, and a national cover award for Portland Magazine. 17 Chowder A tasty blend of the fabulous, note worthy, and absurd. 62 Dining Guide 63 Restaurant Review The lowdown on Bar Lola. By Diane Hudson 64 Goings On 89 House of the Month Live the dream: The Keeper’s House at Robinson Point Lighthouse Station rocks the market at $2.2 million. 92 New HomesEngland&Living 107 ”TheFictionInheritance” By Sally Dixon 110 Flash 51

91 Bell Street • Portland, ME (207) 797-7534 • fax (207) www.mrbrewer.com797-0973

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STENBAKJESSE EDITORIAL Colin Sargent, Editor & Publisher 12 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE TMPORTLAND SARGENT PUBLISHING, INC. Colin Sargent Founding Editor & ARTeditor@portlandmonthly.comPublisher&PRODUCTION Nancy Sargent Art Director Jesse Stenbak Production staff@portlandmonthly.comManager Robert T. Witkowski Design ADVERTISINGDirector Anna J. Nelson Advertising anna@portlandmonthly.comDirector Jane Stevens Advertising jane@portlandmonthly.comExecutive Amy Moe Reynolds Customer Service Representative/ Graphic portlandads@gmail.comDesigner Colin S. Sargent EDITORIALAdvertising/Production Amy Louise Barnett Associate barnett@portlandmonthly.comPublisher Jason Hjort Publisher’s Assistant · Webmaster Diane Hudson Calendar · Flash · Reviews Mark Fleming Contributing ACCOUNTINGPhotographer Alison Hills INTERNSah@portlandmonthly.comController Benjamin Haley, Maura Cooper, Sheldon S. Higdon SUBSCRIPTIONS To subscribe please send your address and a check for $39 (1 yr.), $55 (2 yrs.), or $65 (3 yrs.) to Portland Magazine 722 Congress Street Portland ME 04102 or subscribe online at www.portlandmagazine.com Portland Magazine is published by Sargent Publishing, Inc. All correspondence should be addressed to 722 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102. Advertising O ce: 722 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102 (207) 775 4339. Repeat internet rights are understood to be purchased with all stories and artwork. For questions regarding advertising invoic ing and payments, call Alison Hills. Newsstand Cover Date: May 2008, published in April 2008, Vol. 23, No. 3, copyright 2008. Portland Magazine is mailed at third class mail rates in Portland, ME 04101 (ISSN: 1073 1857). Opinions expressed in articles are those of authors and do not represent editorial positions of Portland Magazine. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to Portland Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially. Responsible only for that portion of any advertisement which is printed incorrectly. Advertisers are responsi ble for copyrights of materials they submit. Nothing in this issue may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publishers. Submissions welcome, but we take no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

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Blood Pineapples

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Follow the pineapples. Hardly a scene straight out of All the President’s Men, where Washington Post reporters Woodward & Bernstein were exhorted to “follow the money” while they investigated the Watergate scandal, but still telling. Challenged to chase our quarry from the plantation all the way to the Whole Foods Market in Portland to understand its carbon footprint, we’ve tracked the incredible journey of a single Del Monte pineapple to the check stand here as follows: First, the precious fruit travels 60 miles by truck from a plantation in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica to Puerto Limon, where it’s loaded onto a freighter. Next, it travels 2,335 miles by sea to the Del Monte distribution facility at Eddystone, Pennsylvania. It then travels 214 miles by truck to the Whole Foods distribution center in Cheshire, Connecticut. Finally, it travels 226 miles by truck to Whole Foods off Marginal Way in Portland. This results in a figure of .2544 cups of fuel for every pineapple sent from Costa Rica to Portland, Maine, and .36 pounds of carbon dioxide released per pineapple. At least at first glance. But some of the inadequacies of this calculation jump out at you. First, these ships are refrigerated, which means that they burn additional fuel in that endeav or. Distribution facilities are also refrigerated, have lights, etc. That is mitigated by the distribution facility in Cheshire, Connecticut, having a photovoltaic roof, but it doesn’t remove the cost completely. Then you can look at packaging, estimated life of shipping vehicles and transport ships–it goes on and on. This is essentially why “10 people” at Dole, a competitor, are reportedly trying to arrive at calculations for their pineapples but have a planned completion date for the study of “three years,” which means essentially ‘never’ in the information age. Bad news may ride a fast horse, but nobody ever hears it if the horse never gets out of the barn. Blood pineapples aren’t like blood diamonds, where human death tolls figure hor ribly into the bargain. In New England iconography, the pineapple is the very emblem of hospitality–so often you see them carved onto the tips of bedposts or on hotel stationery. One of the most affecting scenes in Cabaret is when the elderly couple in wintry pre-war Berlin sings a sweet duet in celebration of the rare pineapple they get to share. It’s just that maybe we shouldn’t eat pineapples unthinkingly, or even negligently, here in Maine. Beautiful things are all the more rare and dear when we understand the cost.

Bringing

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372 Fore Street Portland, Maine 04101 207 874 www.forestreetgallery.com8084 Union Wharf 8 x 10 oil Bruce Habowski Featuring original works of fine art, photography, and limited edition prints by regional and local artists. MAY 2008 13 LETTERS editor@portlandmonthly.com COVER ME It is our pleasure to inform you that your cover [for] Portland Magazine [February/March 2007] has taken Third Prize in Category 5, in the 2007 NewsStand Resource Cover Contest. Your cover will be featured in the spring 2008 issue of NewsStand Resource and is entered into the 3rd Annual Readers’ Choice Cover Contest. A press release announcing the winners will be sent out in June and will be showcased in the summer issue… Congratulations. Frances Becker, Publisher, NewsStand Resource Greensboro, North Carolina Loved your February/March [2008] cover… my favorite to date. Laura Sproul Stubbs, Newcastle NO LIMITS HUGE…in my book [“Blue Sky’s the Limit,” April 2008]! My hat’s off to you and your entire staff. Lydia Shire, Blue Sky, York Beach What a great cover picture–we’re very excited! Scott Toney, Blue Sky, York Beach Thank you for the amazing photography and article about Blue Sky Restaurant. The spectacular work that was done at the Atlantic House–home to Blue Sky Restaurant and adjacent to the Meeting House–is just the beginning! This article will without a doubt bring curious people to the restaurant and to our beautiful community!

Bradco Supply-Wickes Lumber www.bradcosupply.com207-772-2884Portland Deering Lumber, Inc. Biddeford • 207-283-3621 Kennebunk • 207-985-4948 www.deeringlumber.com Hammond Lumber Company 8 Locations in Maine 866-HAMMOND www.hammondlumber.com Hancock Lumber Company 8 Locations in Maine 800-360-6711 www.hancocklumber.com Loranger Door & Window Company South www.lorangerdoor.com800-427-8787Portland Western Maine Supply Company Bethel 800-858-2139 www.westernmainesupply.com Downeast Building Supply Brunswick 800-339-9921 www.downeastenergy.com Lavalley Lumber Company, LLC Sanford • Springvale • www.lavalleylumber.com800-339-5557Windham Andersen® Woodwright® double-hung windows can make new homes look old or old homes like new. They combine TwentyFirst Century technology with traditional style to give you low-maintenance exteriors with rich wood interiors. For the perfect look, choose from oak, maple or pine in standard sizes or custom dimensions for renovations. Inspired by Tradition. Visit your local Andersen Excellence Dealer today! andersenwindows.com hometalktours.com Photograph courtesy of: Todd Caverly 207-785-6022 • Design/Build Firm: Lorraine Construction www.lorraineconstruction.com

HOW ABOUT COMPLIMENTARY WINE?

Mon.-Fri. 9:30-5:30, Thurs. 9:30-7:00, Sat. 9:30-5:00 • 892-6700 No. Windham Shopping Ctr., Windham, ME All jewelry repaired Free jewelry cleaning & inspection U.S. Pat. No. 7,007,507 • © • All rights reserved Not using 3MWindowScotchtintFilmcanleavequiteanimpression. MAINE SUN SOLUTIONS • (207) 781-9917 • MESUN@MAINE.RR.COM TM TM Our April Chowder department featured the unique sculpture of the Mother Oven Bakery in Bowdoinham. –Ed. MAY 2008 15 LETTERS editor@portlandmonthly.com Thanks for your continued great work. Robin GreaterCrosbyYorkRegion Chamber of Commerce KING’S QUEEN Priscilla Presley [“Horse Sense,” April 2008] is now a contestant on Dancing With the Stars While this has no direct connection to her adoption of Max, she did tell me that there’s a possibility she’ll be filmed at the Graceland barn with Max, something she’d like to do if she survives the early rounds of the competition. She was in second place after the first round, so Max may well end up on prime time, if all goes well. I know Priscilla is getting lots of press–DWTS is a very widely watched show. The Daily Racing Form (thoroughbred racing’s version of the Wall Street Journal) just did a column on Priscilla and Max. Carole-Terese Naser, Palermo (Maine)

Thanks for the great exposure [“Best Seats in the House, February/March 2008], despite the fact that the very week it hit the newsstands with its two-page color picture of the Bay of Naples [mural], we finally, after five years, [replaced that mural, installed by the former Hugo’s Bistro, with] a new mural. How do we deal with the disappointment when [diners] come looking for that nice table by the Bay of Naples and instead get dumped beside Van Gogh’s Irises? Check out our new mural…even John Payson [who sold Les Iris through Sotheby’s for $53.9 million–see Portland Magazine, September 1987] did a double-take! Johnny Robinson, Finch’s, Falmouth BOTH SIDES NOW I love that you include both ends of the spectrum in these real estate stories [“Bold Coast, Dream a Little Dream,” Winterguide 2008]. Thank you! Nancy, nanton@maine.rr.com, Portland BETTE DAVIS GUY My first job was at the Bridgeway [in South Portland] in 1982-83, and Gary Merrill used to come in and dance on the piano with no shoes on. My friend Alex Notice owns the restaurant and [would be happy to go into more elaborate detail]. Mike Prescott, South Portland

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Got It’s fun to stay at…Majo Bay? Bath resident George “Hopper” McDonough says, “My YMCA swimming buddy Hodding Carter [Jimmy Carter’s spokesman] asked me to him on a 20-mile open-ocean swim between five British Virgin Islands for Outside magazine.” Inspired, McDonough founded SwimVacation, offer ing seven-day ‘swimming vacations’ based from a 65-foot luxury trima ran yacht in Virgin Islands. At $2,200-$3,600 per adventurer, McDonough’s guests not only receive “private swimming instruction gourmet West-Indian cuisine,” but enough rum-soaked “blue drink” to seahorse. www.swimvacation.com –Maura Cooper

Shark?

Painted Sky 2008 17 CHOWDER

PlaidForever

While these butterflies aren’t free ($65 for 3.4 ounces), they’re definitely worth the price of admission.

–Maura Cooper

Talk about sitting on a view. Starting bid is $150 for each of 30 Adirondack chairs at Spaulding Memorial Library’s “Pull Up a Chair” auction at Camp O-AT-KA in Sebago. Last year’s event, featuring 26 chairs designed by local artists, brought in $7,000, led by “The Morning Beach,” pictured, by Wendy Newcomb, which sold for $830, according to the library’s Susan Newton. This August, “we’ll have 20 adult chairs and 10 child chairs,” so don’t be left standing. –Benjamin Haley a tasty blend of the fabulous, noteworthy, and absurd

Sorry, New York. But some delicious products arrive in Maine stores just as fast as they reach yours, including the new Hanae Mori fragrance for women, Butterfly Eau Fraiche. “By agreement, all our retailers nationally receive the product at exactly the same time,” says Adam Brecht, vice president of International Cosmetics and Perfumes, of the fragrance by Japan’s most acclaimed designer. “We do not make a geograph ical distinction. Our president and CEO spend about 70 percent of their time on the road at fragrance counters–it’s how they built the business. So we’re not really New York-centric. If you spoke to the president or CEO and asked them what’s happening at the Hanae Mori count er in Portland, they could tell you immediately. In our business, everything is connected to everything else.”

Got

HUCUL/SWIMVACATIONKERRYOFCOURTESYNEWCOMB;LIBRARY/WENDYMEMORIALNGSPAULDIBEAN;L.L.INC.;PERFUMES,&COSMETICSINTERNATIONALLEFT:ISTOCKPHOTO;TOPFROMCLOCKWISE Synchronicity

Why shouldn’t your duct tape match your flannel shirt? L.L. Bean’s new plaid-print rolls are “inspired by Maine guide wool hunting jackets,” says Mac McKeever. “We have camouflage and ‘sportsmen’s heritage’ as well (twopacks run $9.50).” Considering the two new Bean stores in greater Chicago and Pittsburgh, what patterns can we expect next: deep-dish pizza and danc ing steelworkers?

It’s fun to stay at…Majo Bay? Bath resident George “Hopper” McDonough says, “My YMCA swimming buddy Hodding Carter [Jimmy Carter’s State Department spokesman] asked me to guide him on a 20-mile open-ocean swim between five British Virgin Islands for Outside magazine.” Inspired, McDonough founded SwimVacation, offer ing seven-day ‘swimming vacations’ based from a 65-foot luxury trima ran yacht in the British Virgin Islands. At $2,200-$3,600 per adventurer, McDonough’s guests not only receive “private swimming instruction and gourmet West-Indian cuisine,” but also enough rum-soaked “blue drink” to choke a seahorse. www.swimvacation.com

Woolwich’s Jason Gibbons astonished his high-school buddies when he won a spot with the Harlem Rockets, a traveling basketball team that does trick-suffused shows á la the Globetrotters. His specialty moves include an “around-the-back off-the-glass alley-oop to myself” and his “around-the-back-passto-myself into a catch-and-360, dunks that no one else is doing, anywhere.” This year he showed them off at the NBA’s All-Star Weekend.

Inspired by Maine’s national park, General Motors has named its new seven-passenger cross over vehicle the Acadia. Flattering? The 49,870 Acadias released in 2007 report an estimated fuel econ omy of 18 miles per gallon during in-town driving.

–Maura Cooper

Flying High CHOWDER a tasty blend of the fabulous, noteworthy, and absurd 18 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

–Benjamin Haley Reduce, Reuse, Guzzle?

The greenest of green homes earns Platinum Certification from LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and the first platinum-rated home in New England is at 10 Cranberry Ridge in Freeport. Designed by Richard Renner and built by Wright-Ryan

[Pictured:

–Benjamin Haley Platinum Green

MustangTally Liberty Mutual in Kennebunk has stepped up to save an American mustang, donating $5 for every auto insurance policy they quoted during a recent month, including a blitz of quotes generated at the Chocolate Extravaganza. The beneficiary is Ever After Mustang Rescue in Biddeford. “Right now we have 26 horses,” says Ever After director Mona Jerome, “so corpo rate contributions mean a lot.” Nice to see these guys on the mustang fast track. Reno, the Ever After mustang sponsored by Portland Magazine. See “Maine’s Misfits,” Winterguide 2005]

132 US Route 1 • Freeport across from the “big www.freeporttack.com10am-6pm207.865.1811indian”10am-5pmmondaytuesday-friday10am-5pmsaturday12pm-4pmsundaynew&usedsaddlesbits&bridlesshow&barnclothessupplements&soapstall&paddockbootsanequestrianexperienceeverything equestrian MAY 2008 19

DiscoveryDirigo Suddenly, Maine is all that. This “important Federal inlaid mahogany bowfront chest of drawers” attributed to Joshua Cumston and David Buckminster, a pair of Saco cabinetmak ers who worked here between 1809 and 1816, sold for $175,000 before auction premium recently at Northeast Auctions–well over initial estimates of $30,000-$50,000 and eclipsing a number of ballyhooed Portsmouth pieces. Reports auctioneer Ron Bourgeault: “It was of exceptional quality and had the best inlay. It is related to a group of similar chests that were attributed to Portsmouth, but research has proven they were made in Saco.” –Benjamin Haley Construction, the house is for sale through Legacy Properties for $895,000. Take a free tour as a prospective buyer, or fork over $15 for a “Learn How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint” lecture and tour through Freeport Community Services. Your choice.

stick. steripen.com$80-$130. The only French immersion school north of Boston High quality educational programs for preschool through grade 5, plans underway for 6th grade to be added in fall 2008. NATIVE FRENCH-SPEAKING TEACHERS • LOW STUDENT-TEACHER RATIOS ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES • CHILDREN’S CHORUS • THEATRE • SUZUKI MUSIC FIELD TRIPS AND YMCA SWIM PROGRAM • ADULT FRENCH CLASSES OFFERED 99 South Freeport Road, South Freeport, Maine 04078 • Tel: (207) 865-3308 • www.efdm.org CHOWDER a tasty blend of the 20 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE CityEmerald Portland is the nation’s top green city, according to Organic Gardening Magazine Why us? Our use of biodiesel for city-owned vehicles didn’t hurt, along with Portland’s decision to adhere on its own to the Kyoto You Light Up Pure Fun

from

Stumped for the perfect gift for Adrian Monk? Hydro-Photon’s nifty SteriPEN purifies a liter of water using ultraviolet light–in 90 just seconds.

“It’s used by campers and hikers,” says inven tor Miles Maiden of his Blue Hill firm’s new product, recently praised in The New York Times. “Also, people who travel outside of the U.S.” Depending on the type of battery, you can get 50-100 purifica tions each

–

Featuring a variety of original work created by Piper Shores’ residents. Please call 207-883-8700 x107 for more information. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2008 1PM - 4PM Resident Art Show Solsticeummer Piper Shores Great Room • 15 Piper Road • Scarborough, ME Visit www.pipershores.org for directions Painting by Piper Shores’ Resident, J.S. Martin. Maine’s Only Nonprofit Lifecare Retirement Community Maine’s Full Service Scandinavian Importer 75 Market Street, Portland • 874-6768 • www.simplyscandinavian.com Lots of new Just arrived! Add a splash of color to your décor this spring. We’ll be celebrating our10th Anniversary in June. Come by for in-store specials. Isn’t that Portland Head Light on that can of Teutonic tuna? Ja! We don’t know how many German hausfraus and college students know they’re looking at Maine on the label of Kaufland brand Thunfisch, but one Maine expatriate spotted this on the shelf of his local Supermarkt in Schwäbisch Hall for the equiva lent of $1.13. Care for some Thun-noodle Kasserolle, anyone? –Amy Louise Barnett fabulous, noteworthy, and absurd MAY 2008 21 My Fisch TONOHYDRODAIRY;HURSTOAKWITKOWSKI;ROBERTCHEMELSKI;BENTOP:FROMCLOCKWISEPH

Benjamin Haley Got Sun? How’d you like to save 7,500 gallons of oil a year? “We’ll cut down 83 tons of carbon emissions,” says Bill Bennett of Oakhurst Dairy, “once we get 2,700 square feet of solar panels on the roof.” Cost for this con version? $190,000. “We’ve been using bio fuel in our trucks for a year and a half, and now we’ll be able to cut our water usage by at least 5,000 gallons.” Call it the milk of human kindness. Louise Barnett

–Amy

Protocols as part of a climate-protection agreement endorsed by 811 cities across the U.S. Then there’s our anti-idling ordi nance to cut down on traffic fumes and our growing emerald bracelet of parks and trails. Jokes a pleased City Arborist Jeff Tarling at his 20-year ‘overnight suc cess,’ “Hey, you reap what you sow.”

MAY 2008 23

BY BRAD FAVREAU ShelterHelterShelterHelter EIBENDOROTHEABYPHOTOSALL

Dorothea and Stephen hoped to get things right when they first dreamed of building a second home on Mount Desert Island, a place long dear to them. But before the Boston couple dared to gam ble their savings on a lot, they asked Bar Harbor architect Roland Sosa Its angles may dangle, but you’re sure to fall in love with this…

24 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE The perfect trajectory of the coincidentallyhouseachieved the best views of Cadillac Mountain.

INSIDE STORY MAY 2008 25

“The house makes a gesture toward, and has a dialogue with, the ‘feel’ of this place,” says Sosa. Two intersecting volumes nestle against a steep hillside, opening up to the outdoors from different levels inside. The ledge inspires the materials within, too: wood, steel, and stone blend hard with soft, warm with cool. The net effect here is a tangible awareness that “the house is very well integrated into the site,” as Dorothea says. Then there’s Sosa’s romance with the sun. The house incorporates a passive solar design that captures maximum sunlight in the winter through carefully executed fen estration. Clerestory windows add bright ness as well as ventilation and cooling in summer. A European-style high-efficiency, low-water-content boiler by Pensotti North America allows the system to run at fuelthrifty lower temperatures.

Sosa marvels, “Dorothea has an affin ity for simple, modern, European design,” which inspired the clean, open floor plan, where–like the exterior–materials reflect the worldSerendipityoutside. also appears in the cred its here. “The best angle of the house into the hillside also achieves the best views of Cadillac Mountain. And while budget constraints forced us to cut a separate stair tower, the loss only served to simplify and strengthen the design,” he says.

“You have to let the building be what it wants to be,” he continues, echoing 20th-century architect Louis Kahn, legend ary for asking that question of each of his projects. Responding to the query posed by this magic hillside in Somesville, Sosa’s sundrenched shelter is an eloquent answer.

Other green considerations include care ful placement of drainage swales and the use of a permeable surface for the driveway. Even during construction, excavation of the hillside was sensitively calculated to mini mize the amount of imported fill that would be needed for finish grading.

Architect: Roland Sosa of Bar Harbor. Contractors: George Crabtree (now of Naples, Florida) and Dan Lufkin of Eddington; Landscaping: Harrington Landscape Details, Trenton.

foliajewelry.com EXCHANGE STREET PORTLAND, MAINE 207.761.4432 custom designs our specialty Andrew Nyce New Chapter Organic Supplements • Prescriptions • Greeting Cards • Nylons/KneeHighs • CoverGirl Make-Up • Shampoo/Hair Care • Toothpaste • Shaving • Antacids • Cough & Cold • Candy/Water/Soda/Juices • Vitamins & MORE! INSIDE STORY MAY 2008 27 to walk the site with them Because “when ever you’re on the track of something beauti ful, it pays to take your time,” Sosa says. Here in the Somesville woods, a con versation with the rocks and trees began.

28 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE ICONOCLASTS “Cadillac? Take the knife out of my heart!” Ira Rosenberg’s challenge to Maine’s automotive trade is straight out of Shakespeare. BY COLIN SARGENT inThe

ra Rosenberg, 71, walks briskly into his combina tion-lock-protected private office tucked into a hidden hallway in his snazzy new Prime Motor Group Mercedes-Benz dealership in Scarborough and snaps open his ringing cell phone. The blinds are drawn. His desk is shaped like a key. “I’m feeling unbelievable!” he says into the phone. What keeps this guy going? This is the kind of energy you just can’t fake. Is there something in the water in Boca [think Cocoon], where he keeps a drop-dead-gorgeous retreat? What’s driving this mystery mil lionaire to ditch retirement and start up all these high-energy new dealer ships–and why is he doing it in Maine?

MAY 2008 29 FLEMINGMARK

Upon being told, “I’ll meet you at your Cadillac–oops, I mean Mercedes–dealership [for this interview],” he’s already boomed, “Cadillac!? Take the knife out of my heart!” So it’s no big jump to think of Rosenberg as a Shakespearean force in a tragicomic drama that’s moved north from I

ROSENBERGIRAOFCOURTESYDEFENSE;OFDEPRTMENTTOP:FROM I quit high school to join the Navy at 17. My principal was so happy to be rid of me!

30 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE ICONOCLASTS

shift,wouldfor“Standardnerdescribingtop,”bottomImpala–turquoiseandawhitehesaysasthoughasteakdinatDelmonico’s.shift.Isoldit$1,800.”Ifyouwereacar,youbeastandardtoo?heisasked.

Massachusetts to Maine. In fact, you sense part of him is just here for the theater. As he continues on the phone (signal ing, promising with his eyes that he’ll be off the line soon), a gander at his office walls reveals a smoky photo of V-3 Division (“the hangar deck crew”) aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal, October 1955. Among the crowd: ‘AA [Airman Apprentice] Ira A. “That’sRosenberg.’thereal me,” he says, hanging up and walking over to share a look at the Navy picture. “Back then, my buddies on the ship called me Rosie. “See, I quit high school in Malden, Mass., to join the Navy when I was 17.” Your clas sic early underachiever, Rosenberg laughs, “My principal was so happy to get rid of me! Actually, the Forrestal was my second ship,” the Korean vet says, “but it’s where I felt a kind of vision come over me. I remember we were on NATO ops one time, and I was standing the early morning watch, from 4 to 8 a.m. My sta tion was on an outside platform, and when I looked out across the water, as far as the eye could see I saw a line of American ships. I still carry that around in my head.”t the base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he learned the importance of a ripping good deal. “There was a Jarhead’s club for enlisted marines. Beers this big were 15 cents. You could get drunk for 45 centsWhich.” made you a card-carrying pas senger on the stream of liberty boats to and from the carrier, he says.“If you came back from liberty, you were going to smell the throw-up” sluicing in the bilges of each boat from revel ers fresh from seeing the world. “I got out in 1957. I went to Suffolk University, right on Beacon Hill, for two years.” To make ends meet, “I found a job working part-time at Porter Chevrolet in Cambridge, changing tires in the usedcarAdepartment.”farcryfrom seeing a Navy battle group, or was it? ‘Rosie’s’ eyes were still filled with stars, only now he ima gined a line of shiny cars as far as the eye could see.

“For a while I was in the warranty office at Porter, but the walls started closing in. Then, in 1960, the manager said, ‘We’ll teach you to sell cars.’ My eyes opened wide when he added, ‘We’ll pay you $150 a week.’ Back then, the average income was $96 a week.” He carries that moment around in his head, too, along with an almost Proustian memory of the first car he ever sold. “It was a 1960 Chev rolet

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHEVROLET

Whatever he is, he was a big closer from the first turn of the ignition key, he says, because he listened to people. “I sell cars unlike any body else,” he says, then ups the ante. “I open up my heart. I’m not afraid to use the word love. I want them to love me.”

said,pulseofhethefriendly,industrious,Mercurial,naturallyandwellonwaytodiscoveringcouldtalkabirdoutatree,hemadeanim-decision:“Iquitcollegeand‘Ineedajob.’

“No!” he says with a touch of impatience and a wave of the hand. “I’m an automatic.”

Close and personal, personal and close. “For seven years after Porter, I worked at Seacrest Cadillac and Chevrolet in Lynn. Within thirty days I was the top salesman there, because I never sell cars–I help people buy“Next,them. I started North Shore Auto Brokers on Highland Avenue in Salem, starting with $80 in cash and two or three borrowed cars on consignment.”Atthesametime this fledgling business was getting off the ground, “my wife was in the maternity ward,” he says. “That’s when my son David was born!” (More about David later.) As the line of cars he sold got longer, he took more risks and started opening deal ership after dealership branded in his own image from Salem to Danvers. Before you could say Jack Robinson, you could blame ‘Ira’ for all the slow traffic on Route 114 in Peabody. Everybody was headed for the A

MAY 2008 31

“All that was left to me was Maine,” he twinkles, with a look of delicious trouble twisting a smile that brings to mind Snoop Dogg–and our arctic wastes beyond the exclusionozone.Rosenberg set a course for Maine, where people still love being custom er-serviced the old-fashioned way. His meteoric rise to the top of our automotive world here may well eclipse any of his previ ous accomplishments. “I’m not just going to the Super Bowl,” he exclaims metaphorical (Continued on page 74)

‘It’s a death sentence!’ To my son,”–now himself the big Group 1 executive, the ‘suit,’–“I said, ‘David, I’m begging you. You’ve gotta get me out of this non-compete clause!’

“That was in 2003.” But try as David might, “I wasn’t allowed to have a car deal ership in Massachusetts [even though the dealerships he sold there still bear his name]. Even New Hampshire had to be a buffer state” where he wasn’t allowed to operate.

They’re buying far more than something to drive. They’re buying me. T

“Originally there was an exclusion agreement, yes,” Rosenberg says. “I called my son after spend ing four years in Florida. ‘I hate it!’ I told him.

Rosenberg with Toyota Motor Sales North America President Isao Makino at Danvers Toyota in 1976.

fabulous deals he offered, bolstered by his trademark customer service and signature one-customer-at-a-time reputation for per sonal attention. No longer a little fish, Ira Rosenberg was the biggest automotive tuna in northern New England, spreading his empire across metro Boston by the 1980s and 1990s. What Legal Seafood was to the fresh est fish, Ira Rosenberg was to that ‘new-car smell.’“That was just before people started mak ing fortunes by going public in the stock market,” Rosenberg says. “While my son David was up in Maine going to college at Colby–where he told me he learned, among other things, how to drink a keg without breathing–I was in New York meeting with other dealership owners, try ing to file the first IPO [initial public offering] ever put together [by an aggregation of carsales“Weimpressarios].decided we needed a name” to add financial clout to the enterprise, and “someone said, ‘I know some body who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows Huizenga.’” As in H. Wayne Huizenga of Fort Lauderdale, who founded both Waste Management and Blockbuster Video. “At that time, he’d just sold Waste Man agement and wasn’t involved in the automo tive industry in any way,” Rosenberg says. Approached with the dealers’ IPO idea, “He refused the five of us, went to school on us, stabbed us in the back, and went on to found AutoRosenbergNation.”carries that around in his head, too.“Meanwhile, all the kids were doing their MBAs in 15 months, and David [who’d learned the ropes working at Ira Motor Group dealerships from the ground up] was one of them, studying in New York at Columbia.“That’s about the time, in 2000, I sold my nine dealerships along with the use of my personal trade name [Ira Motor Group] to Group 1 Auto for a figure that was three to five times our annual net earnings [his annu al gross earnings were $260 to $300 million]. I retired!”Forcontinuity’s sake, David was hired by the automotive Goliath to continue in his position as president of all the Ira franchises, a position he’d already assumed long before the sale. he Group 1 acquisition was a sea change for the employees and business es collectively known as ‘the Ira family.’ A Fortune 500 firm, Group 1 earns three times what L.L. Bean earns in a year with its 100 dealerships across the country. While Ira was the classic seat-of-the-pants owner, these ‘suits,’ David included, couldn’t wait to try their newfangled business models on an empire that had thrived the old-fashioned way.As David said to Automotive News, “My father, for his whole life, always had every thing at risk for the dealership. And it’s a lot more security not to have everything on the line all the time. After a while, you learn to live with it, but it’s cer tainly nice not to have it…My crystal ball tells me the people who are going to succeed and thrive are the peo ple with the most resources [e.g., Group 1 …who] can invest the most in research and development in terms of new technology and strategies of customer retention–and I really think this is the way for us to be ahead of theThanks,curve.”Dad, don’t let the door hit you on the way Naturally,out. the sales doc uments had exclusionary boilerplate preventing Ira Rosenberg from starting another dealership in the tristate area. But no worries. Rosenberg had crossed the finish line. He was set for life! Except…even with a name like IRA, individu al retirement didn’t agree with him. MY KINGDOM FOR A DEALERSHIP

ROSENBERGIRAOFCOURTESY

The business press ran sensational sto ries about the King Lear-like contretemps Rosenberg was in (where the old duffer is counted out before his time by the young er turks) as an apparent follow-up to the multi-generational litigation that had blood ied the waters at Legal Sea Foods a few years earlier.And, consigned to Boca, the old salesman himself missed all those shiny cars and the people who dreamed of driving them. He began to ache for his old passion. He began to yearn for it. Selling was his proof of life.

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Just a couple of white chicks hanging around the nest: There are an estimated 450 pairs of nesting eagles in Maine, up from 21 in 1967.

BY CATHY GENTHNER the

A s a young boy in the 1940s, Bill Moulton remembers seeing eagles perched high in white pines along the banks of the Kennebec River, swooping down in the waters below to grasp a fish in their piercing talons. “I grew up on a farm in Pittston that’s been in my family since the 1840s,” he says. “By the time I left the farm in 1962 to major in agriculture at the University of Maine in Orono, eagles were in sharp decline.”

SIDE MAY 2008 33

NativeReturnNativeReturnof

MENKE/FWSDAVENOAA;BOTTOM:TOTOP

“It was like redemption for Mr. Moulton, to learn that the key is, eagles do have spe cial needs and we can help safeguard their recovery by protecting special places. Eagles need quiet space along the water and mature trees,” says Todd. Not to mention the occa sional clean, well-lighted alewife.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS?

It was a punch in the stomach, Todd says. “We didn’t know if eagles could come back.” Dispirited, he nonetheless continued his work reaching out to landowners to encourage them to provide adequate, unde veloped, wild habitat for eagles under the presumption that if you reforest it, they will come. One of those landowners Todd met with was Bill Moulton, whose eagles had totally disappeared in 1975. “He took to heart the recommendations of being a good steward, even though his birds had gone and stayed gone for over 25 years.”

WILD SIDE 34 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

“They’ve made a marvelous recovery,” says Moulton. “In 2006, I took three biologists from Florida Light and Power out to the nest on the island. One guy climbed the tree and saw three little babies in the nest 100 feet up in a white pine.”

“I love it–you hear them all the time, chirping and screeching up a storm. I get up at six a.m. to get the paper and hear them on the island,” says Moulton. “There are more eagles everywhere around us. On a really windy day, they love to get up in the air and just soar. You can tell they enjoy it tremen dously. I’ll see three or four of them up in the air just soaring and having a really great time.”

The newly discovered eaglets were care fully lowered down in a small canvas bag, measured, weighed, and returned to the nest while mother and father eagle flew above, quite upset. Today, Moulton’s eagles party on along the shores of the Kennebec River, often at tree level at dusk, fishspotting.

The eagle population in Maine as well as the other 47 contiguous states was on the brink of extinction in the 1960s because of DDT and polluted waters, before the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972–sponsored by Sen. Edmund Muskie, whose hometown of Rumford was perched on the banks of the foamy and polluted Androscoggin River. In response to the obvious decline of eagles in Maine, in 1962, Charlie Brookfield and Frank Ligas (biologists with the National Audubon Society) began annual tallies of the birds. Between 1962 and 1970, only 21-33 pairs of nesting eagles could be recorded, with only 4-15 eaglets fledged each year between 1962 and 1970.

LESS THAN ZERO “In 1967, DDT had softened the eggs so drastically that there were only 21 nesting pairs of eagles in the state. Once the num bers get low, lots of things can go wrong,” says Charlie Todd, wildlife biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. They were headed for extinction.”

But in the spring of 2001, a pair of nest ing eagles returned to the Moulton family farm and Nahumkeag Island. The family attended to their arrival with every bit of the excitement they’d directed to the first moon landing.

Names like “Eagle Lake” (in Aroostook County), “Eagle Point” (on Mooselook meguntic Lake near Rangeley), and “Eagle Island” (an island in Casco Bay purchased by North Pole explorer Admiral Robert Peary in 1881) all suggest a widespread pop ulation of eagles from Maine’s coast to “the county.”Itisestimated that at least 50,000 breeding pairs of eagles lived in the lower 48 states before the European settlement. There are no official numbers for Maine, but it was said Kyle Murphy of Florida Power and Light’s Maine facility monitors four-tofive-week-old bald eagles on the Kennebec River’s Nahumkeag Island.

“When I graduated in 1966 and returned home for a visit, there were still some eagles on Nahumkeag Island [owned by Moulton’s family in the middle of the Kennebec River], but it was an older pair, and the eggs weren’t hatching,” says Moulton, 65.

What woke us up in the 1960s? “Early pioneers such as Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, along with amateur naturalists, alerted people to the pressures of contaminants–especially DDT,” says Todd. It seems only politically correct messengers were allowed to carry the bad news: “You could have talked to any Maine lobsterman at the time who would have told you long before that the eagles were disappearing.” In June 1976, Todd started his eagle work here in Maine. He met with federal wildlife officials in Augusta and searched the shores of the Kennebec River, looking for occupied eagle nests–but every single known nest had been abandoned.”

MAY 2008 35

O’Donal’s offers the largest and hardiest selection of healthy, homegrown plants in the state. So, plant it right the first time. Trust the professionals at O’Donal’s. his aster from his elbow wrench? Would you trust your Maine garden to a clerk who doesn’t know 6 County Road Gorham, ME 04038 207-839-4262 www.odonalsnurseries.com6 County Road Gorham, ME 04038 207-839-4262 www.odonalsnurseries.com that eagles were so abundant in some coastal sections they were fed to hogs by Casco Bay settlers in the 1700s. Arthur Norton, a natu ralist in the early 20th century, recorded 15 eagle pairs on a 12-mile stretch of the lower Kennebec River around 1900. After the 1960s, the eagle population began to rebound in the 1970s and 1980s because of stricter pollution laws and increased conservation efforts.

“While Maine’s current list of endan

The first few years of the program were extremely successful, allowing for the estab lishment of the IFW’s Maine Endangered SpeciesSadly,Program.in1998, income to the Chickadee Check-off program dropped dramatically when the check-off was moved from the primary tax form to a supplemental form (Schedule CP) where fewer residents could seeInit. 1994, the loon conservation license plate was created, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund. Unfortunately, sales of the loon conservation plate have also headed for extinction during the past several years. The result is less money for the con servation of eagles at a time when the eagles are doing so well they were removed in June 2007 from the federal list of endangered spe cies, even though they were on Maine’s list of endangered species.

“However, with 46 threatened and endangered species remaining on the state list, biologists still face substantial challenges if we are to ensure that no additional wild life go the way of the timber wolf, woodland caribou, or Karner blue butterfly.

In 1975, the Maine Legislature enacted the Maine Endangered Species Act (MESA), and in 1983, the Maine Legislature cre ated the Maine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund that added a check-off option on our state income-tax form known as the “Chickadee Check-off.”

Last week Bob was in plumbing – this week it’s plants. Here at O’Donal’s, we live and breathe gardening everyday. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff brings a wealth of expertise and gardening know-how to ensure your investment not only survives, but thrives.

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“The success story of the bald eagle in Maine is a heartening example of what can be achieved when the state’s nongame wild life funds are committed to the recovery of a declining species,” says Phillip deMayn adier–reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate group leader for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

MOULTONBILLOFCOURTESY (Continued on page 76)

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Why do the neighbors hate this swank “green” house next door?

“They don’t call them solar panels for nothing,” Gardner deadpans. “If you turned a light on today, you’d probably use up whatever we’d make.”

Gardner, a retired lawyer, enthusiastic environmentalist, and self-described “child of the sixties,” sits in a comfortable chair in the southernmost room of his sprawling water front“Thishome.room used to be a porch,” Gardner says. “We converted it so we could sit here in the wintertime, heated by solar electricity, and look at our solar panels. When the sun is out, it’s really quite beautiful to watch them.”

PERSPECTIVE MAY 2008 37

A pall of clouds hangs over the extravagant half-million-dollar homes that sur round Scarborough’s Grondin Pond. On the northeastern shore, Laurence Gardner’s solar array isn’t making much juice.

The neighborhood, however, doesn’t share Mr. Gardner’s sense of beauty. Last sum

BY BEN M C CANNA KINGED (Continued on page 78) GreenGreenwithEnvy?Envy

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BY JUDITH GAINESBY JUDITH GAINES

A lison and Peter LePage are “locavores,” people who try to eat only locally produced food. Locavore was the New Oxford American Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’ in 2007, in recognition of the growing interest in food that is grown, raised, or caught close to one’s home. But probably few people take the idea as far as the LePages do. When they started eating local last July 1, they refused to con sume anything that wasn’t made in Maine, and most of their food came from within about 20 miles of their South Portland home. That meant: no cooking oil, no coffee or tea, no vanilla, no rice, no refined sugar, no baking mixes or pro

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MAY 2008 39 TRENDS

Baked Haddock with Dill Recipe–Brushfillets with melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt, and cover with full springs of dill –Bake at 375 degrees F until fish is flaky –Remove cooked dill sprigs and garnish Shopping List -Haddock fillets (Free Range Fish Company, Portland) -Herbs/Seasonings: dill, basil, parsley, garlic, shallots (Farmers’ Market, Portland) -Butter(Smiling Hill Far -Maine Sea Salt, from Marshfield ME (K. Horton Specialty Foods, Portland, or you could evaporate your own out of Casco Bay to stay within 20 miles) 40 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE Alison and Peter LePage enjoy their ‘near and dear’ 20-mile meals. 20 miles–what (8.3CREAMSTRAWBERRIES(1.2miles)miles)HADDOCK(2.5miles)ONIONS(3.1miles) RED(3.8PEPPERSmiles) (17DILLmiles) (3.1ONIONSmiles) RED(3.8PEPPERSmiles) (17DILLmiles)

How and why this came about is worth pondering by anyone who (Continued

Shopping List-Mussels(FreeRange Fish Company, Portland)-Herbs/Seasonings(Farmers’Market, Portland)-Butter(Smiling Hill Farm, Westbrook)-Maine Sea Salt, from Marshfield(K. Horton Specialty Foods, Portland,or you could evaporate your own out of Maine Mussels in Butter/Garlic/Chive Broth -ScrubRecipe2 lbs. mussels and steam over highheat with a splash of water until open-Drain mussels, reserving liquid. Discard any thatdo not open. -Sauté 5 chopped garlic cloves and 1/2 cup choppedshallots in 1/2 cup butter.-Add reserved juice from mussels and bring to boil.-Pour over mussels and season with fresh parsley.

APRIL 2008 41 TRENDS

on page 84 WSKIWITKOROBERT what a fun challenge! (2.5MUSSELSmiles) (13.4GARLICmiles) (8.3BUTTERmiles) HERBS & (13.4SEASONINGmiles) SEA SALT (2.1 miles) (2.5MUSSELSmiles) (13.4GARLICmiles) (8.3BUTTERmiles) HERBS & (13.4SEASONINGmiles) SEA SALT (2.1 miles)

cessed food, no citrus or tropical fruits, no olives, no nuts, no soda pop, no chocolate. They wouldn’t eat out at restaurants, because they couldn’t be sure of the origins of all the ingredients in the dishes. When friends invited them for a meal, they’d even take their own food to the gathering.

After a few months of this regimen, they decided to give themselves a ‘social allowance,’ meaning that if someone cooked something for them or gave them an edible gift, they would eat it to be polite. They also gave themselves three “exemptions,” so that they could eat nuts, tea, and olive products, and they permitted a restaurant meal now and then. But, oth erwise, they’ve largely stuck to their 20-mile meals, and “now we realize it’s easier to keep going than to stop,” Alison says.

Meet Karen’s nuclear family.

After all, being accepted into an elite program doesn’t ease the fears of the unknown that most moms have. Like, where will they be stationed? How often will I see them? What about college? information about Navy life at a Web site of prospective Sailors – NAVYForMoms.com. where moms in the know, just like Karen (username Karen Gallagher), are standing with no-nonsense advice to make transition from mom to Navy mom just a little bit easier. for by the U.S. Navy. All rights

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Jacob and Jarrod had always excelled in math and science. Still, Karen Gallagher was pretty surprised when her sons announced they had been accepted into the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program. Of course, after surprised came nervous, proud, scared and a host of other emotions.

designed just for moms

your

Is Maine’s solution to the energy crisis blowing in the wind?

BY DONNA STUART

MAINE LIFE MAY 2008 43

T he Abenakis have at least 16 words for wind, including kzelômsen for ‘the wind, it blows’ and kingzelômsen for ‘it’s a strong wind.’ Today, many residents are calling wind something else: a single, defining solution to the energy crisis in this, the state with the greatest wind-energy potential in New England. Large, utility-scale commercial wind farms–referred to as big, or commercial, wind–grab most of the headlines; and they’re often mired in controversy. The 28-turbine wind farm that marches along the spine of Mars Hill Mountain has some residents of the town below up in arms over complaints of noise, shadow flicker (moving shadows caused by the motion of the turbine’s blades), and impact

The poor get poorer and the rich get wind power? This 1.8-kilowatt wind turbine was installed at the Bush compound last November on Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport. The Bushes likely will return this summer to a credit on their bill.

)(WINDPOWERESTSOUTHWIMPROVEMENTS/HOMESEASONSGREIG/ALLBOBOFCOURTESY2

MAINE LIFE to property values. Another proposed wind farm on Redington Pond Range near Rangeley was rejected in 2007 when concerns about its environmental and scenic impact were voiced by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, Maine Audubon, and oth ers. Still, in late 2007, regulators approved construction of a 38 turbine wind power facility at Stetson Mountain in Washington County, while in early 2008 they gave pre liminary approval to a 44 turbine facility on Kibby Mountain in Franklin County. At the other end of the spectrum, ‘small’ and ‘community’ wind are generating a groundswell of support and interest. Small wind generally refers to wind powered tur bines 100 kilowatts and less sized for homes, farms, and small businesses. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. is the leading world producer of small wind turbines, which AWEA says can each offset approximately 1.2 tons of air pollutants and 200 tons of greenhouse gas pollutants over its lifetime. Community wind is defined largely by its ownership, which can include individual or groups of homeowners, local ly owned investors, local institutions such as hospitals or businesses, or a municipal ity. According to a study developed by the University of Minnesota, community wind in the U.S. has a greater economic impact on local economies than big wind: “Community wind has four times the economic impact on local value added, and 2.8 times the impact on local job creation, relative to a corporate ownedSacodevelopment.”andFarmington have both installed wind turbines to provide power to their wastewater plants; in late 2007, Saco added a second to power the city’s new train station. Kittery, Harpswell, and Oakland are also considering wind power, while businesses and individuals are forging ahead…

In Winter Harbor, a 100 foot, 10 kilowatt wind turbine was installed in late 2007 to provide the power for the community build ing at Millstream Heights Apartments, a subsidized senior housing complex. The building houses both the laundry–which typically uses significant energy–and the community room. According to property manager Richard Fickett, “The turbine is very quiet–if you’re standing next to it, it’s a little like the hum of a telephone when you’re ready to dial. We don’t have compar ative data yet, but we’ll be looking at that in

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“We’re a big user of power, and solar and wind provide about one-third of our needs,” co-owner Scott Cowger explains. “We put in the wind turbine in 2003, and while our site isn’t optimum in terms of wind, it’s something we wanted to do. We feel it’s important to be as clean as possible. The turbine, which is virtually maintenancefree, is set on a hill above the treeline, about 1,000 feet from our buildings. Guests are often fascinated and ask about it and the other ways we’re trying to lower our impact on the environment.”

Bob Greig, owner of All Seasons Home Improvements in Augusta, installed 40 turbines around Maine last year, including the one on Walker’s Point. He refers to this type of turbine as a “wind appliance. It only weighs 165 pounds, stands about 30 feet high, and costs $13,000 to $17,000 installed. For every kilowatt it generates, it saves about a pound and a half of carbon dioxide. With so much of Maine–especially along the coast and the eastern mountain ridges–appropri ate for wind, I think we’re going so see a lot of these.”Bruce MacDonald agrees. A state repre sentative, the Boothbay resident is a member of Governor Baldacci’s task force on windpower development and cochair of the subcommittee on small & community wind. He points to Denmark and Germany as leaders in the use of wind power. In Denmark, 84 percent of all turbines are owned by resi dents as opposed to commercial investors, while in Germany, 88 percent are commu nity-owned.“Withagood system of incentives and some changes in regulations, Maine could take advantage of its wind potential,” says MacDonald. “We also need to invest in edu cation both at the community college and university levels, to create a cadre of techni cians and researchers to carry this effort for ward as we invest more.”

MAY 2008 45

MAINEOFCOUNCILRESOURCESNATURALOFCOURTESY the near future.” In Hallowell, wind is just one of the power sources at the Maple Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast, the first property in the state to receive Green Lodging Inn Certification from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Members of the nonprofit Natural Resources Council of Maine visit the 28-turbine Mars Hill wind farm in Aroostook County. “The NRCM strongly supports appropriately located wind power as part of a broad strategy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, increase energy dependence, and address the threat of global warming,” says NRCM Clean Energy Director Dylan Voorhees.

If, as some believe, Maine has 2,000 megawatts of installed wind power by 2015–compared to the 48 megawatts it had at the end of 2007–there will be what the Abenakis would have called a wlelômsen–a fresh wind blowing.

In Kennebunkport, there was little fanfare when former President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush had a 1.8-kilowatt wind turbine installed last November at their Walker’s Point home. According to Bush’s personal assistant, Jim Appleby, “Both President and Mrs. Bush are interested in alternative energy, and there have been solar panels on the property since the 1980s. Southwest Windpower of Flagstaff, Arizona, approached President Bush about the possi bility of using wind power. They examined the property and found that it’s a great loca tion as it gets fairly windy.” Appleby doesn’t expect that they will have any results of the turbine’s impact for a year. During the win ter, the 33-foot tall Skystream 3.7 will be generating power and, if it is not needed at the compound, providing it to the grid. This means the Bushes likely will return this sum mer to a credit on their bill.

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They get all of this, and much more, for free.

“In most American cities, you do not need to pay for food,” he claims, “and you can eat very, very well. “

BY JUDITH GAINES

METROPOL MAY 2008 47

Maine’s Freegans dare you to share their trash course in 5-star dining.

Conrad, 24, and his friends are among a growing subculture of people who get their “In most American cities, you do not need to pay for food, and you can eat very, very well. “

A side from an occasional purchase of tofu or tempeh and maybe some dried beans, Ryan Conrad says, “I can’t remember when I went to a store to buy groceries.”

Still, his home in Lewiston burgeons with crates of squash, orang es, and potatoes, cans of tomatoes and peaches, bottles of several kinds of fruit juice, and a big bag of fresh strawberries. The freezer is crammed with cooked pumpkin, cauliflower, pesto, pear butter, applesauce, dozens of bagels, and all the cakes, pies, and cookies that he and his half-dozen or so housemates say they could ever want (although they try to limit their sweets and enforce a strict no-donuts rule.)

–Ryan Conrad

They’re a loosely organized, semi-secretive under ground subculture whose members typically operate alone or in small groups of two or three at a time. They act out of political, economic, artistic, or other motives, or often a combination of them. What they share is a belief that Americans waste way too much, and that what most of us throw out can be scavenged and eaten, or at least reused.

(CIRCELEFT:TOPFROMCLOCKWISE2ELIZABETHA.MILLER

Mucking around in other people’s smelly garbage might not be everyone’s idea of a route to balanced nutrition, or even a good time. But Conrad says “div ing”–short for jumping into dumpsters and combing through their contents–gives them almost everything they need to eat, and enjoyment, too. “It’s like, ‘Oh man, what’s going to be there tonight?’ It’s something to do that doesn’t require money. It’s our entertainment.”

“It’s like, ‘Oh man, what’s going to be there tonight?’ It’s our entertainment.”

And they all hate trash compactors.

Food isn’t the only treasure that divers hunt. Some decorate their homes with arty assemblages of items rescued from the trash. They rehabilitate old applianc es and cobble together furniture and equipment from other people’s detritus. They wear recycled clothing or even weave fabrics from old garbage bags, shredded magazine covers and other castoffs–part of a new fash

Freegans–a loosely organized, semisecretive underground subculture of people who get their food and other sup plies from dumpsters–share a belief that Americans waste way too much, and that what most of us throw out can be scav enged and eaten, or at least reused.

food and other supplies from dumpsters. Some call themselves ‘Freegans’–a blend of ‘free’ and ‘vegans,’ or people who do not eat meat or dairy products. But the concept has spread to carnivores, too.

METROPOL 48 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Grocery-store officials stress that trash in any form should not be consumed and that those who do so risk endangering their health because items may be contaminated.



on page 86)

Two College Circle, Bangor | 159 State Street, Portland Bangor Seminary has provided opportunities for people to deepen their faith and ﬁnd answers to spiritual questions for almost 200 years.

Ontogether.theday of our interview, Conrad wears a T-shirt he says he got for free, recy cled jeans, and shoes he found on a side walk while trolling for trash. He rides a pink bicycle he repaired after digging it out of a landfill, and a helmet he spotted behind a sporting-goods store. His home is full of hand-me-downs and secondhand furniture. Because he and his housemates want to (Continued

Diving is more work than shopping at a supermarket, but Freegans insist that it can be safe if you’re selective. “I’ve never gotten sick from dumpstered food,” says Conrad. His vegan diet helps because “dairy and meat products are what spoil quickly and cause a majority of the bacteria and fun gus you don’t want to put into your body. I have overeaten from the dumpsters and gotten a bellyache from eating too much food,He’sthough.”agentle,

thoughtful guy who grew up in Rhode Island in a military family and came to Maine six years ago to attend Bates College, where he majored in political sci ence and performance art. Now he works “as a personal assistant to an interdisciplin ary artist,” plays bass guitar, and lives with friends in a group house “where everyone gets around on bikes and we do our grocery acquiring collectively,” he says. What this often means is that they go on diving adven tures

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The quality of this work is so high that Bates College recently exhibited some of the best of it at its art museum (in a show called “Green Horizons”).ButtheFreegans to many eyes are the most extreme divers because they eat what is, after all, technically garbage.

ion genre sometimes known as Trashwear.

MAY 2008 49

Freegans counter that food often is thrown away because it’s merely a day or two past the expiration date, or because it’s blem ished, or because the packaging has been damaged in hygienically unimportant ways, or just because it’s left over at some restau rant or bakery at the end of the day.

And the amount of waste is stagger ing. According to one recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away about 30 million tons of food a year.

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French Canadians like Ken Blais, the chef at Rolly’s Diner in Auburn, say their forebears–like some Native Americans before them–typically cooked the fern buds “by boiling them in salted water, with a little fatback to cut the bitterness.” Others blanched and then blanketed

Chef Abby Harmon, who created this Pickled Fiddlehead Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette appetizer for Caiola’s last season, expects to present a Fiddlehead Bread Pudding, $6.95, this season.

Foodies may debate whether this is how the Maine woods came to be full of fiddleheads for a few weeks each year. But few would deny that they are one of the glories of our spring.

WITKOWSKIROBERT

Fiddleheadsas

A ccording to at least one account of the life of Paul Bunyan, one of Maine’s most mythic heroes, he was working in a lumber camp late one winter when his partner, a Native American named Tom, became ill, so Paul had to handle both ends of a cross-cutting saw himself. This tired him so much that he sat down on a rock and stayed there resting for 17 days. The heat of his big body warmed the rock, the rock warmed the earth for miles around, and that spring fiddlehead ferns thrust their curlicued heads up through the matted leaves of forests all over the state.

MAY 2008 51 CUI SCENE Judith Gaines Fit

Maine plays second fiddle to none with these treasures from the woods.

52 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

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First, of course, they must be thoroughly cleaned to remove any grit as well as the brown, bitter, papery fuzz that attaches to the fronds. DeGroot does this by soaking them for at least 15 minutes in a large bucket of cold water and then rubbing them gently between his hands. During the two or three weeks when fid dleheads are at their peak–usually in May–he celebrates by liberally sprinkling them “all over the menu.” They might be braised in apple cider broth with bacon, or blanched and served with a bruléed sabayon sauce.

inclaytoniaspeckandlikesleafy“Theyasofingsaw“Butoftenrestaurant,tivearefoods,”portlandmagazine.com/fiddle.)Fiddleheads,”“Everyregionhasitsspecialfunkyhesays.“It’snicethatfiddleheadsours.”JeffreySavage,the33yearoldexecuchefatKennebunk’sOntheMarshgrewupinBiddefordandsawfiddleheadsalongtheroadside.IneverknewyoucouldeatoneoronebeingcookeduntilIstartedworkatForeStreet,”hesays.Onthesubjectnativelocalvegetables,hewasasgreenthefiddleheads.Buthequicklydevelopedatasteforthem.haveagoodcrunchytexturewithatasteinthemiddle,”hesays.Nowhetofryfiddleheadsinatempurabatterservethemwithpickledramps,someorprosciutto,freshpeekytoecraband(aminer’slettucethatdoeswellcoldweather),drizzledwithbuttermilk

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Another of his favorite dishes is a dramatic Napoleon with a layer of semolina pudding, topped by a layer of blanched fiddleheads sautéed with shallots and spinach, topped by a layer of goat cheese cream. (See our link to “Josh’s Tin Can Casserole with

Oddly, though, their preparation rarely is mentioned in cookbooks. To remedy this defect, we asked several Maine chefs to tell us their favorite fiddlehead recipes, or unusual fiddlehead dishes they have found to be surprisingly popular.

At Sweet Leaves Teahouse and Restaurant in Brunswick, chef Josh DeGroot, 45, says he looks forward to fiddleheads as one of the first signs of spring. “As much as I love root vegetables, by May I’m yearning for something fresh and green. When I finally get fiddleheads, I go nuts.”

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CUI SCENE them with butter, or made a simple salad by chilling boiled fiddleheads in a dressing of sliced onion, olive oil, lemon juice and salt.

At Solo Bistro in Bath, Crosby sautés shal lots in the fat of applewood smoked bacon, adds a little butter and garlic, and then sau tés the fiddleheads in this for just a minute or two. “It’s important not to overcook them, because that can bring out the slime,” he explains. He serves these fiddleheads tossed with fresh diced tomatoes and bacon, some times topped with some sharp Hahn’s End Ragged Island cheese.

Chef Rick Hirsh, 45, says a popular dish at his Damariscotta River Grill is cream of fiddlehead soup. He makes this by sauté ing fiddleheads with onions, adding chicken broth, and puréeing them in a blender. Then he adds “cream and fresh garlic, maybe a lit tle rosemary or sliced mushrooms. This sells very well,” he says. Hirsh also enjoys a fiddlehead cocktail made by marinating blanched fiddleheads in herbal vinaigrette, wrapping them in pro sciutto, and then grilling them on skewers. CuiScene’s award for the most unusual fiddlehead dish goes to Harding Smith, the 38 year old chef and owner of The Front Room on Portland’s Munjoy Hill. He grew up foraging fiddleheads, “cutting them in the woods with my dad,” and created Bacon and Fiddlehead Ice Cream as a kind of ode to spring. He makes it with puréed fiddle heads cooked in cream to which honey and rendered bacon fat have been added. When he served this bright green ice cream at last year’s Fiddlehead Festival, “the only person who didn’t like it was a four year old boy, who made a face,” he says. Smith also makes quiche using chopped, blanched fiddleheads with chunks of onions and lardons, baked in an egg custard base. The quiche is a popular dish at his restau rant, he says. The ice cream, on the other hand, people call “intriguing.” n

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Chef Esau Crosby, 42, grew up with Southern style “subsistence eating–pickled pigs’ feet, chitlins, hogshead cheese. We ate everything, even stomach linings. So fiddle heads didn’t scare me at all,” he says, with a chuckle. He enjoyed the “earthy, mild green flavor” that some people liken to a cross between asparagus and white mushrooms, and their texture “reminded me of okra, except that it’s crisper.”

PERSONAL SHOPPER Amy Louise Reynolds 54 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

“Working with American Apparel, Alternative Apparel, and Bella, all of whom share a passion for a green agenda,” says Beyea, “we try to use vintage fabric whenever pos sible. When we use new fabrics, we try to purchase seconds or samples which would normally end up in a landfill.

Model Teal Arnold sports a mEG+ aLI Threads long-sleeved brown tee ($44) at the Portland Flower Show.

“Most of our designs use three to five cotton fabrics of the finest quality, the colors vibrant and nuanced. No two shirts are ever the same,” even if patches from the same fabric palate wander serendipitously onto other designs, connecting pieces to the eye. Choose from tees ranging from brilliant white to striking two-tones.Ingood company with mEG + aLI is Butterfly Baby in Portland.

Green&Sexy

e were sipping coffee in the tiny sewing room my friend Meg kept in the cor ner of her 200-year-old Cape, a place where we’d loved to quilt or sew clothes while our kids played,” says Alison Beyea, cofounder–with partner Meg Harpool–of mEG+ aLI Threads in Yarmouth. “With odds and ends of colorful fabric around us, we were trying to help each other come up with ideas for where to buy origi nal presents.” Beyea took this all in, “overly caffeinated and confident, and said, ‘I bet we could make all of our presents using only what’s in this room!’” Sometimes you can just feel it when fortune smiles on you.

“Our products are environmentally and people-friendly from start to finish,” says owner Leah Kimble. “This leads our clients to more ecologically friendly alternatives.” Even if organic items can be a touch more costly, Kimble–whose popular onesies, sleep-sacks, and pajamas range from $18 to $30–praises her buyers for knowing “‘less is more’” Sometimes ‘wearing green’ has nothing to do with your garment’s color.

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Above: one of a pair of mahogany side chairs (circa 1805) attributed to John and Thomas Seymour that sold at Sotheby’s for $142,400. Pre-auction estimate was $60,000 to $90,000.

Sensual S e mours

INC.SKINNER,YORK;NEWSOTHEBY’SLEFT:FROM

y MARKET WATCH Sarah Cumming Cecil 56 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

This exquisite mahogany work table from ‘the school of John and Thomas Seymour,’ circa 1800-1810, sold for $23,500 at Skinner’s. The rectangular top has ovolo corners and rounded edge above two cockbeaded drawers; the ends with flame mahogany panels are bordered with cockbeading with pullout bag frame to the right; the quarter-engaged fluted-vaseand-ring-turned reeded and tapering legs are on turned feet and brass cap casters (brasses replaced).

hen Americans hear references to Sheraton, Hepplewhite, and Duncan Phyfe, they know to think furniture. They may even conjure up images of refinement–spindly legs and inlay. But not too many associate the name Seymour with these titans of Federal-period furniture. And yet, connoisseurs herald the father-and-son team of John and Thomas Seymour, who settled in Portland from England in 1784, before relocating to Boston in 1793. Meanwhile, Portland’s own Laura

Pieces known to have truly been made by the Seymours are hard to come by at auction or in a gallery. “Attributed to” or “School of John and Thomas Seymour” is more likely because so few pieces bear the chalky “JS” signature or their label. Solid attribution often relies on impeccable doc umentation linking its origins to some of New England’s finest families, among them Codmans and Amorys. The record-breaking Seymour piece to date is a labeled card table that a school teacher purchased for $25 at a garage sale; after appearing with it on Antiques Roadshow, she sold it at Sotheby’s in 1998 to Israel Sack, Inc., for $541,000. More recently, pieces “attributed to” or “school of” are selling at auction in the $10,000-to-$300,000 range. In 2007, Northeast Auctions in Portsmouth sold several such pieces, including a pair of rare scroll-back side chairs for $127,000. Taking his lead from his English roots, John Seymour refined those anglophilic tech niques into a neoclassical aesthetic designed to harmonize with the rest of the home in the Robert Adam tradition. Sparing no expense, he used exotic inlays, veneers, and delicate carving to create a signature, restrained design. By 1800, the talents of son Thomas emerged in new forms, such as scroll-arm supports and fancy lyre-based tables. In interpreting English derivations, the two cre ated a restrained style that set the standard for American furniture for a generation. n Sarah Cumming Cecil, a principal in the interior design firm Rose Cumming (www.rosecummingdesign.com), writes frequently on art, antiques, and interior design. Her work has appeared in ARTnews, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Connoisseur, and The New York Times.

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John and centurySeymour’sThomasexotic18th-carvings,soaring to new records at auction, add new authority to the notion of ‘Maine cachet.’ Fecych Sprague is recognized as the historian and independent museum curator respon sible for much of the existing Maine-period Seymour research (largely drawn from the archives of the Maine Historical Society). Seymour furniture is exhibited at The Met ro politan Museum of Art and the Winterthur and has been the subject of a significant exhibition at the Essex Institute.

Maine State Music Theatre 2008 Season FIFTY YEARS in the SPOT LIGHT! AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 24 LES MISÉRABLES JUNE 25 – JULY 12 THE PRODUCERS JULY 16 – AUGUST 2 ALL SHOOK UP JUNE 4 – JUNE 21 JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR BOUBLIL & SCHÖNBERG’s As we celebrate our 50th year of professional MusicalTheatre in Maine, we are delighted to present four of the most proli c and unique shows to ever grace our stage. Get your tickets now and don’t miss out on this historic anniversary season! MSMT Fifty Years in the Spotlight! The explosively successful rock musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice The hilarious and politically incorrect “backstage” comedy by Mel Brooks The new musical inspired by and featuring the songs of Elvis Presley The epic story of struggle and revolution based on Victor Hugo’s novel Our Season Sponsors: BOX OFFICE: 207-725-8769 website: www.msmt.org

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POOLERTAMMYOFCOURTESY

PERFORMANCE Todd M. Richard MAY 2008 59

ammy Pooler skewers the absurdity of everyday life, hav ing prepared for her comic role after years in training as wife, mother, and even a stint as a “hairapist” after attending cosmetology school. Recently, Pooler–who grew up “white trash in a trailer park” in Westbrook–shared a few thoughts on stereotypes, bedsheet cou ture, and winning strategies on Survivor Your formative years seem to be prime fod der for your stand-up ca reer. You’re moved out of the trail er park but still in Westbrook. Have you noticed any other differences? Well, the close proximity of the neigh bors in the trailer park allows you to

Comic Tammy Pooler ‘s stand-up gives a nod to her Maine roots–and will have your sides splitting.

hear the gossip first-hand, which I really miss. And, we have a lot fewer lawn orna ments now.

I think I’ve always had an eye for spotting funny things that people do, but it wasn’t until I wanted to become a comic that I could organize those thoughts. My first comedy routine was a puppet show I put on at the sixth-grade talent show when I made fun of my principal. I had the audience in stitches. Even though I had detention the next day, it was worth it!

Everyone’s concerned every day about war, economy, and natural disasters. Is comedy a natural counterpoint to the evening news and the troubles of today? Is that a personal issue for you? I really have used comedy as a sort of ther apy. Plus it’s cheaper than a shrink! I think comedy temporarily takes your mind away from the problems of the world or your personal life. Like Milton Berle once said, “Laughter is an instant vacation.”

In your ‘other life’ you work with children. Can you com pare your kids and your audiences?

60 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Overall, my family seems to love hearing jokes about themselves when I’m onstage. They almost seem disappointed if I don’t mention them! My mom loves the attention. When she’s at my show she actually heckles me just so the audience will know she’s my mom. My husband doesn’t seem to care that he’s the butt of a lot of my jokes. But I think

Some of the stories about your younger years are painfully hysterical, like the Star Wars dress made out of your brothers’ sheets. How close are these to your real life experience? Most of my jokes are based on real stories, some just exaggerated a bit. Okay, you caught me: It wasn’t a Star Wars dress. It was a GI Joe skirt…and yes, it had pee stains!

PERFORMANCE

Your routines often touch on things many of us see in our own daily lives. When did you realize that you had a critic’s eye for these common topics?

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My observation of kids that come into my day job at Kids Unlimited is that they enjoy laughing just as adults love laughing. The only difference is that adults have bigger heads! Did I shamelessly mention I observed this at Kids Unlimited at 352 Warren Avenue in Portland? Being a comic’s family has to be a tough job description. How do they react to being the punchline?

A true story! A scout from the show wanted to cast my family for an episode–they want ed us to be the ‘dysfunctional family.’ They tried to lure me in with the role of ‘crazy mom obsessed with telling jokes while I neglect everyone I love.’ This is definitely not me and my family, so I turned it down.

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What’s this about being on Wife Swap?

he would prefer that I exaggerate about him in a more positive light, if possible. Unfortunately for him, I can exaggerate the truth only so far. At a recent show, my teenage daughter Vanessa brought a bunch of her friends, and they all sat in the front row. I overheard her telling her friends that I had a few jokes about her and how they were so funny. She seemed so proud of me, which in turn made me feel proud to be a comic.

Speaking of reality shows: Imagine you’re on Survivor and, before they strand you on a desert island, you’re able to pick three things to bring with you, but you’ve got to be able to fit them in a dollar-store bag. What do you bring? If I were to go on Survivor, I would probably bring a pen and paper to write jokes, and a big wad of hundred-dollar bills to secretly pay off the other contestants not to vote me off. If that didn’t work, at least I would have extra toilet paper! As far as taking a dol lar-store bag to a desert island, I guess you never lose your roots. n Visit www.leasealaugh.com for more on Tammy Pooler. Some of her upcoming gigs include: May 16 at Comedy Lounge in Cape Cod, Massachusetts; May 30 at Event Center in Bangor; June 6 at Gold Room in Portland; June 7 at Chateau in Manchester, NH; June 12 at Verrillo’s in Portland; June 21 at Governor’s in South Portland; June 28 at Johnson Hall in Gardiner; July 11 at Gold Room in Portland. A scout from [Wife Swap] wanted us to be the ‘ familydysfunctional .’ They tried to lure me in with the role of ‘crazy mom obsessed with telling jokes while I neglect everyone I love.’

Anthony’s Italian Kitchen, 151 Middle Street, lower level, Portland. Voted “Best in Portland” three years in a row. Pizza, pasta, and sandwiches. All homemade recipes including lasagna, chicken parmesan, eggplant parmesan, meatballs, and Italian sausages. No item over $10. Beer and wine. Friday and Saturday night live Broadway review includes five-course dinner for $35/pp. Catering available. 774-8668 *

The Great Impasta, Premier Italian Restaurant in Brunswick, recognized as one of the “Top 25 Italian Restaurants in all of New England.” Intimate dining room setting, fun and varied wine list, and creative Italian & Mediterraneaninspired dishes at surprisingly reasonable prices. Open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday. 42 Maine Street, Brunswick. www.thegreatimpasta.com 729-5858

Eve’s At The Garden, 468 Fore Street, Portland, promises a unique experience and a fresh local approach to food.

MJ’s Grille and Tavern offers casual fine dining in a comfortable environment, with a variety of dishes–from small plates and seasonal salads to steak and local seafood. Handcrafted wooden bar offers a wide selection of beers from around the world, local beers, fine wines, and martinis. Private rooms for parties. Downstairs Tavern open Friday and Saturday

La Familia–best Latin American cuisine north of the border. Classic appetizers like empañadas and ceviche, and generously plated entrées: jumbo pan-fried shrimp in butter with garlic and onion served with fried plantains and salad, and rotisserie chicken with Latin seasonings. Try homemade flan for dessert. Lunch and dinner MondayThursday noon-8 p.m, Friday noon-10 p.m. Saturday noon.-8 p.m. 906 Brighton Avenue, Portland. 761-5865

Lotus Chinese and Japanese Restaurant, 251 US Rt. 1 Falmouth, Maine (Falmouth Shopping Plaza). We feature full-service bar and lounge area, sushi bar, Chinese traditional food not available outside of Boston, friendly atmosphere and courteous service. 781-3453

Great Lost Bear, 540 Forest Avenue in the Wood fords area of Portland. A full bar with over 60 draught beers from local micro-breweries and imported specialties. Our menu features salads, sandwiches, steaks, a large vegetarian selection, the best nachos & buffalo wings in town. Discover where the natives go when they’re restless! Every day 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. www.greatlostbear.com 772-0300

62 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE DINING GUIDE Fine Dining in Maine

Maria’s Ristorante, est. 1960, 337 Cumberland Avenue, Portland, one street down from Congress Street. Portland’s finest Italian Cuisine. Maine Sunday Telegram’s four-star restaurant. Homemade sausages and finest meatballs around, thick Veal Chops a la Maria, Zuppa De Pesce Fradiavolo, homemade gelato, and Italian-style cakes. Lunch and Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, $13-$25. “Preserving the authentic Italian dining experience.” www.mariasrestaurant.com 207-772-9232

Beale Street Barbeque continues a tradition of eclectic American cuisine at their new location in South Portland. Still serving the best hardwood smoked and grilled meats, poultry, fish and seafood as well as tasty appetizers, specialty sandwiches, salads, and creative daily lunch and dinner specials. Full bar featuring Maine microbrews on tap. No reservations needed, children welcome. Open all day, every day at 725 Broadway in South Portland. www.mainebbq.com 767-0130 Becky’s at 390 Commercial Street, featured in Esquire and recommended by Rachael Ray, is “a slice of diner heaven,” according to Gourmet. Serving classic diner fare within the call of gulls, it’s Maine’s best family-friendly place to keep it real. Open 4 a.m.-9 p.m., 7 days a week. 773-7070 BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe, 23 Forest Avenue, Portland, in the heart of the Arts District. Focusing on creative, affordable cuisine with an eclectic wine list to match, served in a bright casual atmosphere. Lunch Wed.-Fri. 11:30-2; brunch Sun. 11-2; dinner Wed.-Sat. from 5:30 and Sundays 4-8. Menus change with the local growing season. Menus online at www.bibosportland.com 774-9698 * Brea Lu´ Café serves the best breakfast in town! Breakfast choices include twelve specialty omelets with toast and home fries, build your own, or select French toast, eggs benedict, or an all-star breakfast sandwich. Lunch features homemade chili and fresh, made-to-order sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Open seven days 7 a.m.-1 p.m., at 428 Forest Avenue, Portland. 772-9202 Café Stroudwater has been an award-winning local favorite for many years. Chef Paul L’Heureux features delicious local cuisine using local products based on the season. For a truly unique experience, reserve a “Chef’s Table,” where you and your guest will be seated right in the kitchen while the Chef prepares your six-course meal accompanied by select wines. 1050 Westbrook Street in the Embassy Suites, Portland. 775-0032 * Castine Inn, a perfect getaway in one of the most beautiful villages in New England, overlooking a perennial garden and Castine Harbor. Enjoy Chef Tom Gutow’s unique and refined cuisine in a casually elegant setting. Both á la carte and tasting menus available at one of Food & Wine magazine’s 50 top hotel restaurants in the U.S. June through September. www.castineinn.com 326-4365 Clayton’s Cafe, 447 Route 1, Yarmouth. This family-owned gourmet deli, coffee shop, and bakery specializes in sandwiches for no mean appetite. Enjoy a fresh-brewed iced tea and the famous chicken salad on the outdoor patio. Also featuring soups and salads and a full array of take-home dinners, menu rotating daily. Monday-Friday, 7:00-7:00 & Saturday, 8:30-5:00. www.claytonscafe.com. 846-1117 Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, 209 Western Avenue, South Portland, with distinctly Californian décor. Famous for sweet pork, made-to-order smothered burritos, savory desserts, and chicken salads with creamy tomatillo ranch dressing, Costa Vida prepares everything fresh on the premises–and the food is addicting! Entrées $5-$9. Monday–Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Catering available. www.CostaVidaNewEngland.com 772-VIDA or take it to go: 772-TOGO DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant at 25 Long Wharf off Commercial Street. You can’t beat the location for fabulous water views of Portland Harbor. Escape the hustle & bustle of the city. Watch the boats go by. Enjoy fresh Maine lobster yearround, steak, seafood dishes, & more. Serving 7 days from 11:00 a.m. Children’s menu available. For drinks & a lighter menu, try our Portside Lounge. 772-2216 The Dogfish Bar & Grille, 128 Free Street, Portland 772-5483, and The Dogfish Café, 953 Congress Street, Portland, 253-5400. “Great food, drink, and service in a casual and unpretentious atmosphere.” The Café (Monday-Saturday lunch and dinner, and now serving Sunday Brunch) offers a more intimate setting while the Bar & Grille (open 7 days a week at 11:30 a.m.) offers live music Wednesday-Saturday nights. For a real local feel, reasonable prices, and great food, check out either one or both! www.thedogfishcompany.com

Lucky Thai. Come experience the only Thai cuisine in Gorham, at 25 Elm Street. Serving fresh cuisine and many vegetarian entrées. Our chefs use only fresh herbs and spices that will satisfy your appetite. Beer and wine are available. Dine in or take out. Open 7 days a week. 839-6999 Margaritas Mexican Restaurants & Watering Hole! Two locations in Portland, others in Lewiston, Augusta, Orono & Portsmouth, serving oversized meals & colossal drinks. Always free hot chips & salsa, legendary margaritas, & the house specialty, the sizzling fajita. Happy hour M-F, 4-7 p.m., free hot appetizers. In Portland at 242 St. John Street, Union Station Plaza, 874-6444 & 11 Brown Street near the Civic Center. 774-9398

Jameson Tavern, with a casual bar, lounge & dining room. The building is the site of the signing of the Constitution for the state of Maine when it broke away from Massachusetts. Classic preparations served in a graceful & elegant setting make this a fine retreat from frenzied outlet shopping. 115 Main Street, Freeport. 865-4196 *

Chef Jeff Landry and his team utilize products from Maine’s coastal waters and farms: jumbo diver-harvested scallops, Maine-raised organic pork, line-caught Atlantic halibut, freerange chicken, and fresh Maine lobster prepared several different ways. Free valet parking. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Dinner 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. 523-2040

Jacqueline’s Tea Room and Gift Shop, experience authentic Afternoon Tea in an exquisite English setting. Select from over 70 of the finest quality loose-leaf teas to accompany your four-course luncheon of scones with Devon cream, preserves and lemon curd, finger sandwiches of all kinds, and desserts. Great for intimate conversations and parties. 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and alternating weekends. 201 Main Street, Freeport. Reservations only. www.jacquelinestearoom.com 865-2123

3 Dollar Dewey’s in the heart of Portland’s Old Port is not to be missed. Pub fare includes chowder, appetizers–including beerbattered shrimp, buffalo wings, and glorious nachos–as well as chili, salads, seafood, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and build-your-own pizzas. A beer-lover’s heaven with 36 draft beers and 42 bottled beers. Open every day 11:30 a.m.-1:00 a.m. 241 Commercial Street. www.3dollardeweys.com 772-3310 51 Wharf Restaurant Casual fine-dining restaurant by day and posh dance club by night. Chef Michael Thomas’s avant-garde new American cuisine showcases an eclectic mix of seasonal, local ingredients inspired by worldwide cultures in the smallplates menu and regional favorites including twin-lobster dinners and a variety of fresh, indigenous seafood. 51 Wharf Street in Portland’s Old Port. www.51wharf.com 774-1151 *

Good Food

One Eyed Jacks Pizza serves it up by the pie or slice, including pesto chicken with garlic cream sauce or prosciutto and pineapple–also tacos with your choice of fish, shrimp, chicken, pork or beef. Don’t miss the great sides and nightly specials. Serving beer and wine. Family friendly! Open every day from 11a.m.-10 p.m. at 127 Commercial Street, Portland. 772-6200

The Pepperclub is a prize-winning restaurant (“Best Vegetarian” & “Best Value” in Frommer’s Guide to New England) with 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. Open nightly at 5 p.m. 78 Middle Street. 772-0531

SeaGrass Bistro, 30 Forest Falls Drive, Yarmouth, an intimate 40-seat dining room with an open kitchen. Chef Stephanie’s style of American Bistro Cuisine, with Asian, French, and Tuscan influences, uses fresh local ingredients. Menu changes frequently. Music while you dine Thursdays in October & December. Open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner, reservations starting at 6 p.m. Visit our website for Cooking Class Information www.seagrassbistro.com 846-3885 * Twenty Milk Street, in the Portland Regency Hotel, is proud to be the only restaurant in Maine to serve exclusively U.S.D.A. prime steaks, combining award-winning classic American Cuisine with fine wines in a warm and inviting atmosphere. Featuring Regency Crab Cakes, Baked Escargo, 20-oz. Porterhouse Steak, Sesame Tuna, homemade breads, and desserts. Dinner seven nights a week; also serving breakfast, lunch and brunch. Complimentary Valet Parking. 774-4200 Una Tapas Winebar Lounge, Portland’s destination for unique and exciting food, wine, and cocktails. Weekday Happy Hours, interesting and eclectic wines, signature cocktails, flavorful tapas plates, and special music events with live jazz two days a week. “Best Martini Bar”–Press-Herald and Casco Bay Weekly. Near Downtown, the waterfront, and the Old Port at 505 Fore Street. www.unawinebar.com 828-0300 Uncle Billy’s is a welcome oasis–a reminder that life is good. Owner/chef Jonathan St. Laurent’s famous barbeque with Quebecois flair: Grilled Skirt Steak with Frites á la Francais, mussels steamed in beer, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket, and braised lamb with polenta and mushrooms. Blues-age décor, jukebox of funky tunes, live music, full bar, and Happy Hour–beers from Lambics to Schlitz. 653 Congress Street, TuesdaySaturday 5-close, Sunday 12-close. 761-5930 Walter’s, 15 Exchange Street, Portland. Cuisine with “worldly” influences–casual fine dining with a metropolitan flair. Menu changes seasonally with popular blackboard specials. Bar manager Steven Lovenguth’s wine list complements Chef Jeff Buerhaus’s menu selections. Interesting cocktails and dessert drinks, also. Open Mon-Sat 11:30-2:30 for lunch; dinner from 5:00 seven nights a week. Private room available for up to 26 guests. www.walterscafe.com 871-9258 Wells Beach Steakhouse and T-Bone Lounge serves prime steaks, fresh seafood, and delicious salads, featuring Kobe sirloin steaks, stuffed smoked salmon and grilled swordfish in an upscale, plush atmosphere. Enjoy a selection from the highly allocated new world wine list, or a signature 28-ounce Wells Beach martini under the starry ‘sky’ of the lounge. 73 Mile Road, Wells. www.wellsbeachsteakhouse.com 646-2252 Yosaku, at 1 Danforth Street, is an authentic Japanese culinary experience, designed by owner Sato Takahiro and lead chef Matsuyama Masahiro. Premium sushi, sashimi, and rolls, including Yosaku roll, spicy scallop roll, Godzilla roll, Portland Pirates roll, and traditional cooked Japanese cuisine for the sushi-shy. Enjoy a bento box beside a tranquil Japanese waterfall. Lunch Monday-Friday 11:30-2, Saturday-Sunday 12-3. Dinner 5-9:30, Friday-Saturday 5-10:30. 780-0880 *reservations recommended Seated at the crest of Munjoy Hill as Congress Street plunges toward the Eastern Prom, Bar Lola, the newest of the new up here, is delighting crowds of excited diners. We just closed our eyes with pleasure upon devouring the warm, tasty, small squares of bread we were treated with barely after sitting down. Served in a gorgeous piece of pottery with olive oil and herbs for dipping, the “luna” squares are handmade by Steve Lanzalotta, the baker at Micucci’s. For wine, we chose an immensely afford able high-quality Amira Cabernet Franc Paarl from South Africa (2004) ($6 glass, $22 bottle). It was a perfect accompaniment. Next up, a squadron of Portuguese Sar dines ($4). Served with thin, tasty housemade crackers and a nifty hot sauce, these satisfied us greatly, as did the light and lovely Maine shrimp frittata with chile and lime ($4). Garlic fans, or anybody seeking fullness of flavor in a dish: Do not miss the roasted eggplant and garlic purée ($3). Also earning raves: the olives with fresh herbs ($3) and the Charcuterie plate with cornichon and wholegrain mustard ($5). The succulent braised rabbit, served with spaetzle, tarragon, and pan-roasted veg etables including deliciously sweet parsnips, melted in our mouths (this is absolutely a res taurant for sharing). Another “wow” experi ence is the handmade ravioli with sofrita and a delicately seasoned stuffing. “We make and roll the ravioli ourselves,” says co-owner/chef Guy Hernandez, “stuffed with mortadella, spinach, garlic, and a little chicken breast poached in white wine.” But we weren’t finished! We gorged on the duck ($15), a pan-seared breast done to perfect medium rare. The tender slices sported just enough cabbage, chestnuts, and cider glaze to kick things well into the level of performance art. The banana crêpes with caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream ($5)–absolutely heavenly–and a trio of select cheeses ($6, the selection may vary) accompanied by aged balsamic, a homemade mostarda of dried apricots, and delicious dried fig purée, sent us out this door anxious to tell everyone we can about this new restaurant’s magnetic appeal. Go East; mecca awaits. n Bar Lola, 100 Congress Street, Portland. Dinner WednesdaySaturday, 5-10 p.m. Reservations strongly suggested. Wine Dinner May 13 includes a 5-course meal with wine pairing ($65 includes tax and gratuity). 775-5652 or www.barlola.net

North Star Music Café, 225 Congress Street, at the base of Munjoy Hill in Portland. A coffee shop and café offering soups, sandwiches, salads, and specials made from scratch. Eat by our sunny windows or take your food to go. A full coffee bar, sodas, beer, and wine available. Music most nights. Check www.northstarcafe.net for calendar and hours. 699-2994

Bar Lola is a knockout in the East End. nights with DJs and bands. 94 Maine Street, Brunswick. www.mjsgrille.com 729-6574

RESTAURANT REVIEW Diane Hudson MAY 2008 63

O’Naturals serves natural and organic flatbread sandwiches, tossed salads, Asian noodles, soups, and kids’ meals. Quick service, but our leather couches, wireless internet, and comfort able atmosphere will entice you to stay. Flatbread pizza after 4 p.m. and pesto chicken, roast beef, wild bison meatloaf, wild Alaskan salmon, and many vegetarian items–something for everyone. Portland 321-2050 and Falmouth 781-8889

STEVENSNATHANIEL Bar None

Stars of the past will make sentimental journeys this summer to surprise audiences with new performances at Maine State Music Theatre. Why not? It’s their 50th anniversary. O ne thing you’ll never hear at Maine State Music Theatre is “Don’t give me that song and dance.” Because that’s us–for a dazzling 50 years. “Just you wait,” says Andy Gilbert. “Stars from New York will be making nostalgic appearances all summer because they’ve loved work ing here across the decades since Victoria Crandall–concert pianist, musical director, and Broadway producer–founded MSMT as the Brunswick Summer Playhouse.” So bring your opera glasses for some star-gazing. The 2008 season lights up with Jesus Christ Superstar zles with The Producers, All Shook Up Les Misérables “We’re doing a special concert ver sion of an operetta called on June 16. It was one of Victoria’s favor Music Theatre 2008 Season

AGENDATheaterSeason‘08

CenterCenter Maine State Music Theatre, Bowdoin College, Brunswick. MSMT celebrates 50 years this season with Jesus Christ Superstar June 4-21, The ProducersJune 25-July 12, All Shook UpJuly 16-August 2, Les Misérables (above) August 6-24. 725-8769 orOgunquitwww.msmt.orgPlayhouse, 10 Maine Street, Ogunquit. Featuring New York’s longest-running musical comedy, Forbidden Broadway,May 23-25, Fiddler on the Roof May 28-June 21, Breaking Up Is Hard To DoJune 25-July 12, The ProducersJuly 16-August 9, My Fair Lady August13-September 6, Les Misérables (above) September 10-October 12. 646-5511 or www.ogunquitplayhouse.org GOINGS ON Events Calendar 64 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZ IN E Front Row

A production of Les Misérables will be staged at Maine State Music Theatre August 6-24. Ogunquit Playhouse is offering Les Mis as well, September 10- October 12. production of Les Misérables will be staged at Maine State Music Theatre August 6-24. Ogunquit Playhouse is offering Les Miz as 10-

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NOVEMBER

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Long Portland, Maine Marina Services Famous for fresh seafood and lobster dinners as well as choice cuts of beef and traditional Italian fare. 75 polar bear, you don’t know what it’s like at 40 below, you’re not from up here’–just sorts of emotions mixed up.” “The first 2,000-3,000 miles there was no trail, so we traveled absolutely alone,” McKenna says. “There was an unreality to these dark stretches, especially because the sky was painted by the Northern Lights. We were just screaming across the ice when we hit a place we called The End of the World. The ice dropped off insanely and we went so fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to For Wolfinger, “There was this funny, hazy, gray flat light. I just couldn’t see any

Wharf •

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Long Wharf Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com Full Marina Services • 773-7632 Famous for fresh seafood and lobster dinners as well as choice cuts of beef and traditional Italian fare. 2007 75 polar bear, you don’t know what it’s like at 40 below, you’re not from up here’–just all sorts of emotions mixed up.” “The first 2,000-3,000 miles there was no trail, so we traveled absolutely alone,” McKenna says. “There was an unreality to these dark stretches, especially because the sky was painted by the Northern Lights. We were just screaming across the ice when we hit a place we called The End of the World. The ice dropped off insanely and we went so fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to

Long Wharf Portland, Maine 772-2216 Full Marina Services 773-7632 Famous for fresh seafood and lobster dinners as well as choice cuts of beef and traditional Italian fare. 75 polar bear, you don’t know what it’s like at 40 below, you’re not from up here’–just all sorts of emotions mixed up.”

For Wolfinger, “There was this funny, hazy, gray flat light. I just couldn’t see any thing–I didn’t know if I was coming down on my tracks or on my side. It was like that first hill on a roller coaster, falling steep er and per70crestingremembersteeper.atmileshour PM ites,” Gilbert says. The theater also surprises with strictly musical concerts. “Toxic Audio will be here for the fourth year in a row July 28,” he says. “They’re a Grammy-nominated a cappella group–very funny, very theatrical, high-energy.”OnJune11, they’ll stage the children’s musical If You Give a Mouse a Cookie And Other Story Books; and Honk!, a musical ver sion of The Ugly Duckling, will make us all swans on August 20.

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For Wolfinger, “There was this funny, hazy, gray flat light. I just couldn’t see any 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 Famous for fresh seafood and lobster dinners as well as choice cuts of beef and traditional Italian fare.

of waterfront dining.

Long Wharf • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 NOVEMBER 2007 75 2,000-3,000 miles there was traveled absolutely alone,” “There was an unreality to especially because the the Northern Lights. We across the ice when we The End of the World. insanely and we went so think of ourselves as being overspeeding with the dropped from under us,” and spots across the glassy ‘Are we ever going to Long Wharf • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 dinners as well as choice cuts and traditional Italian NOVEMBER so we traveled absolutely alone,” says. “There was an unreality to dark stretches, especially because the painted by the Northern Lights. We screaming across the ice when we place we called The End of the World. dropped off insanely and we went so hard to think of ourselves as being Right about then, overspeeding with the having dropped from under us,” and other lonely spots across the glassy “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to Wolfinger, “There was this funny, gray flat light. I just couldn’t see any Long Wharf • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 Famous for fresh seafood and dinners as well as choice cuts and traditional Italian fare. NOVEMBER traveled absolutely alone,” “There was an unreality to stretches, especially because the painted by the Northern Lights. We screaming across the ice when we called The End of the World. dropped off insanely and we went so to think of ourselves as being about then, overspeeding with the dropped from under us,” and Long Wharf • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 and traditional Italian fare. NOVEMBER 2007 75 polar bear, you don’t know what it’s like at 40 below, you’re not from up here’–just all sorts 9SteveMcKenna 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I missed my family.” 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I missed my family.” 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I missed my family.” 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM

“The first 2,000-3,000 miles there was no trail, so we traveled absolutely alone,” McKenna says. “There was an unreality to these dark stretches, especially because the sky was painted by the Northern Lights. We were just screaming across the ice when we hit a place we called The End of the World. The ice dropped off insanely and we went so fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy

9SteveMcKenna

9SteveMcKenna 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM WharfLong•Portland,Maine•772-2216773-7632ServicesMarinaFullwww.DiMillos.com 75PM5:08:4010/9/07 772-2216 GREGORYD.KESICH/PORTLA 75most.indd751072-8126-31Nov07 ambiancetheExperiencedining.waterfrontNOVEMBER 2007 75PM5:08:4010/9/07 WharfLong•Portland,Maine•772-2216773-7632ServicesMarinaFullwww.DiMillos.com••75 Nov07 26-31 72-81 10 most.indd75 75 10/9/07 5:08:40 PM Experience the ambiance of waterfront dining. Long Wharf • Portland, Maine • 772-2216 www.DiMillos.com • Full Marina Services • 773-7632 Famous for fresh seafood and lobster dinners as well as choice cuts of beef and traditional Italian fare. NOVEMBER 2007 75 below, you’re not from up here’–just all sorts of emotions mixed up.”

NOVEMBER 2007 75 polar bear, you don’t know what it’s like at 40 below, you’re not from up here’–just all sorts

Long Wharf

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“The first 2,000-3,000 miles there was no trail, so we traveled absolutely alone,” McKenna says. “There was an unreality to these dark stretches, especially because the sky was painted by the Northern Lights. were just screaming across the ice when hit a place we called The End of the World. The ice dropped off insanely and we went so fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I missed my family.”

n PHOTOFILENOLDS;REYLOUISEAMYTHEATER;MUSICSTATEMAINETOP:FROMCLOCKWISE

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The ice dropped off insanely and we went so fast it was hard to think of ourselves as being alive. Right about then, overspeeding with the bottom having dropped from under us,” and during other lonely spots across the glassy vastness, “I wondered, ‘Are we ever going to get out of here?’ I missed my family.”

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The Public Theatre, 31 Maple Street, Lewiston. Over the River through May 11. 783-3200: www.thepublictheatre.org St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. The St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center operates the 110-seat Parish Hall Theater in half of the rehabilitated historic St. Lawrence Church. The Odyssey dance May 9-11, The Saturday Show every second Saturday, The humble Farmer June 14, The Femme Show July 12. 775-5568 or www.stlawrencearts.org Sanford Maine Stage Company , 1 Hill Top Lane, Springvale. Supporting youth and exposing them to the the ater arts, involving high-school and college students in produc tions, and a strong children’s-theater program each summer. Annual murder mystery dinner theater is at the end of October, Olde Tyme Radio Show (Sherlock Holmes) in early November. 324-9691 or www.sanfordmainestage.org Schoolhouse Arts Center, Route 114, Sebago Lake Village. Rural community arts organizations dedicated to area art opportunities. Into the Woods July 10-27. 642-3743 or schoolhousearts.org Studio Theatre of Bath , 880 Washington Street, Bath. Resident theater company at the Winter Street Center in his toric Winter Street Church (the chocolate Church), an example of 1860s Maine architecture. Once Upon a Mattress in May. 443-2418 or www.studiotheatreofbath.com Theater at Monmouth, 795 Main Street, Monmouth. The year-round repertory company of professional theater art ists in its 39th year is housed in a magnificent Romanesque revival building including a 260-seat theater as well as the local library, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Season

Freeport Community Players, Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook Street, Freeport. A community-based volunteer organization providing entertainment to the Freeport community since 1989. Staged reading of Best Enemies followed by a discussion with the author and cast May 7, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum July 11-27, staged reading of Seeking Mischief September 3. 865-2220 or www.fcponline.org Gaslight Theater , City Hall, 1 Winthrop, Hallowell. Gaslight began as an outgrowth of a women’s theater class held at the Augusta YMCA in 1937. Still a thriving community theater, this summer’s season features Bye, Bye Birdie June 19-21 and 26-28, Wonder of the World August 21-23 and 28-30, Private Lives October 30- November 1, November 6-8. 626-3698 or www.gaslighttheater.org Good Theater at The St. Lawrence Art Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. On Golden Pond September 18-October 12, Stones in His Pockets October 30-November 23, Broadway at Good Theater December 4-7. 885-5883 or www.goodtheater.com Hackmatack Playhouse, 538 Route 9, Berwick. A quaint summer theater situated on an old family farmstead dating back to the mid-1600s, the Hackmatack pres ents Tuckermans at 9 June 13, Two Old Friends June 14, Hackmatack Alumni Broadway Review June 20-21, Rumors June 25-July 5, Annie Get Your Gun July 9-19, The Pirates of Penzance July 23-August 2, All Shook Up August 6-23, Tribute to Gershwin August 29. 698-1807 or www.hackmatack.org Lakewood Theater, Skowhegan. America’s oldest simmer theater, now in its 108th season. Cash on Delivery May 22-31, At First Sight June 5-14, Marvin’s Room June 19-25, Gilligan’s Island: The Musical July 3-12, Twentieth Century July 17-26, Guys and Dolls July 31-August 6, Leading Ladies August 14-23, A Nice Family Gathering August 28-31, Bubba’s Revenge: The Honky Tonk Angels Final Chapter September 11-20. 474-7176 or www.lakewoodtheater.org Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer Street, South Portland, now in its 55th season. Aida through May 11, Harvey June 5-14. 799-6509 or lyricmusictheater.org Maine State Music Theater, Bowdoin College, Brunswick. Presenting more than 300 musicals in the past 50 years, MSMT remains one of the few resident stock companies dedicated strictly to musical theater. Jesus Christ Superstar June 4-21, The Producers June 25-July 12, All Shook Up July 16-August 2, Les Miserables August 6-24. 725-8769 or www.msmt.org Ogunquit Playhouse , 10 Maine Street, Ogunquit.

“America’s Foremost Summer Theater” opens with New York’s longest-running musical comedy Forbidden Broadway May 2325, Fiddler on the Roof starring Sally Struthers and Eddie Mekka May 28-June 21, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do featuring the songs of Neil Sedaka June 25-July 12, The Producers July 16-August 9, My Fair Lady August 13-September 6, Les Misérables September 10-October 12. 646-5511 or www.ogunquitplayhouse.org Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, 86 Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Harbor. This 450-seat multipurpose facility supports artistic life in the region by offering a venue for a diversity of events. Its history of summer theater continues with The Taffetas June 5-18. 633-5159 or www.boothbayoperahouse.com Portland Opera Repertory Theater , Merrill Auditorium, Portland. PORTopera Summer Main Stage performance is Romeo and Juliet July 24-26. 879-7678 or www.portopera.org Portland Players , 420 Cottage Road, South Portland. The oldest community theater in Maine and the second oldest known in New England.Pippin May 16-June 1, The Carol Burnett Show June 6-13 kicks off the capital fundraising event for the theater. 799-7337 or www.portlandplayers.org Portland Stage Company , 25 Forest Avenue, Portland. Maine’s largest fully professional, non-profit theater founded in 1974, its downtown location makes this theater the perfect stop on a “dinner and a show” evening. Doubt to May 25. 7740465 or www.portlandstage.com

GOINGS ON Events Calendar 66 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Registry of Historic Places, the Deertrees presents an eclectic mix of theater and music every summer. In Good Spirits June 28-29, Rick Charette children’s songs July 2, Shutting Up Peggy Lee July 31, Hamlet August 7-8, I Hate Hamlet August 14-16, Stones in his Pocket August 21-23, I Ought To Be in Pictures August 28-31. Sebago Long Lake Music Festival with chamber music performances every Tuesday July 15-August 12; ninth Annual Deertrees Theatre Festival August 7-September 2. 583-6747 or www.deertreestheatre.org

Acadia National Park Museum , Bar Harbor. Historical trea sures include Revolutionary War-era dueling pistols. 288-3338. Archipelago Fine Arts, 386 Main Street, Rockland. Sally Loughridge to June 28. 596-0701 or www.thearchipelago.net Art Gallery at UNE, Westbrook College Campus, University of New England, 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland. “The Art of the Message: Posters New and Old” May 6-July 6, William Manning July 10-September 7. 797-7261 or www.une.edu/artgallery Atrium Arts Gallery, University of Southern Maine, LewistonAuburn College, Lewiston. “Reading, Writing, and Defining: Maine Book Arts” to June 21. http://usm.maine.edu/lac/art/ Aucocisco Gallery, 615A Congress Street, Portland. Grace DeGennaro and Bernard Langlais to May 31. 775-2222 or On the Marsh Restaurant “It is around the table that friends and family best understand the warmth of being together.” Denise Rubin, Proprietress ph 207-967-2299 • onthemarshdining@aol.com www.onthemarsh.com 46 Western Kennebunk,

Vacationland Theater Company , 1 Hill Top Lane, Springvale. Located in the Sanford Mainstage Theater, Vacationland Theater runs a young Performers’ Camp in July and August. The season’s plays are Nunsense July 4-20, Urinetown August 7-31, Lend Me a Tenor September 5-21. (866) 584-0770 or Gallerieswww.vacationlandtheater.com

includes Shakespeare, a children’s play, six plays in repertory, an operetta or musical, and special projects. Arsenic and Old Lace July 11-August 23, The Mystery of Irma Vep July 18-August 23, The Merchant of Venice July 25-August 22, A Winter’s Tale August 1-21, The Three Little Pigs August 5-22, The Mikado September 26-October 5. 933-9999 or www.theateratmonmouth.org

Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor. “Layers of Time” continues–Native American culture and history in Maine. 288-3519 or www.abbemuseum.org

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The Theater Project, 14 School Street, Brunswick. Operated for 35 years as a nonprofit community-based theater. Voices in the Mirror May 30-June 1. 729-8584 or www.theaterproject.com

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Colby College Museum of Art, Mayflower Hill, Waterville. Joan Whitney Payson Collection to June 1, “Whistler at Work: The Process of Printmaking” to June 15. 872-3228 or www.colby.edu/museum

Bowdoin College Museum of Art Walker Art Building, Brunswick. “The Walker Sisters and Collecting in Victorian Bosto, to August 28. 725-3275 or www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/

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Center for Maine Contemporary Art , 162 Russell Avenue, Rockport. Harold Garde to June 14, Lois Dodd to June 19. 236-2875 or www.cmcanow.org

Children’s Museum of Maine , 142 Free Street, Portland. Stage Stories, Cool Science, Big Messy Art. 828-1234 or www.childrensmuseumofme.org

Edward T. Pollack Fine Arts , 25 Forest Avenue, Portland. “Woodcuts: American and European Masters” May 2-June 28. 699-2919 or www.edpollackfinearts.com

Filament Gallery , 181 Congress Street, Portland. Jill Dalton and Ernest Paterno. 774-0932 or www.filamentgallery.com Fore Street Gallery, 372 Fore Street, Portland. Paul Black, Sylvia Dyers, Carlton Plummer. 874-8084 or www.forestreetgallery.com

Bates College Museum of Art , Lewiston. Senior Exhibitions to May 24, “Stairway to Heaven” and “Flourishing Folk” opens June 7. 786-6158. www.bates.edu/museum.xml

Frost Gully Gallery, 1159 U.S.

Route 1, Freeport. Stephen Etnier, Laurence Sisson, Dahlov Ipcar. 865-4505 or www.frostgullygallery.com Route 1, Ogunquit, Maine • Box O ce 207.646.5511 Visit www.ogunquitplayhouse.org for Information & Online Tickets. May 28–June 21 East Coast Regional Premiere! June 25–July 12 Sept 10–Oct 12 July 16–Aug 9 Aug 13–Sept 6 Season 2008 Air HandicappedFreeConditionedParkingAccessibleVisa/MC/AMEX Just 45 minutes om Portland!           68 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE GOINGS ON Events Calendar

Farnsworth Museum of Art, Main Street, Rockland. James Wyeth to May 18, Louise Nevelson and Alex Katz continue. 596-6457 or www.farnsworthmuseum.org

Cooper Jackson Gallery , 70 India Street, Portland. Noah Krell May 1-31. 772-2108 or www.cooperjacksongallery.com

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Maine Historical Society Museum, 489 Congress Street, Portland. “Gifts from Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms from the Hudson Museum” to June 1. 774-1822 or www.mainehistory.org

Maine State Museum, 87 State House Station,

Maine Maritime Museum, 243 Washington Street, Bath. “Clipper Snow Squall.” 443-1316 or www.bathmaine.com/programs.asp

Galeyrie Fine Art 240 US Route 1, Falmouth. Gallery Artists’ Show. 781-3555. Greenhut Gallery , 146 Middle Street, Portland. Ed Douglas to May 31, Kathleen Galligan opens June 5. 772-2693 or www.greenhutgalleries.com

Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art 522 Congress Street, Portland. MFA Thesis Exhibition May 10-24. 775-3052 or www.meca.edu

Jameson Gallery, 305 Commercial Street, Portland. “Estate Artists” to May 17, “Artists Pick Artists” May 22-June 21. 772-5522 or www.jamesongallery.com

Daniel Kany Gallery, 89 Exchange Street, Portland. Maine Crafts Association to May 24. 514-7475 or www.kany.net

Gleason Fine Art , 545 Congress Street, Portland; 31 Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Harbor. Andrea Peters, Don Meserve, Charles Woodbury, Clarence Chatterton. 633-6849 or www.gleasonfineart.com

June Fitzpatrick Gallery, Portland. At 522 Congress Street: MECA Senior Thesis Exhibit to May 31; at 112 High Street: Works on Paper to May 31. 772-1961 or www.junefitzpatrickgallery.com

Lincoln County Historical Association , Federal Street, Wiscasset. History of Lincoln County. 882-6817 or www.lincolncountyhistory.org

Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum, 58 Fore Street, Portland. Two-foot gauge parlor car. 828-0814 or www.mngrr.org

Penobscot Marine Museum , 5 Church Street, Searsport. History of Penobscot Bay and the maritime history of Maine. 548-2529 or www.penobscotmarinemuseum.org

Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, Hubbard Hall, Bowdoin College, Brunswick. “Northward Over the Great Ice” marks the 100th anniversary of Robert Peary’s 1908-9 North Pole exploration. 725-3062 or www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum/index.shtml

Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Square, Portland. “New Natural History” to May 11, George Bellows to June 1, Georgia O’Keeffe opens June 12. 773-ARTS, (800) 639-4067 or www.portlandmuseum.com Saco Museum , 371 Main Street, Saco. History of the Saco Valley. 283-3861 or www.sacomuseum.org

Susan Maasch Fine Art, 29 Forest Avenue, Portland. William Bailey to June 30. 699-2966 or www.susanmaaschfineart.com

Augusta. “Maine Bounty: Woods, Sea, and Granite,” “Struggle for Identity,” and “Reflections of Maine.” 287-2304 or www.state.me.us/museum/ Maine Women Writers Collection , Westbrook College Campus, University of New England, Stevens Avenue, Portland. Insight into the lives of more than 500 Maine women authors. 797-7688, ext. 4324 or www.une.edu Museum of African Culture, 13 Brown Street, Portland. The African Humanities Gallery with artifacts and stories from sub-Saharan African cultures. 871-7188 or www.africantribalartmuseum.org

Ogunquit Museum of American Art, 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit. Marsden Hartley, Neil Welliver, Rockwell Kent. 646-4909 or www.ogunquitmuseum.org

Seashore Trolley Museum, Log Cabin Road, Kenne bunkport. Museum of mass transit vehicles. 967-2712 or www.trolleymuseum.org

Tom Veilleux Gallery , 75 Market Street, Portland. William Recently, energy costs have skyrocketed. What’s worse, your old system “steals” energy dollars from you in pure waste each month. When you add in costly repairs, it makes sense to look at replacing your old system.

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University of Maine Museum of Art , 40 Harlow Street, Bangor. Berenice Abbot, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Carl Sprinchorn. 561-3350 or www.umma.umaine.edu Vox Photographs, Chestnut Street, Portland. Mark Rockwood to May 31. 323-1214 or www.voxphotographs.com

and Marguerite Zorach, Guy Pene Du Bois. Rockwell Kent. 8280784 or www.tomveilleux.com

St. Lawrence Arts Center 76 Congress Street, Portland. Odyssey by Vivid Motion May 9-11. 775-5568 or Musicwww.stlawrencearts.org County Civic Center, Portland. Daniel O’Donnell June 3. 775-3458, 775-3331 www.ticketmaster.com www.theciviccenter.com

Whitney Art Works Projects , 45 York Street. Portland. Shoshannah White, Geofrey Leven, and Robert Diamante to May 31; Richard Hutchins and Brian Lynch open June 4. 7800700. www.whitneyartworks.com

Portland Ballet Portland. Peter and the Wolf May 10, John Ford Theater, Portland High School. 772-9671 or www.portlandballet.org

Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ , Merrill Auditorium, PRODUCERS OF SLATE FLOOR TILE, FLAGGING, STRUCTURAL SLATE AND ROOFING, MONUMENTS AND SLATE SINKS Monson • Maine 04464 • 207-997-3615 • Middle Granville • New York 12849 • 518-642-1280 • FAX 207-997-2966 WWW.SHELDONSLATE.COM SHELDON SLATE is a family-owned business with four generations of experience. We mine and manufacture our own slate products from our own quarries. The range of our colors will complement any kitchen or bath. Our slate is heat-resistant, non-porous and non-fading. It has a polished/honed nish and is very low maintenance. Let us help you design and build a custom sink, countertop, or vanity. Custom inquires are handled through the Monson, Maine, division. MAY 2008 71

Wiscasset Bay Gallery , 67 Main Street, Wiscasset. 882-7682. Recent Acquisitions to May 23, Contemporary Paintings opens May 24. 882-7682 or Dancewww.wiscassetbaygallery.com

Maine State Ballet , 348 US Route One, Falmouth. School Recital May 30-31. 781-7672 or www.mainestateballet.org

Portland. Meet the King of Instruments youth concert May 20. 883-4234 or www.foko.org

Portland Conservatory of Music, Woodfords Congrega tional Church, 202 Woodfords Street, Portland. Fifth International Piano Festival opens June 22. 775-3356 or www.portlandconservatory.net

PCA Great Performances, Merrill Auditorium, Portland. Borromeo String Quartet May 8, James Ehnes May 14. 773-3150 or www.pcagreatperformances.org

Portland String Quartet, Woodfords Congregational Church, Woodford Street, Portland. String quartet workshop at Newagen Inn in Southport June 2-6, concert Boothbay Opera House in Boothbay Harbor June 3. 761-1522 or www.portlandstringquartet.org

Portland Symphony Orchestra, Merrill Auditorium, Portland. “Percussion: Cowboy Ed Rides Again!” May 9; MPBN MaineStage Broadcast May 21 and June 11. 842-0800m 8420812 TTY or www.portlandsymphony.com

Saco River Grange Hall, 29 Salmon Falls Road, Bar Mills. All-Star Concert Band (25-piece) May 10, Mike Nobel May 17, Downeast Fiddle Jamboree May 30, Highland Soles June 7. 929-6472 or www.sacorivergrangehall.org St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress Street, Portland. “Tribute to Duke

Ellington” June 6, The humble Farmer June 14. 775-5568 or www.stlawrencearts.org University of Southern Maine School of Music, Portland. Southern Maine Children’s Chorus at Freeport Performing Arts Center May 10. 780-5265 or www.usm.maine.edu/mus/ or www.freeportpac.orgDon’tmiss Brick Store Museum Golf Tournament and Dinner, 359 MAIN ST, YARMOUTH 846-6565 ● Hours: Mon-Sat, www.islandtreasuretoys.com10-5 FREE SHIPPING WITH ONLINE ORDERS! 2008538HACKMATACKPLAYHOUSERoute9,SchoolStreet,Berwick,Maine03901(207)698-1807SUMMERSEASON Tuckermans at 9 June 13 Two Old Friends June 14 Hackmatack Alumni Broadway Review June 20-21 Rumors June 25-July 5 Annie Get Your Gun July 9-19 The Pirates of Penzance July 23-August 2 All Shook UpAugust 6-23 Tribute to Gershwin August 29-30 Curtain Time n 8pm Matinée Thursday n 2pm www.hackmatack.org 72 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE GOINGS ON Events Calendar

Portland Pottery and Metalsmithing Studio , 118 Washington Avenue, Portland. Pottery, jewelry making, and sculpture. 772-4334 or www.portlandpottery.com

Osher Map and Smith Center for Cartographic Education , 314 Forest Avenue, Portland. Maps, rare books, geographies, globes, and atlases. 780-4850 or www.usm.maine.edu/-maps

Portand Public Library, Congress Street, Portland. Brown Bag Lecture Wednesdays noon. 871-1700 or www.portlandpubliclibrary.com

St. Lawrence Arts Center 76 Congress Street, Portland. Magicians Markus and Angelique Steelgrave May 10, Yard Sale May 17-18. 775-5568 or www.stlawrencearts.org

80 Leighton Road, Falmouth 797-2533 Welcome to Falmouth’s newest Salon & Spa A retreat for pampering & relaxation MAY 2008 73

Webhannet Golf Club, 26 Golf Club Drive, Kennebunk Beach. Prizes, raffle, auction, and dinner June 2. 985-4802 or www.brickstoremuseum.org

Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, 318 Glickman Family Library, University of Southern Maine, 314 Forest Ave, Portland. “Writers Read” third Wednesday of each month. 386-1400 or www.mainewriters.org

Luxury Explorers Showcase , Woodfords Club, Falmouth. Hurley Travel experts and representatives from the world’s lead ing luxury travel providers May 17. 874-7400. Maine Audubon, 20 Gisland Farm Road, Falmouth. Snowy Egret 5K Run/Walk for the Marsh in Scarborough May 26, Annual Meeting at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth June 20. 7812330 or www.maineaudubon.org

University of Southern Maine Southworth Planetarium , 96 Falmouth Street, Portland. Fires in the Sky, Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast, Mars Quest. 780-4749 or www.usm. maine.edu/planet/ –Compiled by Diane Hudson

The Lion in Winter (continued from ly. “I’m playing in the Super Bowl!” And the irony of it all is, the exact reasons Rosenberg was unsuited for Group 1 are his greatest strengths to Mainers who are start ing to love ‘Rosie’ in this part of the world.

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“My cell phone is on my business card,” he explains. “This phone is right in my hand. A woman called me at 10 p.m. two days ago. ‘I have a major noise in my car,’ she said. I said, ‘I’ll meet you at 8:30 tomorrow morn ing, and I’ll have your car back to you by the end of the day.’” Of course, King Lear kept his “Peoplepromise.come in and say, ‘How much is this?’ You have to take that customer down and say, ‘It’s not about buying one car.’ I’ve got to live with this customer for four or five years. They’re buying far more than something to drive. They’re buying me. At Seacrest [Cadillac and Chevrolet], the owners were two doors away from the showroom. I remember looking at them and saying to myself, ‘You can’t even get to the showroom.’

page 31)

“I have no choice. Judy, my wife, has scleroderma, an auto-immune disease. Only 400,000 people in the world have it. There is no cure. If it’s a bad case that can’t be fixed, it’s a death sentence. She lost use of both kid neys and was almost on dialysis, but now she has 33-percent use of each. It does a job on her feet and toes. It used to feel like someone was pulling her nails out. We bought a place down there [for the warmer climate, because it was easier on her symptoms] nine years ago; we’ve been visiting for 25. That and only that was why I sold to Group 1 when I was 63 years old.

“A major corporation like Group 1 has all the economies of scale. The only thing they forgot is the human factor. I would never get so big I couldn’t go to each department and say hello. Group 1 is now suffering because they can’t do that. You can’t say, ‘My name is on the door, but I’m not at the store.’”

WHAT’S $100 MILLION BETWEEN FRIENDS? Okay, so you’ve just bought Clair Motors ‘for an undisclosed amount,’ other Maine auto dealers’ noses are out of joint, implying you are an invader who is bringing a callous,

The owners were never at Porter’s. I have the edge. Taking care of a dissatisfied customer is the best way to create a good customer. I visit my Maine dealerships every day. I am here.” When you’re not in Boca.

MAY 2008 75

BrinkVandenBrianbyPhotography

Thorntonwww.thorntonacademy.orgSacoAcademyPreparingstudentsforachanging world since 1811 high-pressure, ‘Massachusetts’ style of sell ing to Maine…tell us, just how rich are you? “I’m in a diner and a guy asks, ‘Are you worth $100 million?’ Do you have any idea what $100 million is? No one’s worth $100 million. But, hey, I’ve always been a risk taker. That’s how I got where I am.” He also knows how to react when the wolf is at the door, whatever the economy. “Early on I went out and got personal car loans” when money wasn’t coming in any other way. “My wife had 21 supposed car loans,” he Speakingconfesses.ofchallenging times–bomb shell–“David has left Group 1” in recent months and come back as a partner in the familyWhatbusiness.doesDavid say he’s learned? “Can you teach your son anything?” Rosenberg laughs. “David’s smarter than me. We joke about it; sometimes we fight. We agree that you have to love your prod uct. And he has taken the lesson of charity,” a longtime theme of Ira and Judy Rosenberg’s private lives (including extensive work with Sweetser, the Saco Library, and the American Cancer Society). “He is a very philanthropic individual. If you take from a community, you have to give back to a community. I’m very proud to live in this community; we live in Kennebunkport.”Sowhat don’t people know about Ira? “I love to read spy stuff. Robert Ludlum, Patterson. And I’m a big collector of old radio programs: The Lone Ranger, Boston Blackie, Tarzan. I love Tarzan.” But only Johnny Weismuller, right? “Because he was the first.” Yes, Tarzan always ‘showed up at the dealership.’ Flying through the jungle on a vine. There was no disconnect with Johnny Weismuller…“Thesenew Tarzans could be English professors. The people at Group 1 are a whole different group than the ones I sold to–we had a fabulous relationship. [Now,] they are not the nicest people. I feel guilty about all the dealerships that carry my name in Massachusetts, and I wish…” Sure, but why do you work now? “People ask me that sometimes twice, three times a day. ‘Ira, why are you work ing?’ A man asked me that the other day. He was 69 or 70; he’d given up his business. I told him, ‘You wouldn’t feel comfortable asking me that question if you didn’t know I was having fun.’” n

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“They’ll do spiraling flights and claw at each other’s feet–called a talon grapple (we call it playing Twister). If they break apart, it’s courtship; if they don’t, it’s a territorial conflict. These eagles never broke apart and went down into the trees. Calls were made, and a wildlife rehabilitator went out with a game warden. It took the two of them, along with an interested spectator who happened to be there, to pull the feuding eagles apart.”

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Legendary Red Sox star Ted Williams Return of the Native (continued from

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BIRD KIND Eagles are generally shy when it comes to getting ‘up-close and personal’ with the human species. As scavengers, they are constantly on the lookout for a meal below. Moulton will be out haying on his farm and notice eagles overhead, searching for prey below the waves.

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WILD SIDE gered species ranges from the cryptic, like the Tomah mayfly and twilight moth, to the charismatic, like the piping plover and per egrine falcon, all are critical to our natural heritage and worthy of the protection afford ed by the state’s Nongame and Endangered WildlifeConservationFund.” efforts include purchasing large tracts of undeveloped land for eagles along shorelines–either on the coast or along inland rivers and lakes containing active or historic eagle nests.

“Two of the biggest eagle population areas are Cobscook Bay and the Kennebec Estuary [Merrymeeting Bay],” says William Brunn, director of land protection for the Nature Conservancy in Maine.

“In those two areas, we’ve done a lot of land protection, working with federal and state agencies. The bulk has been real-estate work. We work on land transactions paid with federal dollars that end up in state own ership. We’ve been facilitating land acquisi tion projects that have high-value habitat.”

“They fly over my head with the seagulls. When they fight with the seagulls, they win,” saysTheyMoulton.also fight with each other–for food, territory, or as part of a mating ritual.

Motorists on the Maine Turnpike on the bridge crossing the Androscoggin River called biologist Charlie Todd in the spring of 2002 to alert him that two eagles were either fighting or courting–hardly different from your basic human romantic comedy.

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The logical next step? Like the ‘suburban’ coyotes out west, eagles may one day be going through our garbage.

A LOOK AT THE FUTURE “Maine is strategically very important–a cornerstone of recovery for the eagle. There is abundant habitat along the coast as well as inland rivers and lakes. They’re here with us now, on a daily basis. It’s exciting: There are more eagles in Deer Isle than in the entire state of Connecticut,” says Todd. No need for a tally on insurance salesmen.

Today, a conservative estimate credits Maine with just under 450 pairs of nesting eagles. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has set a goal of 600 nesting pairs by the year 2019. While much work has been done to clean up the environ ment, eagles are still vulnerable and have been exposed to contaminants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins, furans (toxic by products of combustion), mercury, and lead. As long as there’s a demand for property on the water, eagles will be in com petition with those of us in search of a good real estate

“They’re scavengers and respond to car rion,” says Todd. “Once you lure them, that isn’t always a good idea. An ice fisherman who leaves a pickerel on the ice might lose it to an eagle that’s been patrolling the area.”

bookstextwerewrittenin1793

BLACK & WHITE CHILDREN’S PHOTOGRAPHY PORTLAND, ME 207.791 7800 ROSE MAY 2008 77 was said to have had vision so acute he was able able to read the spin on a curve ball as it was thrown at him, discerning individual threads on the ball. What would an eagle see on the same ball? Todd hedges. “First of all, they’ve returned to Casco Bay, so they’re already taking in the Sea Dogs games. But if you need a yardstick, their visual acuity is greater than humans’ by a magnitude of three to four.” Eagles crave privacy, especially near their nests (which are usually high in the treetops and not accessible to humans). People were tossing snacks to them in Durham so often that the town council passed an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of eagles.

“Eaglesinvestment.requireawaterfront, and their nesting habitats are always going to be threatened because of development and rec reational pressures,” says Todd. “That’s the make or break point as to whether eagles are here to stay or if we’re going to kill them off all over again.”

ANNIE

n For more information visit www.maine.gov:80/ifw/wildlife/

It’s amazing how much more you understand when you actually hold history in your hands. Breakwater Middle School knows that young adolescents learn best when they are challenged, connected, and given the freedom toOurexplore.

“This is a zoo,” Gardner says, laughing. “My wife and I have 10 children; nine are adopted. It’s a well-ordered zoo…no one’s attacked the zookeepers yet.”

Don’t miss our huge collection of teak bowls, spectacular wood carvings, and massive slabs in exotic wood species.

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mer, when Gardner erected his solar array, two neighborhood associations–his own and another from across the pond–railed against the panels’ visual impact at a town meeting.

To keep up with the electricity demand, Naoto Inoue, president of Solar Market, designed a system that put five 10-foot ver tical poles in the Gardners’ side yard and 10 panels mounted to each pole. Each pole is equipped with a tracking system that allows the panels to follow the sun’s slow arc across the southern sky.

Portland Press Herald and other media outlets picked up the story, and the neighborhood was resoundingly vilified. When the dust settled, three parties–the town, the neigh bors, and the Gardners–were left with hard feelings.Sowhat’s so ugly about Gardner’s $98,000 solar array? Is it too “conspicuously conscious” for this conspicuously wealthy neighborhood? Does this industrial-strength system blight the landscape it’s designed to protect? Or, is it possible that people are sim ply resistant to change?

The flap began last July when Laurence Gardner contracted Solar Market to install a system large enough to supply his substan tial energy needs.

78 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE PERSPECTIVE Green with Envy? (continued from page 37) GARDNERLAURENCE

“The tracking system will give you about 25 percent more power annually from the same square footage,” Inoue says. “By tracking the sun, you could actually achieve full-power output at eight o’clock in the morning, and stay at full power until, say,AAAquality, plantation-grown, Teak Garden Furniture.

“When I purchased this home, there wasn’t a blade of grass,” Woodin says. “I think I’ve made up for 10 families with my carbon offsets…you know, with all the greenery.”Woodin’s assertion isn’t entirely hyperbo le; a casual glance at his ornately landscaped 1.41-acre lot–its plethora of lush plantings and bird boxes–conveys a strong sense that he walks the walk. “You know,” Woodin says, “I’d like to write a book that urban or suburban devel opment doesn’t have to be a negative thing for nature and wildlife. I can present a very strong argument that my home, yard, and the neighborhood have really been a big plus for wildlife. It’s a nice place,” he says of the landscape, “but it was a sandpit.” And Grondin Pond was–quite literally–a sandpit. Clicking on the “Environment” tab at grondinconstruction.com reveals that the area was a source of aggregate until R. J. Grondin & Sons re-purposed the land. “[We believe] in maintaining a healthy envi ronment…We often go above and beyond what is necessary to help keep our part of the world a cleaner place…[Including recla mation of] old pits and quarries into sites for homes, fields, ponds, wetlands.” Toward this goal, the company filled a depleted gravel pit to form the 29-acre Grondin Pond. When the water rose, Woodin stocked it 25www.seabags.com888.210.4244207.780.0744CustomHouseWharf, Portland Sea Bags and Team 7 invite you to own a piece of the Olympic Dream! Support our women sailors by purchasing a limited-edition Sea Bag. Small ($135)Tote

five. If you have a fixed-roof system, you’ll only get the highest power output from 10:00 to 2:30.”“Ifthey were roof panels, no one would have a problem with them,” says Eric Sampson, a homeowner on the far side of Grondin Pond. “I don’t think anyone has any problems with alternate energy sources, but those things are monstrosities. They really trash the beauty of the pond and the neigh borhood.”Sampson concedes that he didn’t partic ipate in last summer’s hullabaloo at Town Hall. “We can’t actually see the panels from our house, and we feel pretty fortunate about that,” he says, laughing. “But I feel for my neighbors, especially the ones who live closer to that area.” “I see them every day,” says Eddie Woodin, a bona fide environmentalist and a neighbor with a clear view of the panels. Woodin takes the long view of his neigh borhood; his lavish, Victorian-influenced home was one of the first units built on the Grondin Pond development 12 years ago.

MAY 2008 79

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A bird’s-eye view of the Gardner lakeside prop erty shows photovoltaic panels on the left. with fish. “We have rainbow trout and gold en shiners,” Woodin says. “Oh my goodness, the ospreys come in; they’re feeding on the trout. The kingfishers are feeding, the great blue herons, the egrets. We’ve seen over 140 species of birds from my yard. It’s great, but it was nothing until the neighborhood arrived, did some planting, and made it different.”

Is it possible that Woodin and others are upset that this industrial-reclamation project has backslid toward industrialism in the face of Gardner’s panels? “I took a very neutral position,” Woodin says. “I give Laurence credit for trying to do the environmentally correct thing, but I think he’s remiss for not having communicated his plans to the neighborhood. The town is remiss for not having something in place. And I think the neighborhood is probably remiss for overreacting to it.”

“When we saw the application, we thought it might be controversial,” says Ron Owens, town manager of Scarborough. “But at the same time, we’re bound to our regula tions. This resulted in a perceived failure of the town to protect the other property own ers’ interests. They would have preferred a subjective judgment by the town instead of the objective judgment made by Code Enforcement. The property owner had a right to install the panels under the town’s regulations.”“Thepeople in City Hall aren’t doing their job,” says Joe Schmader, a homeowner at the southern end of Grondin Pond. “The town didn’t do enough due diligence to real ly understand the scope of the project. They didn’t understand how they were going to be installed. One of the men at the town said he was originally under the impression they

Hauk, another resident from the southern end of the pond, feels that commu nication between neighbors is important. “I’m a big supporter of green energy, but I wouldn’t do anything like that without talking to my neighbors first.” “To say what?” asks Gardner. “I had no legal obligation to contact them. So, in other words, it’s none of their business. Do they call me when they want to put up a basketball hoop? I don’t expect them to.”

While it’s true Americans aren’t constitu tionally obliged to seek blessings from our neighbors, is it possible New Englanders are bound by social contract? Are we culturally beholden to an opaque series of neighborly codes? If so, did Laurence Gardner–a relative newcomer to Grondin Pond–innocently miss theGardnercues? takes a deep breath, and his mood shifts to sincere puzzlement. “It never crossed our minds. You know, we did what we had to do. We went to the town. We got the building permit. It’s an accessory use; it’s no different from a shed in terms of the law. It’s not as if the panels make any noise, or produce any vibration, or smoke or any thing. What’s so offensive about them? If you don’t like looking at them, don’t look at them. Look somewhere else. They take up about one degree of your field of vision. “I have a three-week rule,” Gardner con tinues. “After three weeks, I don’t see it any longer. And I think that’s true of a lot of folks. The classic example is my wife painted a room at our old place and it was, you know, Exchange Street, www.serendipityportland.com

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were going to be roof pan els.”“I wish the town had done their homework,” says Eric Sampson. “They should’ve thought a little bit more about how the panels would impact the as an electric utility box or propane tanks. I mean, if you want to put in a wood stove, do you want to go to your neighbors to ask per mission?”Dawna

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Susan and Dean Taylor own a fourpole solar tracking system very similar to Gardner’s. A few years ago, they used the same system to operate their organic farm in a semi-residential area of Kennebunkport.

“The panels were visible from the road, but we never encountered any complaints from neighbors, or anything like that,” Susan Taylor“Outsidesays. our house there’s a telephone pole with wires and a transformer,” says Dean Taylor. “I think solar panels are better looking than wires and poles–and nearly every house has those.”

“We declined because our neighbors across the road would’ve had to look at the damned array all the time,” says Leahy. “The movable panels are like some radar set from a World War II movie.”

PERSPECTIVE rough. And I knew to just wait three weeks to see what happened. And after three weeks, I didn’t care anymore. If the neighbors had waited three weeks before they hit the roof, the whole issue probably would’ve gone away.”Eric Sampson sees Gardner’s point, but only partially. “I think they look better than they did initially, but I’m still not convinced that a residential area is the appropriate set ting for those. I applaud his effort to decrease his carbon footprint, but I think there may be more appropriate ways to do it.”

“Solar panels aren’t the most attractive things in the world,” says Susan Taylor, an organic farmer from Lyman, “but it’s appall ing that people would even consider com plaining about them when we so desperately need to do something about our energy use.”

82 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Current Kennebunkport resident and solar proponent Chuck Leahy takes a dif ferent view. When Solar Market presented Leahy with a choice between a higher-effi ciency tracking system and a less-efficient yet less-obtrusive design, Leahy decided against the tracking panels.

Leahy ponders the situation in Scarborough and others like it. “Frankly, the problem with siting these things is that peo ple don’t know their neighbors, or they don’t make an effort to go around and talk to them. My wife and I are both lawyers. We’ve spent our lives negotiating deals and communicat ing, and I think the only way to make it work in a neighborhood of nice homes is to sit down with folks and say, ‘This is what we’re planning.’” Leahy pauses and laughs. “But of course a lot of people just can’t stand change.

When asked about the future of solar power, Gardner is passionate. “I hope there will be more. There’s going to be a tipping point. Utility companies can’t build coal-fired power plants anymore. Nobody wants them. They can’t site them because there’s so much opposition to them. We’ve realized they’re much more harmful than the benefits we get from them. So this is the perfect time for government to give solar the nudge. Public policy, it seems to me, should be in favor of public health. And public health requires clean air. It’s a very simple equation. If you factor in the public health costs of dirty air and add it to the price of coal-fired genera tion, the cost of electricity would be stagger ing. Nobody wants to do the computation to find out what the true cost to society is. But slowly that’s changing. I’m a firm optimist in thatAskedarea.” about neighborhood relations, Gardner is again optimistic. “All that stuff is water under the bridge. It’s a shame it hap pened, but life goes on. We’ve gotten over it. What are we going to do? We’re not going anywhere. I didn’t put up the panels so we could move,” he laughs. Eddie Woodin agrees with that assess ment. “I think things have calmed down in the neighborhood.” Woodin pauses, then chuckles. “I just hope Laurence plants some cedar trees facing my yard. ‘Larry, I’ll pay for them! C’mon. Work with us a little bit here.’” n

“We’re looking at how to deal with it,” Town Manager Ron Owens says when asked about managing future disputes. “For the most part, we probably would allow tracking systems. The question is, how can we devel op some kind of standard that would attempt to screen them a little bit more? Can we cre ate a dimensional standard and a buffer to limit their physical presence? We’ve checked with a lot of other communities–Cape Cod communities, for example–and there really aren’t any good regulations on solar panels. In fact, some states preclude municipalities from even having regulations. So we haven’t found a whole lot of help around the country in terms of how to address this issue. There’s a real interest in encouraging alternative power sources, but you have to find a con structive way to deal with the visual impact. We’re by no means ready to say we have an answer to this. We’re still looking into it.”

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Can’t stand it. I don’t know what the hell you do with people like that.”

The LePages joined the Community Supported Agriculture program at Broad turn Farm in Scarborough (where members pay in advance for a share in the season’s harvest), hung out at Portland’s farmers’ markets, and began visiting nearby farms as well. They picked some of their own fruit, dug potatoes, helped to butcher a pig, and even milked a cow in exchange for a supply of rawBecausemilk.they knew each farm’s practices, they didn’t worry about food safety. Because they’d seen most of the animals they ate when they were alive, “we knew they were well-treated,” Alison says. She chronicles their adventures on her blog, www.local foodie.livejournal.com, and is pleased by all the response this generates.

The satisfaction of knowing the stories behind the food and deepening their rela tionships with many food suppliers soon far outweighed the convenience of just grabbing an anonymous head of lettuce at a super market. “Some people say grace before a meal. We sit down and acknowledge where our food comes from,” Alison says. “We connect with so many people–almost all our friends–through food.”

Eating this way does entail challenges. They spent about a month locating sources of food and figuring out how to ensure a The 20-Mile Club (continued from

When they moved to Portland about five years ago, “we started getting involved with the local farming community,” says Alison, 36, a marketing and communications man ager for Creative Working Systems in Portland. “We’d always lived in cities where the food had been anonymous. Here we realized what a great mix of farmers [plus fishermen, cheese makers, bakers, and more] live in Portland, or pretty nearby. The more we knew about them, the more we wanted to know.”Eating only local food “seemed like an interesting challenge,” as well as an ethi cal and environmentally responsible way to live, says Peter, 36, a computer systems analyst for the radiology division of Maine Medical Center. He and Alison liked putting their money straight into the farmers’ hands, “instead of supporting some big corporate conglomerates” which so often use pesti cides and petroleum-based fertilizers and transship their produce all over the planet, guzzling gas.

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page 41)

TRENDS follows the local culinary scene.

“My kitchen has become a little science lab,” AlisonEatingquips.this way takes a lot of work and advance planning, because so many items must be made from scratch. “You have to enjoy spending time in the kitchen,” says Alison, who knows it’s fortunate that she loves to cook. But with all the added effort have come unexpected benefits. They no longer buy much that comes in boxes or with fancy pack aging. “We’ve really reduced our waste,” Peter says. Because they don’t buy fast food or processed products, they’ve actually cut their grocery bills somewhat.

reliable supply of what they’d need. (“Now we don’t think about buying bacon any more. We think about buying half a pig,” Alison explains.) They had to accept some substitutions (maple syrup and honey for sugar; butter for oil; homemade yogurt or crème fraiche for mayonnaise) and learned to live without some things they enjoyed in the past (especially coffee and choco late.) Alison gave up baking anything that neededTheyyeast.also discovered some creative replacements for “convenience food.” They made “Maine Nachos” with thinly sliced roasted potatoes in place of tortilla chips. They drank hot maple milk instead of hot chocolate. They made their own ice cream so they could sweeten it with blue berries and maple syrup. They snacked on Silvery Moon Creamery’s cheese curds from Smiling Hill Farm and Grandy Oats sea-salted pumpkin seeds. When winter set in, they had to find innovative ways to keep greens and fresh produce in their lives. So they grew lettuce in their living room, raised several kinds of sprouts in large mason jars in their kitchen, and explored novel techniques for preserv ing foods–by fermenting them, for instance.

And although they expected that it would be harder to live this way, they’ve found that mealtimes generally have become less stress ful. Their local buying “simplified things,” says Alison. “We don’t have to choose from thousands of items in the supermarket. We have a limited palette of wonderful ingredi ents to work with, and lots of personal con nections to them.”

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“I’ve felt more energy from the way we eat now,” she continues. “We’re more con nected to the seasons, and I think we feel more grounded.”

“I know consumerism is an addiction we all have, whether we pay or not,” he explains. “We’re taking advantage of a flaw in a capitalist economy that says it’s better to throw out food than to give it away. I wish it didn’t happen like this, especially when so many poor people don’t have enough to eat. But at least my friends and I are living in a way that isn’t based on injustice and greed. We’re living off waste rather than generat ingWhenit.” I ask to accompany Conrad on a diving expedition, he eventually declines. Perhaps he is afraid I might inadvertently reveal the location of coveted dumpsters he dubs “the cream of the crop.” But he introduces me to Ethan Miller, 30, whom he describes as the best dumpsterer he knows, “a world class diver, a total ride.”

Carefully opening each garbage bag, he reads expiration dates, ingredient labels and, if he has time, eliminates products “with corn syrup and hydrogenated oils,” which some of his friends consider unhealthy. When he’s finished examining the contents, he’s careful to re-tie the bags and leave the dumpsters looking orderly and neat. Even Diving for Dinner (continued from

METROPOL support “models of sustainable living,” they buy or glean food from local farms in season and grow some produce on a plot in a com munity garden. They also barter or swap for staples whenever they can. Conrad stresses that their dumpster diving is as much a pro test against capitalism, globalization, and the inequities of the economy as it is a practical way to cut grocery bills.

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The Massachusetts and New Hampshire stops are important “because too many gro ceries in Maine have trash compactors.” He targets small supermarkets, bakeries, healthfood stores, alternative grocery stores, and beverage distributors–noting when each store closes, when its employees leave, and other significant aspects of each neighbor hood. Starting about 10 p.m., he waits until no one is around “and then I jump in, set up shop, and really operate!”

The secret of his success, says Miller, sip ping dived tea at his home in Greene, is effi ciency. “I know tons of people who are way more intrepid divers, but I’m really system atic about it.”

He has created a loose schedule for vis iting dumpsters on a route he perfected from Worcester, Massachusetts, through Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Greene.

page 49)

Even with the excitement of finds like these, though, “I always try to hold onto the feeling of being appalled that this kind of waste exists when 30 million people in the U.S. don’t have the food they need,” Miller says. “It’s ‘score!’ mixed with utter horror. I mean, we don’t want to dumpster dive as if we were shopping at The Gap.”

Miller adds that he has never been arrest ed for diving, although he has received the odd “public service lecture about sanitation and private property from puffed-up police.

JED’s home is a partially painted, ram bling, jerry-built wooden house on 500 mountainy acres they hope one day to incor porate as a land trust. They grow some of their own food and Miller tends an orchard, in addition to serving as a health outreach worker for Maine migrants.

“This run is an all-night thing and unbe lievably productive,” he continues. If he’s alone, he can fill up every inch of space in his little red Subaru. “Usually, there’s so much that I can’t even take it all.” He shares the bounty with the 10 or so members of the col lective with whom he lives (they call them selves ‘JED,’ for Social Justice, Ecology, and Democracy), and with other friends.

In the roughly eight years since they’ve been diving, Miller and his friends have landed some terrific finds–such as an entire case of frozen triple-chocolate mousse cake just past its expiration date, a 10-pound solid chocolate bar that was broken in half, a case of wine marred only by dampened labels caused when one bottle broke, and a bin “with almost 30 watermelons, perfectly good except that they were blemished or a little cracked open.”

MAY 2008 87 garbage deserves respect.

Still, every dollar they save by sifting through dumpsters frees what money they do have for causes they care about, such as “supporting networks that fight racism, class oppression, gender discrimination, poverty, and injustice,” Miller says. Neither Miller nor Conrad could say how many people get all or part of their food from dumpsters these days, although they suspect that their numbers are growing, especially among young people looking for alternatives to the traditional economy. But at least half a dozen internet sites offer div ing advice. Meetup.com posts announce ments of trash tours, and Freegankitchen. com provides lessons for cooking with dumpstered ingredients. n

FantasyIsland

MAY 2008 89 HOUSE OF THE MONTH

While the locked tower will remain the property of the town–in order to allow the welcome trickle of visitors arriving by boat or kayak to visit from time to time–the attached Keeper’s House (1907) enchants with four large bedrooms, “a lovely dining room with plaster walls, a living room with builtin bookshelves in white, and a cook’s kitchen with an adorable pantry,” says listing agent Margaret R. Smith. “Washing dishes with this kind of view isn’t a chore–it’s a luxury!” Smith’s favorite view here is “the front lawn, where you can look across the thoroughfare beyond a It’s the stuff that greens are made of: The Keeper’s House at Robinson Point Lighthouse Station, for sale at $2.2 million, is a self-sustaining marvel–with its own desalination system and bio-diesel processor–driven by photovoltaics, wind power, and a 30-watt generator.

AGENCYSWANSMITH/THER.MARGARETOFCOURTESYPHOTOSALL

Colin Sargent T he idea of Isle Au Haut signifying “The High Island” is beguiling to begin with. But it pales beside the all-time high the lucky buyer will get this summer when s/he snaps up the Keeper’s House at Robinson Point Lighthouse Station, offered for $2.2 million by The Swan Agency.

There are also two cabins. “The Oil House [yes, formerly the oil house] is a oneroom cabin with a bed in it and a porch with absolutely great views over the rocky ledge. Matt’s Shack has views of the light tower and Kimball Island.”

The two-acre retreat also includes a guest cottage carrying the sobriquet The Woodshed. No misdirection here: ”It used to be the woodshed!” Today, “it’s bright and sunny with plenty of windows, a liv ing room, full bath, eat-in kitchen, and two bedrooms upstairs, one fairly large and often rented by honeymooners.”

Other goodies include the “large boat house, pier, ramp, float, mooring, storage building, and approximately 700 feet of bold, deepwater shore frontage,” all of which is eco logically guilt-free: “All the power required to run the compound is produced onsite with photovoltaics, a windmill, and a generator. Water is drawn from the sea…through a… desalination system yielding three gallons of crystal-clear water per minute which is stored in a 3,000-gallon cistern,” Smith says. Total price tag for going green here was “about $76,000,” according to the seller, Jeff Burke. Antiques, appliances, bicycles, and a “25-foot vintage canopied launch and two vehicles” complete this dream, made possible by “daily scheduled ferry service from Stonington” year-round. Hardly just any port in a storm. Taxes are $3,104. Visit www.swanagency.com. n

HOUSE OF THE MONTH 90 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE pair of Adirondack chairs to see Vinalhaven and Camden Hills.”

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East Shore Drive Building Lots–Dark Harbor area, 3.4 and 1.7 hillside acres; land rises to your choice of sev eral potential building sites. Sun-dappled woods; beech, yellow and white birch, pine, spruce, fir, and cedar trees. A rare opportunity with today’s inventory. $150,000 each; $280,000 together. Seal Harbor Post & Beam–Wonderful sunset views over the bay and hills from this sub stantial 2,500 sq. ft., four-bed room home tucked amid the evergreens on five acres with 258 feet of beachfront and dock. Delightful landscaping; private, protected, and room for a guest house. Barn guest apartment, heated garage/shop. Just about all the amenities you’d need to enjoy a coast al Maine island community. $1,400,000

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$999,900 BRUNSWICK - On the corner of Federal and Franklin Streets in the Village Review Zone, close to downtown, and within walking distance of Bowdoin College is a handsome and unusual 1820s home. Features a kitchen, large dining/family room with fireplace, living room, heated sunroom, two bedrooms, and two baths on the first floor. Also includes a spacious two-bedroom “guest” apt. and two-room efficiency apt. on the second floor although it has been primarily owneroccupied. It is, however, “grandfathered” as a three-unit apartment building with attic storage, two-car garage, and carport. Structures and systems appear to be in excellent condition. $499,000 Are you ready for a change from the “big city” rat race? Do you enjoy gourmet cooking? Do you love entertaining and understand the mechanics of “tax shelters”? Have you stayed at B & B’s and Inns and felt comfortable with the “unique” class of guests that enjoy that style of travel? People like yourself that are well traveled, enjoy literature, the arts and the joys of ne dining! While you were enjoying your stays at up-market Inns did you say to your signicant other, “WE CAN DO THIS!’ Richard & Cheryl, the aging, experienced (2 previous INNS in NH.) but robust owners of this truly “Unique Yankee B & B & “D”INN property (see “reviews” at www.uniqueyankeeofmaine.com) have built a magnicent “Green” Energy Star 2nd home (see parpac.com) on the adjoining property and we are interviewing candidates who might qualify to take over (with our help) where we are leaving off (special stated income nancing available). The “in-season” potential for summer terrace dining (we have never seen a “black y” - too close to the ocean) on the 1500 sq. ft. TREX/FIBRON deck is exciting. Take the virtual tour. Then book a night and come “check us out”. Try the complimentary legendary Sicilian Pasta dinner. The business is “turn key” and we will be staying on in the annex as a support team... but we need to be cut from the same “bolt of cloth” I.E. “compatible”. You too must love “living” by the sea and the busy, healthy life style. Priced belowthe appraised property value at $990,000. If you appraise yourself as “unique” AND are ready for a change,

HIGH HEAD, HARPSWELL - These copies of original paintings convey the charm of an extended waterfront Cape and its superb, private setting on 1.6 AC of land with frontage on the deepwater, sunrise side of the High Head peninsula. The first floor includes the kitchen, an open living/dining room adjoining a paneled study with fireplace, and access to the relatively new mahogany deck. The master bedroom is on the first floor as well, and there are two bedrooms and bath on the second floor. Much of the daylight, walk-out basement is finished, providing a carpeted family room with woodstove hearth, ¾ bath, laundry/storage room, and workshop–plus, there are private yacht club privileges!

240 Maine Street • Brunswick, ME 04011 • (207) 729-1863 For Properties, Open Houses,Visual Tours - www.mainere.com

call us at 1-866-644-1502 or E-mail to uniqueyk@tidewater.net. Property taxes are $2,584 annually. Christmas Cove, South Bristol, MaineChristmas Cove, South Maine Romantic, Passive Solar 6 BR, 7 Bath, Ocean View B & B & “D” InnRomantic, Passive Solar 6 7 Ocean View B & B & “D” Inn Owners Seeking Qualified “Unique” Buyers/PartnersOwners Buyers/Partners “Top of the World”of the World” Panoramic Ocean View from the Ocean Observatoryfrom the Ocean at the Christmas Cove B&Bat The Annex Christmas Cove 53 Coveside Rd. PO Box 153 South Bristol, Maine 04568Christmas Cove - 53 Coveside Rd. - PO Box 153 - South 04568 866 644 1502 • 207 644 1502 • FAX 207 644 1503866-644-1502 • 207-644-1502 • 207-644-1503 Website: www.uniqueyankeeofmaine.com • Email: uniqueyk@tidewater.netWebsite: • Email: uniqueyk@tidewater.net NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 93

SR Realty_Portland Mag_11_27r1.indd 1 11/28/07 3:16:24 PM NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 94 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

$209,000 Furnished BIRCHWOOD, SUGARLOAF/USA BROAD COVE, CAPE ELIZABETH

pleasantinSpaciousperfect!borhoodseasideRanchshingledroom,thistingor“Downsizing”“justgetstarted,”3-bed2-bathinaneighiseat-kitchen,din ing room, and living room with freplace. Sunny backyard deck in private, wooded setting. A great value at $315,000 Enjoy bunkroom,familyaceilings,ingperty3-bath4-bedroom,spaciousntastlivingmountainon-inthisefullyfur-ishedandprofeaturcathedraldditionalroom,deck, and wonderful Sugarloaf and Bigelow Mt. views. Located directly on the Glade Trail. $427,000 BIGELOW, SUGARLOAF/USA

NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 95

www.TCREAL.com/PortlandMay2008 SOUTH THOMASTON: Gorgeous Contemporary with ocean views! #876118 $450,000 Trina 207-594-4455 trinafrench@tcreal.com BAngoR • BELfAsT • CAMdEn • dovER foxCRofT • ELLswoRTh hAMPdEn • PiTTsfiELd • RoCkLAnd • skowhEgAn View Virtual Tours when you visit www.TCREAL.com/PortlandMay2008 and enter the MLS# from this ad in the property search. UNION: Eloquently appointed luxury lakefront home includes all the extras! #882854 $859,000 Lorrie 207-594-4455 lorriez@midcoast.com PENOBSCOT: Grand Victorian close to Blue Hill & Castine. #856113 $289,900 Martha 207-667-7557 mnickerson@tcreal.com HANCOCK: Victorian Cottage is close to beach, has freplace & enclosed porch. #877356 $610,000 Tacy 207-667-7557 tacyr@tcreal.com SULLIVAN: Gently sloping, southwesterly-facing has deep water frontage. #756683 $255,000 Joe 207-667-7557 joesala@tcreal.com HAMPDEN: Exceptional 5-BR Colonial has 1.34 waterfront acres & great river views. $589,000 Russ 800-639-4905 rkh@tcreal.com 970 Baxter Boulevard, Portland, ME 04103 207-773-2345 • Each offce independently owned & operated Peter Hawkes Direct: 207-553-7310 Cell: www.maineproperties.com207-632-2345 Coastal Maine to Sugarloaf/USA Wonderful 5-bedroom home on Sandy River Circle featuring open concept with cathedral ceilings, exposed beams & ample woodwork, gas freplace, family room with pool table, hot tub on deck, and fantastic views! Private, yet convenient. $389,000 Furnished Wonderful ski home in Woody Creek offering privacy & on-mountain convenience. Architectur ally designed open concept with 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths & sauna. Daylight basement with wood stove, fnished as family room and/or additional guest quarters. Fully furnished $525,000 WOODY CREEK, SUGARLOAF/USAWEST MOUNTAIN, SUGARLOAF / USA Cozy 2-bedroom post & beam condo ideally located on the Snubber Ski Trail overlooking the outdoor hot tubs at the Sugarloaf, Fitness Center. Great views to Bigelow, Sugarloaf and the Ski Trail. You can’t get much closer to the chairlift!

SCARBOROUGH – New construction w/1st-ﬂoor master bedroom. Open floor plan w/expansive views of the Spur wink River. Water views and marsh views from almost ev ery room. A lso includes 2nd-floor family room & office. Offered at $699,900. David Banks 553-7302.

FALMOUTH – 50-home subdivision overlooking Presump scott River, offering single family & attached. villas w/variety of floor plans & styles. Sizes range from 1,900-3,100SF w/low fees that cover deeded dock, landscaping, and snow remomal. Offered at $561,250. David Banks 553-7302.

FALMOUTH – Handsome 10-room townhouse in Wood lands CC offering 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, greatroom with maple cabinets, wet bar, and cathedral ceilings. Kitchen has maple and granite, sunroom with sliders to the deck and ofﬁce. Offered at $525,000. David Banks 553-7302.

CUMBERLAND – Absolutely charming 4-bedroom an tique cape.This home offers 2,700+ square feet w/attached barn that has been converted into living space. Features in clude upscale kitchen and sun-ﬁlled living room w/ﬁreplace. Offered at $499,900. David Banks 553-7302.

WESTBROOK – Absolutely pristine custom Colonial situ ated in a great Westbrook neighborhood. 4,500+ SF includes hardwood ﬂooring, beautiful cherry and granite kitchen, mas ter-bedroom suite, cathedral ceilings and attached 2-car garage. Offered at $469,000. David Banks 553-7302.

CUMBERLAND FORESIDE – Panoramic water views from ev ery room. Cottage-style home situated on a private elevated lot w/lovely landscaping. Detailed construction, 4 bedrooms w/1stﬂoor master, and oversized deck. A wonderful Maine property! Offered at $935,000. David Banks 553-7302.

CUMBERLAND FORESIDE – Sparkling new condo construc tion! 55+ community offers 2 bedroom, 2 baths, sunroom, hardwood & tile, Corian countertop, family room, living room w/gas ﬁreplace, full basement, garage and custom ﬁnishes! Priced from $299,900. David Banks 553-7302. Baxter Boulevard Portland, ME 04103 207.773.2345 www.HomesInMaine.comOFFICE

FALMOUTH FORESIDE – Wonderful 3-bedroom cottagestyle home with deeded dock, beach, & water views. Reno vated in 1987 & 2002, this home offers a large tiled mudroom, maple ﬂoors, galley kitchen, and full ﬁnished daylight basement. Offered at $579,900. David Banks 553-7302.

FALMOUTH – A very private waterfront setting on 5.8 acres. River views from most rooms. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, w/1st-floor master-bedroom suite, “award winning 2006 Viking kitchen,” tiled floors, skylights, and 3-car garage. Offered at $1,395,000. David Banks 553-7302.

*Based on information from the Maine Real Estate Information System, Inc. for the period of January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. Provided by individual users of MREIS. MREIS has not reviewed the contents and does not make any representations, warranties or guarantees regarding the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of any statistical information and the data provided.

MAINE’S # 1 REAL ESTATE OFFICE 970

FALMOUTH FORESIDE – One-of-a-kind Falmouth Foreside estate! Magniﬁcent grounds & formal gardens. This much-ad mired & tastefully renovated residence features a sensational gourmet kitchen and elegant living & dining rooms w/ﬁreplaces. Offered at $899,000. David Banks 553-7302.

WINDHAM – Custom log home to be built on Little Sebago w/160' of prime water frontage. Western views and sandy beach. Approx 4,300SF including cherry kitchen w/Viking appli ances, 2 gas ﬁreplaces, screened porch, and ﬁne craftsmanship. Offered at $1,350,000. David Banks 553-7302.

KENNEBUNK – Private solar contemporary nestled on nearly 3 acres in the heart of Kennebunk’s Lower Village & Kennebunkport’s Dock Square. Shared open space on Ken nebunk River, 1st-ﬂoor MBR and great expansion possibilities. Offered at $449,900. Rusty Pillsbury 553-7370.

NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 96 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Your Residential Specialist in Greater Portland Helping you achieve your real estate dreams ! $ 234,500 Multi level Condo w/deck MLS # 884271 $ 349,500 Grand 1825 sq ft Condo MLS # 884468 $ 234,500 West End Unit w/Roofdeck MLS# 883169 $ Waterfront342,500OldPort Condo MLS # 885315 $ 479,000 3 level Townhouse Condo with Harbor Views $ 850,000 6 Acre Waterfront Lot www.EdGardner.infoFreeport 151 Newbury Street, Portland, Maine 04101 207-773-1919 $ 189,500 West End Top Floor 1 Bdrm + Den Unit $ 309,000 Heart of the West End 3 Bedroom Condo $ 317,500 West End 3 Bedroom Condo MLS # 885247 Ed Gardner Your Residential Specialist in Greater Portland Helping you achieve your real estate dreams ! $ 234,500 Multi level Condo w/deck MLS # 884271 $ 349,500 Grand 1825 sq ft Condo MLS # 884468 $ 234,500 West End Unit w/Roofdeck MLS# 883169 $ Waterfront342,500OldPort Condo MLS # 885315 $ 479,000 3 level Townhouse Condo with Harbor Views $ 850,000 6 Acre Waterfront Lot www.EdGardner.infoFreeport 151 Newbury Street, Portland, Maine 04101 207-773-1919 $ 189,500 West End Top Floor 1 Bdrm + Den Unit $ 309,000 Heart of the West End 3 Bedroom Condo $ 317,500 West End 3 Bedroom Condo MLS # 885247 Ed Gardner www.EdGardner.info 151 Newbury Street, Portland, Maine 04101 207-773-1919 Ed Gardner “Waldo County’s Oldest Independent Real Estate Company” 217 Northport Ave ~ U.S. Rt. 1 ~ Belfast, Maine (207) UnitedRealtyME.com338-6000 United Realty is pleased to offer Snow Hill Lodge. Located 4 miles from downtown Camden and only a mile from Lincolnville Beach, this 30-unit lodging facility has been offering superb accommodations for over half a century. Touted as “The View with a Motel” the 4+ acres overlooks gorgeous Penobscot Bay. Watch the tall ships from the Camden Windjam mer Fleet sail around the islands! Spacious owners residence with 3 bedrooms provides an excellent opportunity for your new business venture while living and enjoying Maine, the way life should be! Equitably priced at $800,000. UNITED REALTY SNOW HILL LODGE NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 97

WHARF, OLD PORT…Walk to all the Old Port has to offer. All

50 Sewall

CHANDLER’S

Chandler’s Wharf units have 2 bedrooms, 2 to 2 ½ baths, fireplaces, decks, 2 garage spaces, and beautiful water views. The gate house provides around-the-clock security and handles your packages and mail. There are five distinctive units available. Three are first-floor one-level units and the others are townhomes with three levels of dramatic space. The prices range from $425,000 to $650,000.

•

Please call Philip Lee Ofﬁce: 207-553-2484 Cell: 207-653-2303 www.PhilipTeam.com Street 2nd Floor Portland, ME 04102

MORTON & FURBISH

•

Please call Philip Lee 207-553-2484 Cell: 207-653-2303 www.PhilipTeam.com

•

Please call Philip Lee 207-553-2484 Cell: 207-653-2303 www.PhilipTeam.com

•

• Ofﬁce:

WHARF, OLD PORT…Walk to all the Old Port has to offer. All Chandler’s Wharf units have 2 bedrooms, 2 to 2 ½ baths, fireplaces, decks, 2 garage spaces, and beautiful water views. The gate house provides around-the-clock security and handles your packages and mail. There are five distinctive units available. Three are first-floor one-level units and the others are townhomes with three levels of dramatic space. The prices range from $425,000 to $650,000.

• Ofﬁce:

CHANDLER’S

•

CHANDLER’S WHARF, OLD PORT…Walk to all the Old Port has to offer. All Chandler’s Wharf units have 2 bedrooms, 2 to 2 ½ baths, fireplaces, decks, 2 garage spaces, and beautiful water views. The gate house provides around-the-clock security and handles your packages and mail. There are five distinctive units available. Three are first-floor one-level units and the others are townhomes with three levels of dramatic space. The prices range from $425,000 to $650,000.

WHARF,

•

Please call Philip Lee 207-553-2484 Cell: 207-653-2303 www.PhilipTeam.com

VACATION RENTALS P.O. BOX 1209 / 2478 MAIN ST. RANGELEY, ME info@rangeleyrentals.com1-888-218-488204970www.rangeleyrentals.com The area’s largest rental agency. We offer everything from the smaller cabin to the large luxurious home. The John Ellison Bradley House, Boothbay Harbor Charming antique cape, sited high above the harbor in the heart of town and restored to possibly beyond its former glory! Presently a bed and breakfast, but would make a wonderful family home, antiques shop, art gallery, etc. Pumpkin pine foors, spacious living room with raised pan eling and large freplace, kitchen with top-of-the-line appliances, dining room with freplace, and offce. One more bedroom and bath in the at tached carriage house. Inviting private brick terrace with sitting area, old fashioned gardens, and garden house. Six parking spaces! Incredible and panoramic views of the inner harbor, island, and ocean. $895,000 Contact Carol Buxton. NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 98 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

CHANDLER’S OLD PORT…Walk to all the Old Port has to offer. All Chandler’s Wharf units have 2 bedrooms, 2 to 2 ½ baths, fireplaces, decks, 2 garage spaces, and beautiful water views. The gate house provides around-the-clock security and handles your packages and mail. There are five distinctive units available. Three are first-floor one-level units and the others are townhomes with three levels of dramatic space. The prices range from $425,000 to $650,000.

•

REAL ESTATE

GREAT POND – Cottage at water’s edge, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, bunkhouse, 1-car garage, living room w/ﬁeldstone ﬁreplace, located a short distance from Mt. Philip hiking trail. $579,000 NORTH POND – Newly renovated 2-bedroom-plus-loft at water’s edge, great sunsets, sandy swim area, living room & dining room open concept with exposed beams. Just bring your lawn chairs and relax!

$289,000 GREAT POND – Year-round home, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, family room, custom kitchen, cathederal ceilings, skylights, and deck on 2.5 acres. Short drive to Belgrade Lakes Village. $1,100,000.

221 Main Street, Belgrade Lakes, Maine 04918

Crosby Manor Estates

Selling A 3-story luxury condominium just

250 ft. from the water's edge. Upper and lower decks. Approximately 3,000 sq. ft. +/-, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, master-bedroom suite. Come make final plans. Starting price $549,000 Pre-selling Duplex. Starting price $350,000 Resale An outstanding 4-bedroom year-round luxury oceanfront home just 75' from the ocean’s edge. Price $649,000 Lovely 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 baths. Open floor plan and room to expand. Price $310,000 Maine McLean Group, LLC 49 Bayside Dr., Belfast, Maine 04915 Phone: 207-338-3311 Visit our website www.oceancondo.com Convenient In-City Location - A few blocks from a large regional hospital and city park. Short walking distance to markets, shops, restaurants, and downtown waterfront. Minutes to golf course and tennis courts. Guest moorings available. Visit us by boat or by car off Route 1. •310-Ft. Dock/Pier for Owners and Guests. Moorings permitted. A distinctive condominium community on Penobscot Bay in Belfast, Maine. Our best waterfront sites available now. Fax: 207-338-4422 Toll Free: 1-888-438-4422 info@oceancondo.com Brokers Welcome 08-008_CrosbyManorFebPM_FNL:Portland Magazine 1/11/08 4:39 PM Page 1 Inviting 2 bedroom, 2 3/4 baths with room to expand. Price $275,000 NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 99

GREAT$385,000POND – Cottage at water’s edge, kitchen, living room overlooking lake, screened-in porch, year-round access, dock & outbuilding. Short distance to Kennebec Highlands & Belgrade Lakes Golf Course! $399,900 (207) 495-3700 Gail Rizzo cell: (207) gailrizzo@belgradelakepoint.com242-8119 (888)-495-3711 www.belgradelakepoint.com Pat Donahue cell: (207) patdonahue@adelphia.net730-2331

GREAT$449,900POND – Waterfront condominium community on Great Pond featuring 2 bedroomplus-loft, 1 1/2-bath cottage at water’s edge. Beautiful sunsets, private dock w/shallow swim area, screened-in porch & deck.

Lakepoint

GREAT POND – Cottage at water’s edge, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, spacious kitchen, skylights, living room/family room plus 2-car garage with room above, dock, boat lift, and pontoon boat with trailer.

Cape Elizabeth $749,000 Dianne Maskewitz 523-8112 Cape Elizabeth $1,799,000 Cindy Landrigan 523-8106 Scarborough $799,000 Susanne Lamb 523-8105 Falmouth $1,595,000 Steve Parkhurst 523-8102 Falmouth $1,050,000 Mark Fortier 523-8108 Freeport $2,890,000 Bob Knecht 523-8114 Hollis $429,000 Deb Kroot 523-8109 Portland $265,000 Sandy Johnson 523-8110 Portland $539,000 Tish Whipple 523-8104 Portland $319,000 Rowan Morse 523-8107 Portland $598,500 Gail Landry 523-8115 Portland $1,375,000 Edie Boothby 523-8111 Yarmouth $1,495,000 Chris Jackson 523-8116 NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 100 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

BRISTOL$259,900

HALLOWELL – Commercial or residential w/excellent visibility, public utilities & exceptional view of Kennebec River. Bring your building plans & reap the rewards of downtown Hallowell. $324,900

MANCHESTER – WATERFRONT – Cobbossee Lake Camp completely renovated in 2005. Sandy beach area, 30 f.t dock system, drilled well, 2000 gallon holding tank. Wood ﬂoors, and knotty pine interior. Stunning westerly views. Must see to appreciate! $209,900

MANCHESTER – WATERFRONT – Incredible sunsets & views from this recently remodeled Contemporary-style home on Cobbossee Lake. 1-2 bedrroms, v-match walls & ceilings, 5 skylights, new everything, and heated yearround porch. $289,900

AUGUSTA – Under construction. Beautiful, brand-new 2-story Colonial-style home w/front porch, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, wood & tile ﬂoors, master suite, 2-car attached garage w/massive ﬁnished room above, and center island kitchen. Fully applianced. $299,900

HALLOWELL – Sprawling 8-room Ranch. Features new kitchen w/center island open to family room, formal dining & living, wood ﬂoors, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, garage, large lot, new windows. GREAT location! A rare ﬁnd! $229,900

CHELSEA – New large 4-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. Kitchen w/sliders to yard. Oak ﬂoors on the 1st ﬂoor. Direct entry 3-bay garage, master suite w/walk-in closet & full bath w/whirlpool tub. Additional acreage available.

ALBION – Gorgeous Colonial circa 1796 features 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, formal dining & living, family room, and character galore. Beautiful ﬂoors, in-ground pool, brand-new attached 2-story barn post-and-beam (30x40). All systems updated, corner lot. $299,000

GARDINER – Location, location, location! Charming Colonial w/4 bedrooms, 1.75 baths, newer kitchen, formal dining room, living room, sunny 4-season porch w/fireplace, den w/fireplace, replacement windows, wood floors, 2-car garage, patio area w/hot tub. $249,900

MANCHESTER – WATERFRONT - Massive Contemporary w/spectacular views of Cobbossee Lake & 10' of nice water frontage w/dock. 4-5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, large living room, family rooms, 2 car under, beautiful grounds, and striking curb appeal. $449,900

– WATERFRONT – William Thompson-designed reproduction saltbox on the ocean. Beautiful views, small sandy beach, 200 ft. of frontage on Johns Bay, pine ﬂoors, 2 baths, and ﬁreplace. A spectacular piece of Maine coastal property! $795,000

HALLOWELL – Four-bedroom Garrison w/2.5 baths, wood ﬂoors, oak kitchen, family room, formal dining, ﬁreplaced living, stunning glassed-in sunroom (4 season), 2-car garage, and parklike grounds. Total quality gorgeous home w/over an acre of land! $269,900

RANDOLPH – Beautiful 4-unit in nice residential area features (1) 2-bedroom unit, and (3) 1bedroom units. Newer roofs, newer boiler, huge yard, and large parking area. GREAT income. A great ﬁnd! $234,900

NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 101

Belgrade 28 Old Rte. 27 Rd Auburn 270 Riverside Dr Knowledgeable sales people For helpful ideas, come visit our showroom displays Timely deliveries with special equipment to get in between tight places When your favorite getaway is your own backyard, you’ve come home to Gagne & Son with downhome family service. Come visit us at one of our seven convenient hardscape locations. We Make Hard Easy. gagneandson.com 800-339-3313 Westbrook 70 Warren Ave Saco 195 North St Kittery 15 Route 236 Naples 96 Roosevelt Trail Topsham 293 Lewiston Rd www.BlackDuckRealty.com • email: info@blackduckrealty.com 15 Bunker Hill Road, Jefferson ME 04348 • (207) 549-5657 • FAX 549-5647 Liberty – Watch the sunrise from this 3.7+/- acre waterfront lot with 853' on quiet Stevens Pond. $99,000 Jefferson – Lovely 2.24+/- lightly wooded acres with views and access to Damariscotta Lake. $89,500 Nobleboro – Beautiful 1.5+/- acre wa tefront lot with 300+/- feet of frontage on Damariscotta Lake. $335,000 Windsor – Sunny 3-bedroom far house on 23+/- acres with 750+/- feet on mean dering Hewett Brook. $285,000 Jefferson – Sunsets are not optional from this 19+/- acre lot with 770' on peaceful Dyer Long Pond! $349,500 Waldoboro – A private 3-bedroom home on 4+/- acres and 600' of frontage on the Medomak River. $145,000 NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 102 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

• Stunning Westerly lake views • Access To Main Snowmobile/ATV Trail • 5 Minutes from Rangeley Village • 15 Minutes from Saddleback Ski Area • Large Oversized Garages Main Street, Rangeley • (207) www.rangeleylodges.com670-5125 Four Season Condominiums Over Looking Rangeley LakeLodges Lodge Lodges Lodge TheRANGELEY, MAINE Starting $299,000at Only 4 units leftin phase 1 Only 4 units leftin phase 1 Starting $299,000at NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING MAY 2008 103

SPECIALIST : Greater Portland & Coastal Southern Maine SERVICE : The very best client service EXPERIENCE : Over 15 years of real estate expertise SURE SELL SERVICES : Home improvement, cleaning & staging FULL SERVICE : 1st time buyers, relocations and those buying & selling at the same time ACCESSIBLE : Available to show any home at any time, days, nights and weekends MARKETING : Industry best marketing & advertising RESULTS : 87% of my listings sell in 90 days Why Trust Tom Landry? Tom Landry Broker / Owner Your single source for ALL residential & commercial restoration, renovation, maintenance and improvement needs. P Poo r rtt ll a n d and,, M Maa i n inee ( 2 0 7 ) 7 7 5 9 0 8 5 w w w.(207) 775-9085 www. C Coo r n e r S t o n e B R . c o CONSTRUCTIONrnerStoneBR.commBY: CornerStone DESIGN & STAGING BY: Staged oneMakewww.stageddesigns.comDesignsyourhomethetheywanttobuy! Gorham Bright & Sunny Gray Little Sebago Portland Stunning Back Cove Victorian 3BR, ACgrg,fisteold,HouseRanchContemporary2BTHCondo/only2yrs1stfloormstrw/pvtbth,nishedbsmt,2carefficientheat,&more! Priced right @ $299,999 Immaculate 3BR, 2.5BTH, 2 car grg Colonial with breathtaking views & pvt access to Little Sebago. Home has everything you expect & room to expand. Price under market for immediate sale $349,900 With more!master,w/1st1&3/4restorations.datesmodernperiodretainedcharm,up-&loving3BR,BTHS,FLBR/Denpvtbath,lrgbuilt-ins& $399,000 NEW ENGLAND HOMES & LIVING 104 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

6 p.m. Reception with the Authors–Heavy hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, and complimentary orchestra seating for the 7:30 p.m. program. Tickets ($50 pp) are limited and are available by calling Maine Reads at (207) 871-9100. 7:30 p.m. “Life Between the Pages” Best-selling author David Baldacci shares anecdotes from the author’s literary life. Also, dramatic readings by poet Annie Finch and performer Michael Maglaras. Hosted by Governor John E. Baldacci and First Lady Karen M. Baldacci. For general admission tickets to the 7:30 p.m. readings only ($10 pp), visit www.porttix.com or the box offce at Merrill Auditorium.

Opening Night to beneft Maine Reads, Merrill Auditorium

Monument Square, Downtown PortlandMay 15-17, 2008

Three days, more than 50 authors, illustrators, and performers. The Maine Festival of the Book brings together writers, readers, and families–young and old alike–to enjoy readings, panel discussions, book signings, and SCHEDULEperformances.

Monument Square, Downtown Portland Free programs including readings, panel discussions, and performances for all ages will be presented at the Maine Historical Society and Portland Public Library. Meet your favorite authors on Monument Square under the tent, where more than 30 authors of all genres will be selling books and signing throughout the day. Lots of kid’s authors and activities under the tent, too!

Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17

WiththeexceptionofOpeningNight,festivaleventsarefree!Formoreinformation,visitwww.mainereads.org

Thursday Evening, May 15

It wasn’t unusual for a dog to be found dead. Dogs are scavengers and eat all kinds of unsavory things, especially hunting dogs. I only heard the story secondhand, but in a way, I felt it must have

Of course my grandfather was captivated by her very difference. To him she was exotic–a symbol of an outside world after which he yearned but was never destined to explore. He would hear no word said against her, even when the rumors started to gather in the darkness.

A pparently no one really knew where she came from. The folk on our island back then were an insular bunch and didn’t take too kindly to strangers, so it must have been hard for her–until she married my grandfather and he draped respectability around her shoulders like a cloak. They said she just appeared one night, out of the storm, one of the many Northeasters that dog our coastline. She was dragging a mongrel cur behind her. After she married my grandfather, the mongrel cur was delicately referred to as ‘a mixed breed’ and later still as ‘a sweet little thing.’ My grandfather’s relations were elders in the community then. Naturally I only knew her much later, but she always seemed to me to be different, my grandmother. Viewed through my young eyes, she didn’t seem to fit in at all. With the benefit of maturi ty, any number of adjectives would have described her, but as a child, I just knew she was different. I could see my father was embar rassed by her at times. Like most men he wanted to conform–be one of the crowd–but she didn’t understand this large awk ward son of hers and would laugh and tease him and all, the laughter throbbing in her throat like a gurgling brook. My mother’s sister used to snigger behind her back at family get togethers, making snide remarks about Indian reservations and witch doctors. “She’s away with the fairies,” she used to say, but my mother tried to be kind and replied “No, she’s just a little fey.”

BOILYCHANTAL

MAY 2008 107 FICTION Sally Dixon

The In heritance

108 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE

FICTION served him right–not the dog, his owner. A blustering, swaggering braggart of a man. I know how he would have been, because his grandson is just like him. It didn’t end with the dog. At first it was a collection of small incidents that crept up on our small community like snakes out of the long grasses by the river–things going missing, milk souring in the pans, and crops rotting in the ground before they ever got pulled. Then the swaggering braggart’s hair started to fall out; not a gentle thinning like the other men, but in large clumps so his scalp was left looking like some kind of a vegetable patch which had been raided by the deer out of the woods. He lost it all before he died, along with his swagger. My mother told me later that the braggart had tried to corner Gran behind the chicken coops when she first came to the village. She was kind of delicate about it at the time, but I think she meant that he tried to rape her. It has all gotten kind of blurred over the years, but a whole heap of folks got sick after that. Maybe it was a smoke screen to hide the real thing, or maybe it was the result of a lot of overactive imaginations. I guess only Gran would be able to tell us that, and of course she’s no longer with us. I go and visit her grave sometimes in the grounds of the state penitentiary, but no matter how hard I try to communicate, she doesn’t answer me. When I was going through school, I knew just how she felt–not really fitting in. I never did, either. Perhaps I was fey like her, although I didn’t know what it meant back then. Ours is a small community, and per haps it was just that folks knew I was related to her and they didn’t like that, although that wasn’t something I could help. Perhaps it was just the color of my skin–I always was a little darker than most of the other kids, like I’d been out in the sun too long. Just like her. Either way, throughout school, I had more than my fair share of hair pulling, being tripped up in the corridors, and having my lunch box snatched. I guess I can’t blame the other kids for not wanting to be friends with me; half of them had relatives who’d gotten sick back then–or so they said. It was hard, though, desper ately wanting to be a part of a group who wouldn’t accept you. I was marked out from kindergarten, and it only got worse as we all got older. I can remember looking with envy

SetlowDarrenPhoto: wherePORTLANDSTAGECOMPANYgreattheaterlives April 29 to May 25 Tickets: www.portlandstage.com207.774.0465Sponsored by: L.L.Bean, Black Point Inn and The Portland Phoenix. MAY 2008 109 at the girls who used to hang out with the popular guys, the ones who were the jocks, the sports heroes–the ones who used to call me a freak. They were the girls with the blue eyes and long fair hair, or so it seemed to me looking at them out of my own eyes–eyes as dark with resentment as the rocks on the cliffs outside our backyard. I’d like to say my life changed when Alex walked into it, and I guess it did for a while. He was different from the rest. His mom and dad had moved up from the city. “My dad’s a writer,” he’d said dismissively. “He wants the quiet to finish some book or other.” Alex didn’t take too kindly to the move. “Where do you guys hang out?” he’d said. Where are all the coffee shops and malls?” There weren’t too many of those on our island. I suppose he had us all marked down as country bumpkins. The moment I clapped eyes on him, though, I knew I wanted him, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. In a way, I guess he saw in me the same things that my grandfather had seen in my Gran–in his eyes I was exotic, different from his slick city friends. Of course, the other kids soon filled him in about me, but it didn’t seem to make any difference, and soon we were an item. It was hard when I moved with him to the city. I didn’t fit in with his crowd. We got to bickering; the resentment built up in him, and I was no longer exotic but just different. Suddenly, he didn’t want different–like my dad with my Gran, he was embarrassed by me. It was little things at first–gibes and threats–and then he started to beat me. I realized it was all my fault and all, and I still loved him. I just couldn’t seem to make him love me any more. Then I saw him out with someone else.

Naturally she was blonde and had those kind of blue eyes that looked as if the sky was shining right through her head when she lifted it up to meet his eager lips. That kind of did my head in. I am thinking about my grandmother now as I stand at the stove, stirring the pot of herbs. “I’m making some chicken soup,” I tell Alex. My eyes wander over to him as he sits carelessly reading the newspaper at the table, and they darken like the night out side the window. I lift a hand to touch the bruises on my face and wonder if I inherited my grandmother’s desire for revenge right along with her old recipe book. n

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Mantle Painting CompanyLet our experience work for you! 424C Walnut Hill Road • North Yarmouth, ME 04097 (207) 829-4449 • mantlepaintingcompany.com FLASH Event 112 PORTLAND MONTHLY MAGAZINE 54321 1. WMPG 13th Annual Fat Tuesday Extravaganza Cajun Cookin’ Challenge at University of Southern Maine’s Woodbury Campus Center in Portland, from left: Dominic Lavoie, Spencer Albee 2. WMPG, from left: Tara Ignatius, Nicole Phelan, Chris Grittani 3. WMPG, from left: Carol Bishop, Rick Vanesse 4. WMPG, from left: Ruby Simkoff, Dave Bunker 5. WMPG, from left: Jill Silander, Karl Silander

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Portland Monthly Magazine May 2008

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