The West End News - January Edition 2023 - Vol. 23 No. 01

Stewards Celebrate Accomplishments & Discover Mysteries in Western Cemetery

By J. Peter Monro

In May, in this newspaper, we Stewards of the Western Cemetery asked for help conserving and enhancing the remarkable historic graveyard and contemporary jewel of a public green space that is the Western Cemetery. You responded resoundingly. In so many ways!

More than 125 people signed up to repair gravestones, lead tours, manage vegetation, raise money, conduct historic research, or publicize our work. Over the summer those and thirty-fve more individuals donated beyond $10,000 to buy tools, a toolbox, mortar, and cleaning agents, pay for insurance, and hire a professional conservator to spend four days in the grounds repairing gravestones.

For our frst year on site, volunteers accomplished an awesome amount by almost any measure.

On May 7th, more than seventy-fve people attended our opening tour describing what we knew of the cemetery’s past, its present condition, and what we hoped for its future. A dozen more tours were held through summer and fall with a half dozen leaders, including Alessa Wylie from Greater Portland Landmarks, neighbor Reeven Elfman, Mike Ciamaga, the city’s Cemetery Superintendent, Stewards President John Funk, our treasurer Sam Wilson, and Heather McCargo, founder of the Wild Seed Project.

In early spring, Anna and Brent DeLong brought their metal detector over to look for historic relics—stainless steel markers, metal rods marking the borders of family plots, and the like.

The Stewards’ Vice President Derek O’Brien prompted modifcations to the stone entryway that assured continuous access for all.

For three busy days in July, twenty-four volunteers worked with the New York conservator Joe Ferrannini cleaning, re-setting, and repairing gravestones.

As a result, fve dirty, broken, toppled-over stones in a sad grouping along Vaughan Street turned into nine upright, white, complete stones representing seven individuals in three generations of the Greene family. After the mortar cured, they were unveiled during a tour on July 23rd.

MYSTERIES ABOUND

Mysteries arose with the stones: Why were members of this Catholic family buried here in what may have been the Strangers’ Ground instead of in the Irish-Catholic quarter? Why was the frst burial in 1856, four years after all the cemetery’s family plots had been sold? Were these Greenes related to other Greens and Greenes buried elsewhere in the

cemetery?

Other mysteries, too. Why is the rough, massive stone bearing Jonathan Dresser’s name and its rough footstone standing nearby, dated 1800, when no cemetery existed here until 26 years later? We straightened and cleaned the stone without knowing the answer.

Another myster y: Are the relatives of Marianna de Remila of Dutch Guyana— later known by her married name of Mary Ann Barnet, now with grave markers near the hillside tombs—the only black family buried here?

Delving into these and other mysteries is John Johnson, a public historian who is preparing parts of the cemetery’s nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. Solving one, Judith Southworth provided history of the “Little Cas-

CLEANING STONES, SHAPING PATHS, SUPPORTING

NATIVE SPECIES

Overall, since early July, volunteers have cleaned forty-three stones. One volunteer, Sara Graves, continued cleaning with her own kit, stopping only with the onset of these recent dark, cold days.

She was among the several volunteers who ended the season by locating, raising, cleaning, and reassembling the Ruth Stetson tablet on its handsome double base. Located facing the row of hillside tombs, its carving of a rose serves as the Stewards’ logo. The Ruth Stetson tablet now stands erect and shines bright white to all passersby.

Professional conservator Joe Ferrannini repairing the Greene family grave markers, how the graves looked before, and how they appeared after three days of repairs. -Western Cemetery photos by Peter Monro

Reiche Community Room Schedule presented by WENA

Lucky Hollander: Finding families for unaccompanied youth immigrants

NYC: Always an adventure with Nancy Dorrans...

SUBMISSIONS

WEN is a community newspaper and

need your voice! Share your submissions with thewestendnews@gmail.com

send to: The West End News, 795 Congress Street, Portland, Maine 04102.

Letters to the editor should be no more than 200 words. Include your name and town or neighborhood. • Op-eds should be no more than 750 words and include a brief biography of 1-2 sentences. • WEN also accepts poetry, cartoons, and photo submissions. Deadline for publication is the fourth Friday of every month. Publication is not guaranteed and submissions may be edited for length and content. The thoughts and opinions expressed in our pages belong solely to the authors and

On another track, in late September, eleven volunteers spread and shaped roughly thirty tons of city-provided gravel. They did so by hand to repair eroded paths and protect them from future erosion.

Others volunteered to remove and suppress invasive vegetation, like multifora roses and black swallowwort, on the hillside and nearby. To carry this work forward, a vegetation management plan is in the works to encourage wildfowers and other native plants and trees.

Spring Street’s Rodney Bellino took it upon himself to retrieve trash from throughout the twelve acres every Friday. He also reported on the Cooper hawk family, foxes, and other wildlife he observed there.

All told, volunteers last year invested more than 600 hours in refurbishing this city-owned cemetery.That doesn’t include the late October morning thirty-four city staffers, helped by Mayor Kate Snyder and City Manager Danielle West, spent leaf-raking.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2023!

Already, the Stewards and the city are preparing for the coming year. We expect to be back before the city’s Historic Preservation commission this month to approve the design of a tool house near the maintenance entry.

Also, we are readying a survey of volunteers to establish committees to carry out the many tasks that lie ahead. These include a capital fund drive to pay for the tool house, a water line, remaining tools, and fencing along the Western Promenade.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Ciamaga is seeking a half dozen city residents to purchase benches for the cemetery.

By this coming summer, we should be ready to train and engage those who are interested in gravestone cleaning, resetting, and repairs. That will be possible in part because we anticipate bringing back Joe Ferrannini for a few training days.

Sara Graves and Sam Wilson re-setting the Ruth Stetson grave marker after cleaning it and leveling the base. Above, a detail of the rose that has become the Stewards' logo.

For now, we wish to thank everyone for your extraordinary support and ongoing involvement that has made this inaugural year such a success!

Peter Monro, a West End resident, is a retired landscape architect. He has ser ved as a member of the Portland Parks Commission and as board chair of Portland Trails.

COMMUNITY EVENTS JANUARY

Seniors’

College

Casco Bay High School seniors’ 10th annual College March, originally set for a Friday in December, was rescheduled due to weather to Friday, January 13th. Students will march down Congress Street to the downtown post offce to mail their college applications or letters to a signifcant adult in their life who has supported their achieving this milestone.

The 2022 College March will mark the 10th year of the school’s public affrmation of the students’ higher education goals. The entire senior class of nearly 100 students will participate in the event. The march will begin about 1:15 p.m. and culminate at City Hall. The Portland community is encouraged to come out and cheer the students on.

Casco Bay High School strives for 100 percent of its graduates to be accepted to college, and is close to that goal: so far, 98 percent of CBHS students have been accepted to college. All CBHS seniors are expected to submit at least one college application.

On January 13th, students will arrive at Congress Square Park at about 1:15 p.m. and shortly afterwards march down Congress Street to the post offce near City Hall.

After mailing the letters, the students will then head to the steps of City Hall at about 1:30 p.m., where they will be greeted by city and school leaders and where two senior speakers will deliver an address on behalf of the class.The rest of the student body will be there too, cheering the seniors on.

This year the University of Southern Maine is again sponsoring the event. The event happens each year with assistance from the U.S. Postal Service.

Many CBHS students are the frst in their families to apply to college and some are from immigrant families. The College March is a powerful symbol of the idea that every student, regardless of background or circumstance, has the potential to thrive at a high-quality institution of higher learning.

8th Annual Robert Burns 10K in Westbrook

Sun, Jan. 29 / 9:30a / Congin School, Westbrook / $40 reg. fee

Support local educational initiatives by embracing the spirit of Scotland’s most revered poet in this old school, winter road race.

The Robert Burns 10K will kick off at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 29th come rain, shine, snow, or whatever the weather may be! The looping fgure-8 course begins and ends at the Congin School, winding its way through the streets of

Westbrook. For some runners, this event may serve as a winter tune-up race; for others, a dose of good-spirited exercise, or a chance to see running friends. All registered participants and onlookers are encouraged to celebrate the heroic bard of Scotland through costumes, conviviality, and good cheer.

Proceeds for this event will be gifted to Westbrook High School’s COMPASS Academy. COMPASS (Creating Opportunities through Multiple Pathways for Academic and Social Success) is a multidisciplinary, community-based academic program that supports students who encounter a variety of barriers to engagement in traditional classrooms.

Registration is $35 in advance, or $40 on event day. A $300 cash prize will be awarded to the 1st overall male and 1st overall female. Cash prizes will also be awarded the 2nd and 3rd place overall for each category.

Runners may register via www.crowathletics.com/robertburns10k, or in per-

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

By Rosanne Graef

The City of Portland’s website lists over twenty neighborhood associations. In addition to these organizations, Portland also has numerous friends groups supporting individual parks, cemeteries, bodies of water, even a musical instrument (the Kotzschmar organ) has friends.

Why do people form these sorts of groups? Sometimes it’s a response to a threat.At others it’s a desire to improve or to solve a particular problem. For whatever reason, some groups thrive for decades, most go through periods of advance and retreat, others achieve their purpose and disband, while more than a few peter out before they really get going.

The West End is fortunate to have several active neighborhood associations—Parkside, West End, Western Prom and St. John/Valley. If you’re familiar at all with Portland’s West End, you know that while these neighborhoods occupy a small portion of the City of Portland, they contain a lot of people and have distinct qualities and feels. One thing they have in common, though, is Reiche School and Community Center. Most elementary students in the area go to Reiche School and residents use the Community Center resources such as the pool and gym.

In the past two issues, I’ve written about the Maine Council on Aging’s Age+ Positive initiative. With the help of a Caring Community grant from Maine Medical Center, the West End Neighborhood

Association is attempting to make the Reiche Community Room into a place where older adults can come to learn, teach, create, and have fun. Please check out our calendar of FREE activities in this and every issue of The West End News.

If you like to play cards, there’s an opportunity to learn/teach/play bridge or cribbage every Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Enjoy animated movies? Come join us on the fourth Monday at 7 p.m. for a flm and brief discussion. Exercise every morning from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m.

Talk about death, sing, dance, paint, draw, and most important play BEANO (a.k.a. Bingo)! Check the calendar or the WENA website (www.wenamaine.org) for more details and offerings.

Why bother with these sorts of activities when you can go out to a play or concert, stay home and watch sports, read, eat, or any number of things? For the folks who are already attending, the answers are obvious.

One of the participants recently said that the three most recommended actions a person can take to prevent cognitive decline are physical activity, socializing, and engaging in intellectually stimulating activity. If this sounds like a goal for you in the new year, please join us! We have people who come from as far away as North and East Deering. Don’t be shy, just show up.

Rosanne Graef lives in the West End and is a regular volunteer contributor.

BOOK SHORT Classic Romance for the New Year

By Stephanie Miller

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one of the most beloved romantic fgures in literature is the tall, dark, and handsome Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

Even better, Mr. Darcy becomes the hero of the romance only because Elizabeth Bennet inspires him to change his proud ways, as she herself learns the folly of prejudice built on neighborhood gossip and frst impressions. Who doesn’t love a good redemption story?

Most people think they know the plot - and why not? It’s been made into more than a dozen movies and television features and reimagined through hundreds of fan fction novels. Despite this impressive legacy, there is more to the story to enjoy.

I’m a sucker for all of Austen’s novels and re-read all seven each January. I can never decide if I like “Emma” or “Pride and Prejudice” best. Austen’s humor and sly wit delight me every time.

All her novels are dialogue rich, which allows her to showcase her specialty: moving the story forward in present tense and in public. Her novels capture the way people interacted in that era, in town squares, ballrooms, breakfast rooms, walks in city gardens and country lanes, carriages, and dining halls. I love the pace, the rich character development, the snarkiness of the conversations, and, of course, that the heroine gets her man every time.

Many fans don’t realize that Jane Austen was a kind of radical in her time. Although her novels were commercially successful, she was dependent on her brother for a roof, bank account, and writing paper. She was a keen observer and chronicler of the strictures of society, and how they limited the options for women (and some men, especially second and third sons). She openly but cleverly exposes the foibles of everyone from the nobles, to mothers intent on marrying their daughters to rich husbands, to the writers of gothic novels. Her subtly is delicious. Yet, she also writes with deep respect and admiration of those who, despite their rank or lack of it, demonstrate kindness, generosity, and fun.

Yes, Austen’s novels are of a type, but they also have a huge following because they are engaging tales about human nature and the ongoing struggle to fnd one’s way in the world based on merit and effort, rather than birthline. There are morals, but they are gently presented. Plus, did I mention the snark? She give us some of the most polite put downs in history.

Join me this January in enjoying your favorite or pick up any of her novels at the library and experience Austen for the frst time.

Bayside resident Stephanie Miller is a voracious reader and bibliophile and spends a lot of time lost in the stacks of bookstores and libraries. Find her online @StephanieSAM.

Lucky Hollander: Finding families for unaccompanied youth immigrants

Several years ago there were a lot of kids that got out of Burundi and the DRC on student visas. Many had parents that couldn’t get visas to leave, but they were sometimes able to get student visas for their children.

Once the kids got here their living arrangements often fell through. If kids are under 18 and have a guardian, they can fle under Special Immigrant Juvenile status (SIJ) rather than asylum. So, there was a rush to get kids established in families so they could apply, and that was very successful. Lots of kids - most of them from stable families - got green cards and were able to fnish high school and apply for college.

When Trump got elected, the US stopped issuing most visas, so we weren’t seeing many of those kids. Then with Covid, we started seeing kids that had lost or been separated from their parents on the trek through South and Central America as they tried to get to the US border. Once they were released from detention, they had no place to go and no one to care for them. Now we’re getting kids coming up from the border that are older, have more trauma from trekking across South and Central America and fending for themselves for months. It’s been a challenge to house and settle them.

How are you matching kids to host families?

Right now, there are two groups of kids. A lot are under 18 and need more than just a safe place. These kids need adults to play a parental role. So, we’re trying to fgure out how to give host families the support they need.

These kids are different than typical foster kids in the child welfare system. Their separation and trauma comes from a very different place than the local kids in

foster care. Many of them have a lot of life skills and want to be settled, and safe, and in school, and usually don’t appear to be playing out their trauma. There’s no question they have experienced intense trauma and loss but are private and try to do their best to get settled in a new country and move forward.

There are some older boys that seem to have fewer life skills and have been fending for themselves for a while. They’re not oppositional or doing bad things, but basic expectations like showing up for school on time and catching the bus are challenging. But once they get somewhere, they’re delightful.

How is this organized?

Sadly, there is no formal system. No one is legally in charge. DHHS won’t take custody of these kids - even the younger ones.

We need more adult mentors who can have a signifcant presence in kids’ lives. We have been putting the word out through personal networks like faith communities and word of mouth. Immigration attorneys have cautioned us against using Facebook as a tool to publicize our need for mentors.

I work closely with Welcoming the Stranger, and the Maine Immigrant Resource Coalition is reimbursing her for small money to help kids get phones, reimburse host families for out-of-pocket expenses and legal fees.

How did you get into this work?

My last job was in the commissioner’s offce at DHHS. When LePage was elected, we all exited. I had decided I wasn’t’ going to get another full-time job, and I got an email from the school social worker at Deering High School that she had a young student from Burundi that was losing her housing.We live across from Deering High School, so I called the social worker and

offered to meet and have her stay with us through the end of the school year. But by the end of the school year, she was part of our family.

Two years later she had a full scholarship to Wheaton College, and then married a man she knew from Burundi that was also here. And now they have a twoyear-old.

Through that process I learned that she was one of many immigrant youth in Maine. At the time they needed a guardian, but ILAP had no capacity to match people to guardians.

We also did the state part - going through state court to have the kids declared abandoned or neglected so they could legally get a guardian. My husband had worked as a guardian ad litem for years, so he helped recruit attorneys.

I had worked on the marriage campaign against discrimination, so I had a network to put out the word to. This was in 2013. We probably got seventy kids to get guardians and green cards, and then they could apply for FAFSA funds for higher education.

What types of help are you looking for today?

A couple of things have changed. The feds created the Special Immigrant Juvenile status in conjunction with the child welfare system years ago because kids who may not themselves have asylum claim could be in danger if they went

home. In most states the child welfare system took custody. But Maine didn’t have [legal] language needed to allow kids to fle until they were 21; they had to fle by 18.

Now, we have kids who are 18 to 21 who we want to help through the system. So ILAP [Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project] created a unit to help those kids, so we send all the kids to ILAP frst.

During Covid there weren’t as many kids coming in, and we couldn’t move kids to host families. Now, we’re starting to get families’ attention again, but in the meantime, these 18- to 20-year-olds haven’t been in school, and many have lost housing.

We have a bunch of kids coming from the border and are hard to house. The adult shelters aren’t a good place for them, and we are hustling to keep them off the streets. We’re desperate just to get safe housing. And the numbers of families and children are increasing, so ILAP is saturated. They can’t provide legal assistance for everyone.

How can people help?

We need money for legal assistance so that we can help more kids.

In terms of housing, we need two types of housing. Families who have room to house children under 18 and would consider taking guardianship so we can start fling. We’re also asking for families who have the availability to safely house kids even if they can’t take guardianship.

For kids over 18, most of them are still in high school. We’re looking for people who can just provide a space and are willing to live with a teenager. The kids have to know what the rules are. Most of the host families are happy to connect with the school social worker, but our most successful host families are people who either know teenagers and people who have enough room so that they have some privacy.

All the kids are eligible for General Assistance, food vouchers, and MaineCare, so most of them already have that. The host family has to fll out a form for their house to be inspected, and then they get reimbursed about $500 to $600 per month.

PelotonLabs is a coworking space in the West End of Portland, Maine with a mission to connect and encourage people working on their own to manifest their visions without fear.

Lucky Hollander, a volunteer coordinating support for immigrant youth. -Courtesy photo

How do kids end up in Maine without their parents?

Every month PelotonLabs co-founder Liz Trice interviews a local community member. This month, Liz caught up with Lucky Hollander, a volunteer who is coordinating support for unaccompanied immigrant youth.

Selby Shoes Etc

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220 Maine Mall Road, South Portland Monday - Saturday: 10am - 8pm Sunday: Closed We are maintaining a safe and enjoyable shopping environment!

Layne's Wine Gig Presents GEN MIND MELD

By Layne V. Witherell

My neighbor recently gifted us a bottle of wine as a sign of appreciation for watching their cat. It was the classic kind of wine that I, and the other 22.9 % of the population known as Boomers, absolutely adore.

BOOMERS

Chateau Haut-Sarpe, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, 2016, Bordeaux, ~$40.00-$45.00 bottle

Opened for an hour before serving, it was full bodied (70% merlot-30% cabernet franc) and after six years of aging it was drinking beautifully, tasting of mushrooms and terroir of Bordeaux soil. A wine you think about, it brought out black currant notes and was perfection with a rare steak.

That’s us. We are out there in our Boomer World while the rest of the demographic generational food chain is in the middle of what I refer to as a Gen Mind Meld. It is a delight to savor a wine

like this at the peak of its drinking glory and to extol it. Sadly, too many people are venturing away from the classics and are missing extraordinary wine experiences.

GEN X, MILLENNIALS

A good deal of my current thought is due to a fascinating book written by a Gen Xer who takes on the persona of a Millennial - and does it well. The book is “Godforsaken Grapes: A Slightly Tipsy Journey Through the World of Strange, Obscure, and Underappreciated Wine” by Jason Wilson.

The title refers to the now retired famous wine critic Robert Parker and his tirade against the new generation of younger wine writers and sommeliers in the biz, who “espouse with enormous gusto and noise grapes and wines that are virtually unknown. That’s their number one criterion. Not how good it is, but how obscure it is.”

That is the classic “you longhair hippie sommeliers get off of my lawn” moment. Mr. Parker, everybody is inventing and trying new stuff from new places and grapes. Some of it is, sadly, “a fantasy of marginal producers” (as says Michel Bittane, the dean of French wine critics).

“Godforsaken Grapes” is both a romp, a serious delving into places and

grapes seldom seen, and a bold lesson in thousands of miles of wine geography. It just needs to include a large fold-out map of his travels. But that’s okay.

This is stuff deserving of a live audience, I thought. What I envisioned was a “Generational and Geographical Mind Meld” based on grape ideas, locations, and wines contained in Jason Wilson’s book, together with a few delicious quotes (the guy has some great one liners).

As you probably know by now, I do an event called Layne’s Wine Gig at Blue,

650A Congress Street, Portland, on the third Thursday of each month, from 5 to 6 p.m. It is literally a one-hour standup with four wines, lots of wild stories, and a thing we do as a group called Mendo Blendo. This is my own invented idea of the audience and I becoming our own winemakers by blending two unlikely wines together. And then sharing our thoughts.

Layne’s Wine Gig has had howling fun moments, and this past third Thursday was one of those moments.

CAFE

DasTrocken Reisling and Callia Torrontes from the December Wine Gig lineup.

-All photos courtesy of Layne Witherell

DAS TROCKEN Riesling, Weingut Edelberg, 2021, $20.00 bottle

From Nahe, Germany, from ffty-yearold vines, and it is dry, it says so on the back label. Light, delicate, dry, it could be a good aperitif or work with any fsh (lobster, oh, lobster!). Light stones and steel, a close friend in Rieslings favor (anyone?).

To the right is Paul Grieco, owner of the wine bar Terroir in NYC. After meditating on his photo, I concluded that he looks like the eminent fctional character Don Quixote. He has, for years, been on a quest to get people to drink Riesling, and the reply from the unwashed masses has always been “Eeew… it’s too sweet.”

The key is the alcohol stated on the back label should be in the double digits. This means it is dry.

Grieco’s wine bar, Terroir, is a testing ground for the godforsaken grapes and is the epicenter of his Riesling religious fervor - along with a heavy dose of Metal (Black Sabbath and Motorhead, especially). Of his 83 wines by the glass, no less than 26 are Riesling. There is no escape. This is his kingdom. Paul is the frst Punk Rock sommelier. More power to him.

CALLIA TORRONTES, Argentina,2022, $15.00-$20.00

bottle

This grape is so out there it isn’t even in Wilson’s book. I have tried to bring it into the Gig, but sadly its fan base is so small, it is continually out of stock.

The grape is of unknown origin. In this DNA testing world, that is a totally delicious statement. It probably came from Southern Spain and was trooped into Argentina along with their frst soccer team.

Nonetheless, it tastes like a miniature Gewurztraminer without the over-thetop sweetness or excessive guava attack favors. This appeared, from the moment we tasted them both, as a potential classic Mendo Blendo combo.

I never taste the wines before going on stage but do enough research to make it all fun. The Das Trocken and Torrontes were an all-time Mendo Blendo rockstar combo that transcended geography, generations, and all expectations. We not only made a wine that in Paul Grieco’s words would qualify as “yummy” but one that we could attach a label to with a quote from Jason Wilson calling it, “The Wiccan Book of Love Spells.”

Be careful with trying those reds at home, as occasionally a couple of red blends that I won’t even elaborate on and that didn’t make the cut were like “Noah turning some small mammal away from the ark because it was weird and smelled like bong water.”

After we have thoroughly mixed up the Gen Xers and Millennials, it is time to look at a group that is distinct, apart, and marching to their own drummer, or is being led by bandleaders: The Gen Zers.

GEN Z

HIGH NOON SELTZER, Modesto, CA, 4.5% alc.

A vodka-based seltzer in a gazillion favors that was created by the overwhelming masters of beverage alcohol creation and distribution, the Ernest and Julio Gallo winery – the largest winery in the world. They have been attracting the loudest, most persistent social media stars like Vine Pair (anything Gary Vaynerchuk is involved in is going to show up constantly on your tiny smartphone). Also, look up Barstool Sports (a quirk-centric website) on your phone for a source of hyper commercialized reality.

Boomers have 7,000 Bordeaux chateau to purchase from and Gen X and Millennials can do anything with any grape they want, but here is your world, Gen Z. You thought you chose seltzers, but they chose you.

Low calories, low 4.5% alcohol, low carbs, all natural, sugar free, cholesterol free, no gluten, made with pure vodka, no fattening malt. Just throw in total distribution, pictures of the beach (with you, of course), and “for a limited time only” the RTD - Ready to Drink - world is all yours, preprogrammed and planned.

Seltzers in this form are new and will morph as the gigantic producers and social media people see new emerging needs. Someday, maybe someday, they will have their own Gen Mind Meld.

Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades and was awarded the Master Knight of the Vine for his pioneering work in Oregon. He can be reached at lvwitherell@gmail.com.

www.thewestendnews.com

By Nancy Dorrans

The very frst time I was in New York City I was about nine years old. That summer my family visited dear friends that lived in Connecticut. We all (four adults, four small children, and a toddler) piled in our family’s 1969 Ford LTD for a drive through Manhattan.

I recall tr ying to see to the tops of the buildings from the back seat, but I don’t think I had a window seat. There was no stopping, not even at FAO Schwarz. We did take a fve-cent ride on the Staten Island Ferry as the price was right. From 1897-1972, the fare was fve cents. It went up a few times after that and was fnally eliminated on July 4th, 1997.

I knew I would be back.

Traveling on Vouchers in the ‘80s

The next time I was a twenty something fearless travel agent in the early 80’s. It was the dawn of airline deregulation and there were new airlines popping up everywhere. While not common these days, space available vouchers used to be plentiful for agents.

Traveling on vouchers was risky, especially if you had to be at work on Monday morning. New York Air had started new fight service to Cleveland and held a travel industry kickoff event. All agents in attendance received two free space available roundtrip vouchers!

I invited my childhood friend Lisa from Detroit to join me. She and her brother Marcus were like cousins. An aspiring stage actor, Marcus had just moved to the Big Apple to “Make it there.” He

was living with several other aspiring actors in an apartment above a Chinese Laundromat in Astoria, Queens. Friday night we caught the musical “42nd Street” and had amazing Greek feast afterwards in Astoria. Fresh bread, old friends, good wine, and my frst taste of Taramosalata, a delicious Greek caviar spread!

Saturday was a blur and Sunday morning after brunch I headed back to the airport to wait for an available seat to Cleveland. There was “no seat for me!” that Sunday afternoon or evening, and so I hailed a taxi back to Astoria. Marcus had a friend over and they were just fnishing dinner.

Late-Night with Traffc Cops

Marcus’s friend was heading home on the subway, so I asked Lisa if she wanted to go back out to see more of the city. He said we could join him, and we followed him to the subway. This extra time was a bonus in my mind as we hadn’t had time to see Times Square on Friday night. We followed him and caught the train.

He said the “fun” part of the subway was riding outside so we followed him again, out between the cars, and had a phantom view of the city’s under carriage.

He told us how to get to Times Square and headed home.

After a few stops, two young transit police offcers approached us and asked us where we were going.

“Times Square,” I said.

They told us that part of the city (in the early 80’s) was a lot different on a Sun-

day night than on a Friday night and not so safe. They then invited us to ride the train with them for the next forty-fve minutes until their shift was over and they would show us around. The fearless girl in me was excited for the opportunity! Lisa had to be convinced. It didn’t take long and off we were to the station.

They changed and took us on a locals’ late-night adventure. We stood on the top of a helicopter pad in Brooklyn gazing at the Manhattan skyline. Devoured pizza and beer at their favorite haunt and listened to their crazy tales of life as transit cops. A completely spontaneous and serendipitous bonus evening in the Big Apple! These are the moments that make the best travel stories…

Marcus Makes It

I’ve had many more trips to the city

joyed a successful six-year Broadway run in the original cast of “Kinky Boots”!

A Broadway show is always a draw and the last few times I’ve also been exploring different neighborhoods and out of the ordinary cultural nooks of the city.

I’m already planning to return in April and December. See more details of these New York City 2023 adventures at www. adventure-marketplace/adventures.

“In the New Year, never forget to thank your past years (and experiences) because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future!”

-Mehmet Murat ildan Blessings for a Happy New Year! ~ Nancy

"Kinky Boots" before the show with Dorrans' family in Times Square. To right, backstage at "Kinky Boots" with Nancy's parents and friend Marcus.

-Photos courtesy of Nancy Dorrans

By Peter Dugas

There is a lot to celebrate for climate policy progress in 2022. Most notably, President Biden and Congress grabbed climate victory from the jaws of certain defeat by passing the breakthrough Infation Reduction Act (IRA). But there was also a lot of bipartisan progress on climate. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS Act both passed with strong bipartisan majorities. And most recently the Growing Climate Solutions Act - which empowers farmers and landowners to realize their potential as natural climate heroes - was included in the year end omnibus package. It passed the Senate with a whopping 92-8 bipartisan majority! All this proves bipartisan climate action is not only possible but increasingly rewarded by voters.

Even with this laudable progress, a lot more work must be done to meet our 50% reduction by 2030 target, a minimum requirement for stabilizing the climate (and all human enterprise). Thankfully, we Mainers have outsize infuence on national climate policy. Maine is the only state with both senators on the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.

Here’s a wish-list for policymakers (and worklist for us volunteer citizen advocates) for 2023:

• Maximize the pollution-saving potential of recent legislation through permitting reform. Electricity upgrades must pass PUC reviews for each state affected. Meanwhile, fossil fuel pipelines need only pass one FERC review. Unless this bias towards fossil fuel infrastructure is addressed, the IRA will only achieve 28% CO2 reductions rather than the 40% Congress boasted at its passage.

• We won’t achieve our 50% reductions by 2030 unless we price industrial carbon pollution and return that revenue to every taxpayer. This will beneft most under 60% of the median income level. But most importantly, it forces all industries to innovate away from carbon emissions or lose out to their cleaner competitors. With Canadian carbon dividends paying real benefts and EU/UK carbon tariffs hitting our products starting January 1st, the pressure on the US to fnally join every other nation in the world will only intensify.

• Why stop at 50% reductions when we could go further and strengthen and protect forests around the world (with legislation like the FOREST Act).

• If we add increasing building electrifcation and effciency - particularly import in Maine where we have the oldest building stock in the country – we can achieve 60% reductions by 2030.

So, be thankful for recent climate progress. But also, be thankful that you live in THE most infuential state in THE most infuential country on climate policy. There’s no time to rest and climate catastrophe will not be avoided without persistence pressure on our policymakers. In this new year, resolve to exercise your most powerful voice through citizensclimatelobby.org.

What’s hiding in your walls?

There is something behind your walls, and it’s not just air… It’s the insulation! Insulation is one of the best ways to improve the energy effciency of your house at a much lower cost than other effciency solutions.

Benefts of Insulation

1. Instant Climate Control. By adding insulation or ensuring what you have is what your house needs, the heat transfer rate is reduced which prevents hot or cold air from transferring through the insulated barriers. This means it’s easier to maintain the climate in your home throughout the year.

2. Noise Reduction. For both internal and external walls, increasing the use of insulation can reduce the overall room noise and put a damper on noise generation through the absorption of emitted sounds.

3. Lots of Options. There are a variety of options and accessibility to different types of insulations that can offer a variety of benefts to your home. Some of the material options include fberglass, cellulose, spray foam, mineral wool, etc.

4. Best bang for your buck! Effective insulation can lead to lower heating and cooling costs and increased yearround comfort. Basic insulation can be a very affordable alternative to some of the bigger and fashier products.

How to know where to insulate?

An energy assessment is the frst step towards energy waste reduction. Different tests can identify energy usage and areas of concern, such as high draft areas like attics.

1. Blower Door Test - The home is examined with a thermal camera to fnd air leakage.

2. Combustion Safety Test -Testing furnaces and boilers to determine effciency and ventilation.

3. Thermal Cameras - Uses thermal cameras to identify where insulation is missing.

4. Indoor Air Quality - This test is used to prevent potential air quality hazards and to reduce overall moisture.

How you can make it even more affordable!

Different rebates are available for low- and moderate-income households such as energy assessments, reduced insulation costs, etc. Between $6,000$9,000 in rebates are available to assist in covering costs.

For more information check out Effciency Maine at effciencymaine.com.

By Portland Climate Action Team meets the Third Tuesday of the month, 6-7:30 p.m. \ portlandclimateaction@gmail.com.

Peter Dugas is a Portland resident and volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

We’re All in this Together is a monthly Climate Justice column provided by the Portland chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Dr. Seuss Trivia

1.Before he heard a Who, the elephant Horton appeared in another Seuss book where he faithfully undertakes what task?

2.Which of his most famous books did Seuss write using only 50 unique words, based on a $50 bet with the founder of Random House?

3.A 1984 book that is secretly about the danger of arms races features the Yooks and the Zooks, who disagree about the proper way to eat what food?

4.What industrialist, cutting down tru ala trees and manufacturing thneeds, is the main antagonist of The Lorax?

Mondays at Foulmouthed Brewing and Lazzari

Tuesdays at Ri Ra and Brookside F+D

Wednesdays at Wilson County BBQ

Thursdays at Arcadia and Locally Sauced online @bestworsttrivia

Find the answers online at thewestendnews.com/puzzle-solutions!

THE DUMPSTER

WHERE WE THROW EVERYTHING WE WISH WE HAD ROOM FOR…

Anthony’s Italian Kitchen celebrates its 30th anniversary in Portland’s Old Port… Maddie Niles from the Lawrence High School feld hockey team becomes the frst ME high school athlete to sign a name, image, and likeness (NIL) partnership with a Maine business… The Human Rights Campaign and Showtime recognize Portland-based online educational business Queer Kid Stuff for uplifting LGBTQ+ community… Roux Institute campus sees the return of the traditional rooftop tree aglow… Classical Uprising wins national prize for excellence in American music for its 2021 production

Amazing Grace: The American Spiritual… Kara Wooldrik steps down as head of Portland Trails after a decade of leadership… In craft brewing news… Black IPA Upward Movement by Allagash Brewing Company makes Hop Culture’s Best Craft Beers of 2022… Tony Zeli buys the frst 4-pack out of the cooler of the seasonal DIPA Weary World Rejoices at Bissell Brothers on Thompson’s Point… As of January 1st Maine’s minimum wage is $13.80 per hour…

The Wreath

Middle English wrethe, from Old English writha akin to Old English writhan, to twist before 1100s

Ever green boughs Brown pine cones Red berries, red bow A festive touch

For the season Noel Decorates the door Fun to hang Sad to remove Too fast The cycle of memories Chase past The wreath of time Another year gone A New Year rising

Susan Bassler Pickford (c) 2022 The WEN Poetry Corner publishes reader poetry when space permits. Please send to: thewestendnews@gmail.com Or write to: The West End News, 795 Congress St., Portland, ME 04102

WENA Snapshots Update

It’s not a contest.You will be exhibited. Submit your 3 photos for the West End Neighborhood Assoc. Snapshots project. It’s not a contest, and if the rules are followed your photos will be exhibited at the Maine Irish Heritage Center. Topics are 1) a location in the West End that has meaning for you 2) a neighbor or person you see in the West End 3) something in or around your home. Email to hello@wenamaine.org by Jan. 16 along with a caption and a brief bio.