The West End News - August Arts Edition - Vol. 23 No. 08

Keeping a Tradition of Sidewalk Art Festivals Alive Downtown Portland Fine Craft Show Returns to Free Street

By Tony Zeli

Sidewalk art festivals are a part of Portland culture. For over ffty years, the celebrated WCSH6 Sidewalk Art Festival drew crowds of tens of thousands of art lovers to downtown. It was hugely popular, even before the creation of the Arts District and the First Friday Art Walk transformed Portland in the early 2000’s. Today, the Portland Fine Craft Show helps to keep the tradition of the sidewalk art festival alive.

The Portland Fine Craft Show returns to its location at 120 Free Street, a large private parking lot near the Portland Museum of Art, on Saturday, August 26th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is open to the public and admission is free. All are welcome. (The West End News is a longtime supporter and publisher of the show guide, providing a map of exhibitor booths.)

The Portland Fine Craft Show is known for its high attendance. But it makes sense, Portland loves art, right? So, why aren’t there more shows like this?

“There are so many wonderful shows here in Portland, just in a different format, like makers’ markets,” said Simonne Feeney, Shop Maine Craft Program Manager and Director of the Portland Fine Craft Show. Feeney noted Shop Maine Craft also produces a market called East End Vend, featuring pop-up events hosted by local businesses. “We are seeing a rise in these markets all across the state.”

The WCSH6 Sidewalk Art Festival ran all the way down Congress Street

Though no longer taking over Congress Street (as pictured above in 2017),the Portland Fine Craft Show continues to bring the street fair feel to downtown Portland at its current location in a large parking lot on Free Street (see below).

2023 PORTLAND

FINE CRAFT SHOW

on the street,” said Pa a jewelry maker whose Congress Street. “I think it was real special; the street fair el- ement of it was real fun.”

The Sidewalk Art Fest began to shrink in footprint in its fnal years, leaving the area from High Street to Longfellow Square open for opportunity. There was no substantial fne craft show going in Portland at the time.

“About 2013, I thought if there was a craft show in this section it’d be a winwin for everyone,” said Daunis, and she brought her idea to the Maine Crafts Association. A couple years later, in 2015, the Portland Fine Craft Show held its frst show on the same day as the WCSH6 Sidewalk Art Festival. The shows ran side by side for a couple of years and worked well together. But 2016 was the last year for the WCSH6 festival.

Luckily, the Portland Fine Craft Show continued. They had fve great seasons along Congress Street before the pandemic forced a pause in 2020. The show reappeared the following year in its current location in the Free Street Parking Lot.

hoods of craft artists and to advance the contemporary craft economy,” said show director Feeney. “Craft shows like this one are a valuable aspect of uplifting and promoting craft artists.”

Every year Shop Maine Craft selects three respected artists and curators from the craft community to become show jurors. These jurors score each applicant using guidelines of craftsmanship, originality, and overall impressions. The result is exceptional work gets invited back year after year, but also new eye-catching work makes its way into the show.

Daunis was a juror for this year and loved the opportunity to pore over all the exceptional work which she received sometime in January or February. “There was great stuff. It was a great eye vacation to look at all those beautiful things in the middle of winter.”

from Longfellow Square to Monument Square. It was a day for taking over downtown streets and sidewalks with art.

“It was always exciting when that was

For its eighth season the show features over 100 juried exhibitors. They will exhibit their craft in every category you can imagine, including baskets, ceramics, textiles, furniture, glass, jewelry, printmaking, metalwork and much more.

“Our mission is to support the liveli-

Luckily, you get to catch it all on a summer day while enjoying one of Portland’s great traditions, the sidewalk art festival.

Tony Zeli is publisher and editor. Reach him at thewestendnews@gmail.com. The West End News is a sponsor of the Portland Fine Craft Show and publisher of the show guide.

Page 14

Nancy Dorrans shares arts & crafts from her global adventures

-Photos by Tony Zeli

Thank you to our COMMUNITY NEWS CHAMPIONS for supporting community print news!

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Your support helps us publish local news and information that circulates for free to the entire community. Thank you!

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Family Practice on the River is Now Accepting New Primary Care Patients!

Family Practice on the River

Looking for a PCP? Did you know that in the state of Maine Nurse Practitioners can do everything that a doctor can do. At Family Practice on the River, the CNPs perform physicals, prescribe medicine, refer to specialists and more.

Family Practice accepts most major commercial insurances, Medicare, Maine Care, and self-pay options.

Family Practice on the River is a full-service Healthcare ofce providing comprehensive medical care to individual adults and families.

Here are two of the Practice’s Nurse Practitioners that are currently accepting new patients:

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Best Worst Trivia.........................................15

Book Short...................................................16

Bright Ideas...................................................18

Business & Community.............................7-9

City News & Info ..........................................3

Climate Justice.............................................18

Community Slice..........................................19

Crossword...................................................15

Events...........................................................4-5

Gothic House Series....................................17

La Vida Local..................................................6

Layne's Wine Gig ..................................12-13

Opinion & Letters..........................................6

PelotonPosts..............................................8-9

Poetry............................................................19

Puzzle Page...................................................15

Sudoku..........................................................15

Travel.............................................................14

We're All in This Together..........................18

Nancy Dorrans, Travel & Adventure Rosanne Graef, La Vida Local Stephanie Miller, Book Short Marta Morse, Gothic House Series Jennifer Ruggiero, Bright Ideas Ben Taylor, Best Worst Trivia Liz Trice, PelotonPosts Layne

Caroline Wilmot, CNP. As a Nurse Practitioner, Caroline focuses on Family Practice and has a special passion for Women’s Health. She strives to provide comprehensive care to each patient and is the PCP for many of Practice’s patients.

She earned her degree from the University of Southern Maine and is a true ‘Mainer,’ loving everything that this state and especially the Kennebunk area has to ofer.

Caroline has been with Family Practice on the River for 5 years, before that she gained professional experience at Great Works Family Practice – York Hospital, MMC Breast Center,

Planned Parenthood, Maine General-Express Care Clinics, Richmond Area Health Center and Falmouth-bythe-Sea Long-term-care and Rehab.

Kathleen McKeon, CNP, has been a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2008most recently at Mercy Prime Care in Falmouth. She also has a passion for Herbal Integrated Healthcare. She is a PCP and is accepting new patients as of 9-20-22.

“You’ll never come in for an appointment only to fnd out that you are seeing a diferent provider. You will always get to see your provider and you won’t have to wait weeks or months either.”

Family Practice on the River

62 Portland Road - Suite 47 • Kennebunk, ME 04043 (207) 502-7386

https://familypracticeontheriver.com

WEN is a community newspaper and we need your voice! Share your submissions with thewestendnews@gmail.com or 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 in the August Edition is Friday, August 28th. 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 not necessarily to the publication.

Thank you fo reading!

We are proud to support the 8th Annual Portland Fine Craft Show

WEN is a free monthly publication circulating in Portland and Brunswick, Falmouth, Freeport, Saco, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook, Yarmouth, Saco and Scarborough.

READ US ONLINE @ THE WEST END NEWS .COM

Kathleen McKeon, CNP

Caroline Wilmot, CNP

First of its Kind Program in Maine Brings Housing Relief

Quality Housing Coalition, the Greater Portland Council of Governments, and the City of Portland are offering a frst of its kind housing program in Maine. Project HOME will offer landlords and homeowners who are willing to provide a bedroom, entire home, apartment, short-term rental, or Accessory Dwelling Unit the assurance of guaranteed rent, year-long housing support, and a fnancial guarantee.

“The City of Portland is doing a tremendous amount of work in providing emergency shelter space, wrap-around services, and access to housing opportunities, but we need help in locating additional housing opportunities,” said Portland Mayor Kate Snyder. “I am hopeful this program will be another piece of the puzzle.”

Through Project HOME, each landlord and home share provider will know that tenants come prepared and highly recommended. Also, monthly rent is guaranteed, and Project HOME staff will serve as liaisons to resolve issues on a 24/7 basis. In addition, Project HOME provides a fnancial guarantee for each unit.

Elements of the program are similar to the successful Host Homes program, which the Greater Portland Council of Government and the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition launched in 2019. That program sought to house 148 asylum seekers who were sheltered at the Portland Expo. In 2019, homeowners who took in asylum seekers were not paid rent and the commitment was for three months. Under Project HOME, homeowners will have the assurance of guaranteed rent for one year.

Homeowners and landlords who want to learn more about the program can go to www.qualityhousingcoalition. org and/or contact QHC Program Manager Lucas Schrage at 207- 321-1276 or lucas@qualityhousingcoalition.org.

RECODE PORTLAND City Releases First Edits to Land Use Code

The City of Portland released the frst wave of edits to the land use code under ReCode Phase II. ReCode Portland is the City’s multi-year effort to create an updated and more user-friendly land use code. The new code seeks to advance the goals of the city’s comprehensive plan, Portland’s Plan 2030, in areas such as housing, design, preservation, conservation, the working waterfront, energy, and transportation.

The City is seeking public feedback. Share comments on the draft edits through the Recode Portland website, https://www.recodeportland.me.

Following an open review period, the City will host a series of open houses for the community to share input. Learn about the comprehensive plan at https://portlandmaine.gov/484/Portlands-Plan-2030.

Portland's Newest Park in Underserved Neighborhood

The City of Portland and Trust for Public Land acquired twenty-four acres of land to create the new city-owned North Deering Park.

North Deering Park is close to Lyseth Elementary School and Lyman Moore Middle School. While 94% of Portland residents live within a ten-minute walk to a green space, nearly 1,000 residents in this neighborhood don’t have close-to-home access to a high-quality park. The park has an existing sports feld, pond, forested areas, and informal trails.

Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonproft that works to connect people to the outdoors, has been working with the City of Portland for the past three years to develop the project and secure funding. The project received $400,000 through the federal Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, which is the frst time ORLP has been successfully utilized in Maine. In addition, the acquisition and related project costs were covered through a $160,123 grant from the Land for Maine’s Future Program, an $80,000 commitment from the Portland Land Bank, and a private fundraising campaign led by TPL and Portland Parks Conservancy (PPC).

TPL and PPC are continuing to raise funds to support North Deering Park, including future planning, design, and maintenance for the park.

Busy Day of Six Water Rescues

On July 20th, Portland Fire crews successfully rescued six individuals in two separate incidents on the water. The frst incident occurred off the East End Beach and the second in the Presumpscot River.

At 10:43 a.m., the Portland Fire Department answered an alarm for two swimmers in trouble approximately 100 yards off the East End Beach. Responding in Marine 3, the crew was able to quickly locate one person stranded on a small island. Rescue efforts were redirected to two additional swimmers in the water clutching mooring equipment and eventually a fourth person was also found to be in distress. All were returned safely to shore.

At 4:43 p.m., crews answered an alarm for the report of two children stranded in the Presumpscot River near Forest Avenue at the Westbrook line.The responding Engine 9 crew was able to quickly locate the two children, clinging to a bridge and a submerged log approximately 50 feet from shore, the strong current and high-water causing them to submerge intermittently. Recognizing the urgency, three PFD members aggressively entered the river with a life ring and personal fotation devices for the children. The children were safely removed from the river with the help of Portland and Westbrook crews. There were no injuries to the children or the frst responders reported.

and so much more...

Immersive Art Experience, Encounters, Comes to Bayside

August 4 - September 1 (Wed. – Sun.) / 10 a - 11 p / Maine Studio Works (170 Anderson St, Portland)

The Hill Arts (formerly St. Lawrence Arts) has a new name, look and feel! However, the mission and commitment remain the same:

Mysterious visitors have come to Portland from another world... or time… or dimension… We’re really not sure. They have left behind wonderous pieces of art and technology for us to experience. Come encounter this otherworldly collection of interactive art pieces and learn more about these visitors.

Encounters is a one-of-a-kind, interactive immersive pop-up art event coming to Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood for the month of August. A combination of a theme park, art gallery, and performance space, visitors will “encounter” an otherworldly exhibit of art, technology, and unique live performances.

Encounters is an experience for all ages. Our 6,000-square-foot gallery space will provide an intimate venue for live performances by Firefy the Hybrid, MF Dynamics, Iam2.Us, and Viva on Saturday nights. For an updated list of performances, visit Chroma2four.com/encounters.

12/3 Andy Happel 2nd Annual Holiday Hootenanny

76 Congress Street s www.thehillarts.me s 207-347-7177

“Working with my partner Cindy Thompson of Transformt and our collective of artists, we are thrilled to be a part of this groundbreaking art experience,” said James LaPlante, of Chroma2four and Sputnik Animation. “This unique art experience is created by a growing community of artists passionate about experimenting

with technology and art to bring new and wonderful experiences to Maine.”

A portion of the proceeds from Encounters will be donated to Creative Portland to support the creative economy in Maine.

Encounters arrives during the First Friday art walk on August 4th. This otherworldly art experience will captivate visitors throughout the entire month, culminating on Friday, September 1st. Find tickets at the door or online at www. chroma2four.com/encounters.

-Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY EVENTS AUGUST

Creative Portland’s Free Summer Stage Concert Series Back at Monument Square

Fri, Aug. 4 / 5 – 8p / Monument Square, Portland / FREE

Creative Portland returns with the Summer Stage Series, a live showcase of local musicians, in collaboration with the City of Portland. On August 4th, the alternative local indie music venue, Apohadion, will co-present during Creative Portland’s monthly First Friday Art Walk (FFAW) from 5 to 8 p.m. in Monument Square. The First Friday shows are scheduled to include local bands Trashton N’ Thee Bandits, Peach Hat, JoJo, and S.C.O.B.Y., and Maine Academy of Modern Musicians will return in October to showcase student performances.

New Mainers on Stage

Fri, Aug. 4 / 6p / Congress Square Park, Portland / FREE

Join us for the New Moon Ensemble, live dance and drumming of Guinea, West Africa, with special guests Theo Martey and Sayon Camara. As an ensemble family

Portland’s First Friday Art Walk, the Immigrant Welcome Center showcases a vast array of musical talent among the New Mainer community. These events take place in different locations around Portland. All are welcome to attend and listen to these talented performers. The concerts are always a joyous occasion! Made possible with the generous support by the Onion Foundation.

WENA Annual Picnic

Tue, Aug. 8 / 5:30 - 7:15p / Harbor View Memorial Park, Portland / FREE West End Neighborhood Association (WENA) hosts their Annual Picnic on Tuesday, August 8th, from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m., at Harbor View Memorial Park. Please bring your own picnic and chair or blanket. WENA will provide water, dessert, and napkins. Music by The Flukes! Falmouth Library Ukulele Society around 6:30ish. No Rain Date.

Medea Benjamin Book Tour

Sun, Aug. 13 / 6:30 – 8:30p / State Street Church, Portland / FREE

Medea Benjamin, of Code Pink, brings her book tour to Maine, stopping frst in Portland on August 13th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the State Street Church, 159 State Street, Portland. In the search for vitally important discussion, we invite you to a gathering with Medea Benjamin,

author of “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Confict,” coauthored with Nicolas J S Davies, with a preface by Katrina Vanden Heuvel. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by Peace Action Maine,Veterans for Peace, and the Cumberland County Greens.

Portland Fine Craft Show

Sat, Aug. 26 / 10a - 5p / 120 Free St, Portland / FREE

Join us for the Eighth Annual Portland Fine Craft Show. Located in the heart of Portland’s art district, with 100+ juried craft artists from all over Maine and the greater Northeast area. Find basketry, ceramics, decorative and wearable fber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, printmaking, stone, and wood as well as several outreach booths from Maine arts organizations and sponsors. (WEN is an event sponsor and publisher of the show guide, located in this edition.)

Western Prom Sunset Concerts

Free concerts starting every Wednesday evening, one hour before sunset at the Western Promenade Park until August 16th.

Aug. 9 - 7:00 p.m. - KATIE MATZELL

Aug. 16 - 6:30 p.m. - FAKI-CONGOLESE BRASS BAND

LoveLincolnPark Summer Concerts

Friends of Lincoln Park are once again presenting a free concert series on Tuesdays, 6 to 7:30 p.m., until August 8th. Concerts are free to all. The last show is: August 8: The Renovators play original rootsy-rock, blues, soul, swing, country, and a lot more.

THE LADLES W/ LOUISA STANCIOFF

PETE KILPATRICK BAND

THE PORTLAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA MR. SUN

KAT WRIGHT

BILLY KEANE & THE WAKING DREAM

TOM DIMENNA SINGS GORDON LIGHTFOOT

MAIA SHARP

CORNER HOUSE @ CONGRESS SQ. PARK | FREE

TAYLOR ASHTON

NEIL PEARLMAN & KEVIN HENDERSON

LUCY KAPLANSKY W/ LARRY JOHN MCNALLY

GUY DAVIS

FUNKATIONLAND

GENTICORUM

JULIAN LAGE

THE PORTLAND JAZZ ORCHESTRA

PARK | FREE JONATHA BROOKE

MUSIC + EVENTS

THE ABYSSINIANS W/S/GS ROOTS, RHYTHM, & DUB

AUG 10, 2023 - 8:00 PM

PORTLAND

www.baysidebowl.com

La Vida Local: Irregular Notes on West End Life Harbor View Memorial Park?

By Rosanne Graef

Harbor View Park was built on rubble from the destruction of the Million Dollar Bridge that once spanned the Fore River from Brackett Street to Ocean Street in South Portland. Houses were torn down making room for a fat lawn area along York Street and a (somewhat) terraced slope was created leading down under the Casco Bay Bridge to Commercial Street.

For years the area along the Fore River from around Becky’s to Cassidy Point was pretty much abandoned. Campers lived along the water side of Commercial Street, usually pretty well concealed amid the trees and abandoned junk. The railroad tunnel under Clark Street was another place for camping, as was the secluded area under the bridge. The numbers would ebb and fow, but tension and friction between the campers and residents wasn’t all that palpable.

Things started changing, though, with the Great Recession and the ongoing opioid crisis. The train tunnel and the area under the bridge were fenced in, although some people managed to still fnd access. The empty area along Commercial Street developed quickly with Eimskip, Portland Yacht Services, the VA Clinic, etc. Where were campers to go?

Meanwhile, Harbor View Park itself seemed like a lonely outcast, celebrated only on St. Patrick’s Day. There was no money for programming and amenities –just some for landscape maintenance. The park was looking pretty forlorn.

Fortuitously, the City of Portland made an agreement with Maine Medical Center that, as part of its Institutional Overlay Zone Regulatory Framework, a Neighborhood Advisory Council would be formed. It includes representatives from the fve neighborhood associations of areas most heavily impacted by MMC’s expansion projects. One result has been that MMC instituted the Caring Community Grant program to help those neighborhood associations carry out projects benefcial for their residents, businesses, and visitors. In 2017 the West End Neighborhood Association, under the leadership of Pamela Shaw, secured one of these grants for Harbor View Park.

The funds were instrumental in accessing expert advice on planting and nurturing a number of improvements such as the tiny forest, the edible hillside, the meadow, a small collection of chestnut trees, as well as benches, and picnic tables. In addition, the grant energized a team of volunteers to take on the physical work

Letters to the Editor

Hoping ‘Portland Gothic House Part III’ will directly address slavery

I have enjoyed reading “The Portland Gothic House and Cuba Connection,” but I am waiting to hear Marta Morse directly address the fact that Cuba’s economy was based on slave labor. In 1837, Horatio Fox arrived in one of his uncle’s ships to begin his life as a businessman. A quick look at the Wikipedia article, “Slavery in Cuba,” shows that 123,577 additional human beings were forcibly taken from their homes in Africa and arrived as slaves in Cuba between 1821 and 1853.

Just as Marta provided context in Part I by pointing out the effects of urban renewal, so Anne’s description of the frst day of grinding on the sugar plantation should have noted that this labor was being done by slaves. Cuba was one of the last countries in the world to make chattel slavery illegal in 1886.

Our past and present lives are complicated, and I hope Part III will include a more complete picture of the past families in the Gothic House.

-Beth Bussiere, Portland

Local News is Good for Business

By Dean Ridings CEO, America’s Newspapers

of removing years’ worth of knotweed and black swallowwort. Good things were happening at Harbor View.

But where are we now? Lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, fnancial, mental, and physical problems, and scores of other tribulations abound. The number of people without housing and living in encampments continues to grow, including on the slope at Harbor View.

Recently the City decided to work intensively with one encampment at a time to get people housed. First was Fore River Parkway, next Marginal Way Park and Ride. What about the 20+ tents on the slope at the public Harbor View Park?

In addition to the city ordinance against camping in public parks, just about every posted park rule is being broken by campers. There’s trash, human waste, needles, late night noise, and threatening and intimidating behavior towards residents who live next to the park and people who want to walk between Commercial Street and the West End.

Harbor View Park itself, the people in the encampment, the residents who surround it, the scores of volunteers and visitors who brought the park back to a lively, loved location deserve better than this — sooner, not later

Rosanne Graef lives in the West End and is a regular volunteer contributor. Email her at lavidalocalwen@gmail. com.

It’s no secret that recent years have been tough on small businesses and on newspapers. A bipartisan bill, the Community News & Small Business Support Act, that has been introduced in Congress would offer relief to both newspapers and local businesses. For too many newspapers, help can’t come soon enough. Economic challenges have resulted in too many communities seeing their local newspapers being forced to lay off staff, cut back on publication days or – worse yet – close. On average, two newspapers are closing each week. That hurts local businesses and residents in the long (and short) run. However, despite the challenges, what remains true is that local newspapers make a difference in their communities.

But, don’t just take my word for it. Let’s look at the numbers and why America’s Newspapers has been pushing for the Community News & Small Business Support Act to be introduced.

A recent national study of 5,000 Americans over the age of 18 was conducted by the independent research frm Coda Ventures for America’s Newspapers, and provides compelling evidence of the importance, relevance and vitality of today’s newspapers in the American media landscape.

Readers told us that their local newspaper makes a difference.The study shows that 79 percent of Americans read/use local news “to stay informed” about their cities, counties, and communities. They also said they rely on their local paper to feel connected to their community, to decide where they stand on local issues, to fnd places and things to do, to talk with people about things happening in the community, because they fnd it enjoyable/ entertaining and to be a better citizen.

And, contrary to popular belief, readers across all age groups turn to local newspapers and their digital products to stay informed about their communities.

Readers also told us they need more local news from their community paper. As one survey respondent in California said, “Our paper keeps getting smaller. I would like to see more news items, what’s happening in town, what’s new in politics, etc. And they need to be quicker to respond to breaking news.”

All of that takes a committed, local staff – something the legislation introduced by Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-1) will help to make happen.

So, what would this legislation mean to your local community?

Local businesses with fewer than 50 employees would receive a fve-year non-refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 in the frst year and up to $2,500 in the subsequent four years based on their spending level with local newspapers and local media. Our study showed that six out of 10 American adults use newspaper advertising to help them decide what brands, products, and local services to buy. Newspaper readers also are almost twice as likely to purchase products from a number of important advertising categories than non-newspaper readers, including: automobiles, trucks, and SUVs; home furnishings; home improvement products and services; and home services like pest control, plumbing, heating, etc.

With this legislation, we expect to see more businesses being able to afford to advertise to consumers, which – in turn – helps communities thrive.

For local newspapers, a fve-year refundable tax credit would help them hire more journalists to bring you more news! It’s a win-win for local communities. Newspapers would receive a tax credit to be used for the compensation of journalists. The credit would cover 50% of journalists’ compensation in the frst year and 30% of compensation (up to $50,000) in the subsequent four years. This tax credit would only be available to local community papers with fewer than 750 employees and, if they don’t invest in their newsroom, they don’t get the credit.

And these tax credits are only available to local newspapers. National newspaper outlets are not eligible.

The importance of local newspapers and local business is the reason Reps. Tenney and DelBene introduced the legislation. We are most grateful for their support.

We need your support, as well, to encourage legislators to enact this legislation. Please contact the offces of your senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress and encourage them to add their support to this legislation. These tax credits aren’t permanent; they will sunset in fve years. But, these critical fve years will allow the newspaper industry the time needed to address the challenges that it is facing from Big Tech, which often uses newspapers’ content without compensation, as well as other technological and market challenges. Visit www.usa.gov/ elected-offcials for the contact information for your legislators.

More local reporting means more access for hometown news that citizens like you rely on. And stronger newspapers mean stronger advertising vehicles for local businesses.

- Photo courtesy of Rosanne Graef

Gorham’s Corner Gets Colorful Makeover (with Safety Improvements)

Gorham’s Corner, a 5-way intersection in downtown Portland, gets asphalt murals and pedestrian safety improvements

By Tony Zeli

Who’s behind those fashy new crosswalk murals at Gorham’s Corner that have been so popular with the selfe taking crowds? The answer is Portland Trails, the well-known nonproft that maintains over 70 miles of trails and green space in and around the city.

But the project is not just some bright colors to make the tourists happy. It’s a demonstration project to prove that even this fve-way, downtown kerfuffe inducing intersection can be made more pedestrian friendly. With help from project partners Portland Downtown and the City of Portland, the intersection now features traffc calming and pedestrian-friendly elements, including two new crosswalks and a fveway stop, in addition to the asphalt murals.

“Portland is known as a pretty walkable city. However, this intersection always felt dangerous and unpredictable for pedestrians because of fast-moving cars and two missing crosswalks, which isn’t appropriate in the heart of downtown,” said Jaime Parker, Trails and Active Transportation Manager of Portland Trails.

The corner is also home to the John Ford statue, which honors the legendary flm director, a native of Portland.

“We believe that our streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, and trails all need to work together to create a better transportation network that supports this amazing city,” Parker said.

Portland Trails hopes this project will address these long-standing safety and navigation issues at Gorham’s Corner –

where Center, Fore, Pleasant, and York streets meet – and do so in a low-cost way that is easy to replicate.

“The temporary nature of this project will show us what works and what doesn’t, giving us the fexibility to reroute our efforts, as needed, before any permanent construction takes place,” said Portland Downtown Executive Director Cary Tyson.

The colorful murals at John Ford’s feet will not last long on the weather and foot worn roads, but they’ll last for years in our social media feeds. The murals are by local artist Jill Perry of Pamplemousse Studio, who created the work for free. The largest mural reads, “Smile, you’re in Portland,” over a blue and red backdrop. The other four murals feature nautical images like a lighthouse, a whale,

an anchor.

Museum of Beadwork Opens in Portland

A new museum in Portland will feature the art of beadwork. The Museum of Beadwork opens its doors for the frst time this August, kicking off with a Grand Opening Gala on August 4th.

The museum’s mission is to illuminate the history of beads throughout the world and to explore the cultural and artistic signifcance of beadwork in art and adornment across cultures and around the world. Located on Forest Avenue in Portland, adjacent to Caravan Beads, the Museum of Beadwork will open to the public on August 5th.

This project was possible thanks to additional project partners Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Ransom Consulting, LLC, and Toole Design. No City of Portland funds were used for this project. All materials, planning, and labor were donated.

Anyone with questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this project may contact Portland Trails at info@trails.org.

Tony Zeli is publisher and editor. Reach him at thewestendnews@gmail.com.

The new museum is the creation of Portland native Heather Kahn, museum founder and co-owner of Caravan Beads, and archaeologist Kristina Skillin of Falmouth, who serves as Director and Head Curator.

The museum has already held one juried competition, Wings & Stings, which explored the world of beaded bugs. Its 47 new works will be on display at the museum’s Grand Opening Gala on Friday, August 4th at 5pm. The Museum of Beadwork is located at 915 Forest Avenue, and will open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more: www.museumofbeadwork.org.

and

Temporary safety improvements at Gorham’s Corner include bollards and new crosswalks. -Photos by Tony Zeli

Markos Miller on Franklin Street

Every month PelotonLabs co-founder Liz Trice interviews a local community member. This month, Liz caught up with Markos Miller, an educator and founding member of the Franklin Reclamation Authority, a community group with a mission to rebuild and repair the unfortunate design of Franklin Street, a.k.a. Franklin Arterial.

What got you started in this?

In 2005 I became the president of Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Organization. The city was fnalizing its peninsula traffc study, which called for doubling the width of Franklin Street. I had thought about going back to grad school for urban planning but decided instead to dig in and get involved in local issues. I read the study, reached out to staff and councilors, built some community support, and got the plan delayed.

Then we realized we needed to create a better alternative, so we formed a group and called it the Franklin Reclama-

tion Authority. We hosted a workshop with a short training on design and history of the site and broke people into small groups to create new designs. It was very constructive.

We shared our report with city manager Joe Gray, who, ironically, had started his career in Portland as a young planner working on Franklin. Joe Gray helped us fnd some funds to do a Phase 1 study with three alternative designs. Our task force met twenty-two times in a year and a half, and people started to see Franklin could be different – not just a no-man’sland flled with cars. We had a huge design charette at Ocean Gateway with over one hundred people.

This Phase 1 plan created three options: an Urban Street, pushing the two streets together; an Urban Parkway, pushing the lanes to one side and have a long lateral park from Back Cove to the waterfront; and an Urban Boulevard that had through traffc in the middle and side streets with slower traffc. But there were other ideas too, like building buildings in the median.

We shared our visions with PACTS

and MDOT and GPCOG, and they found a larger amount of money to do a Phase 2 with proper traffc engineering and a lot more people involved. That probably started in 2009-2015. We involved neighborhood and bike activists, and people wanting to make sure the cars could get into town as fast as possible, and we agreed on a plan that would free up fve to six acres of land for redevelopment.

The vision was to have dense urban buildings and to reconnect as many of the cross streets as possible, and to restore the part of Lincoln Park that was chopped off when the Arterial was made. So that plan was adopted in 2015. I never thought I’d be involved with this for most of my adult life!

Why should people care about Franklin Street? What’s the history?

Portland is this great walkable city with architecture and history, and when you get to Franklin Street, it’s clear that something drastic happened here. The street network is disrupted, and there were no sidewalks up or down Franklin at the time we started. People cross illegally at the “desire lines” across the median… it was so incongruent with the rest of Portland.There’s lots of land, but you can’t use it and you can’t get to it safely. Having lived in other cities, and traveled, I knew that Franklin could be the kind of street that moves cars and is still a great place to

work, and live, and hang out and play.

In the early 1900’s, Franklin Street was a typical two-lane street neighborhood with mainly Jewish, Armenian, and Italian immigrants. The area was “redlined,” which means it was hard to get a loan to buy or fx up properties. After the Great Depression and World War II some buildings fell into decay. Wealthier families moved into the West End, and there were cheap loans for white people to move to the suburbs.

In the 1950s there was federal money to demolish slums, and the Franklin Street neighborhood, including Portland’s Little Italy was demolished. Then the 295 highway was built to bring the people who had moved to the suburbs back into the city for work.

What we see now is just the frst phase of the “Patterns of Progress” plan by Victor Gruen, the inventor of the shopping mall. The plan was to have high-speed

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‘Don’t close yourself off to who your allies might be!’

Markos Miller. -Courtesy photo

traffc going under Congress and Cumberland so that trucks and cars could get quickly down to the waterfront, and local streets parallel on either side. Cumberland and Spring streets were also part of the plan to create a highway ring road around the city. It stopped when West End residents realized that the ring road would also bulldoze part of their neighborhood and they put a stop to it.

It’s a story of political power. The immigrants and renters couldn’t stop their neighborhood being demolished, but wealthier residents in the West End could.

What’s happening now?

The city has recognized the need to move forward with the plan. They’ve created an RFP for an urban design consultant to revisit the plan and get it to a shovel ready status, so that it’s eligible for funding. New federal funds like the Reconnecting Communities program are

coming, which is specifcally for cities that were disrupted by urban renewal.

We have a group working to show the potential to build housing on the fve acres of reclaimed land. Part of the Portland Housing Authorities’ plan is based on that reclaimed land adjacent to Franklin Towners, Kennedy Park, and the county courthouse. The community could decide which parcels to sell to private developers versus give to Portland Housing Authority or affordable housing developers. We’d love to see mixed use development!

When you think of Franklin as a place where thousands of people could be living, it becomes a neighborhood again instead of a mini highway.

How can people get involved?

What’s it been like to do this work?

You can contact councilors and the

city manager, and say you support the redesign of Franklin Street, and say you support as much housing as possible. You can share your vision.

I want there to be a public event that people can attend and say, “Hey! Let’s fx Franklin Street and build a bunch of housing!”

What would you advise to other people who want to make a change in their community?

You CAN make a difference. Don’t close yourself off to who your allies might be.

It’s important to build respectful working relationships, even when you’re frustrated or disappointed. It would have been easy to get mad at the senior planner at the time, Bill Needleman, but I sat down with him and got to know him. He would research my questions, and we built a re-

lationship over time. Bill is a close friend now. It’s so easy to vilify anyone who disagrees, but it’s always good to give people the beneft of the doubt.

Don’t do it alone. I may be just one person, but there are so many other people who supported and made things possible.

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.

PelotonPosts is produced by PelotonLabs and WEN provides free column space. Publisher-editor Tony Zeli is a coworking memeber at PelotonLabs.

Source: IBI GROUP DRAFT STUDY REPORT - FRANKLIN STREET FEASIBILITY STUDY - PHASE II

Layne's Wine Gig Presents FAVES

By Layne V. Witherell

A few of my recent faves:

Thierry et Pascale MATROT BOURGOGNE

Chardonnay, France, 2020.

alcohol monsters of California, but a creamy light fruit and mineral laden graciousness that is pure. As the quality and size of the vineyards get progressively smaller the concentration of mineral richness increases. As does the price. Sadly, the entire world is clamoring for these limited bottlings.

The simple fact is that the family vineyards are both miniscule and increasingly divided generationally (per French inheritance laws). Owning 45.5 acres of PRIME Burgundy vineyard real estate is a big deal, but when you boil down the actual little parcels it is almost incomprehensible that the world sees any of this stuff at all. Matrot’s wines come from over eleven handkerchief sized parcels, mostly less than an acre in size.

This is Burgundy from the hallowed little 35-mile strip of limestone that is home to the world’s greatest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The favor of these wines isn’t the buttery, laboratory induced, high

So, what does all this mean to us – the people who wish to drink it? This wine can range in price locally at retail from $20 to $30 a bottle or more. It means simply that $84 plus of your hard-earned dollars, should you purchase a case, just went into the retailer’s pocket – above their 30% plus percent proft. I call this Increased Proft Driven Infation. Where there is too much demand and not enough supply this happens. Also, White Burgundy is deliriously good with lobster.

Here’s what you do. Get out your trusty phone and shop prices.

Wine-Searcher.com will give you a list of sane prices. Call around to local shops and see if they have the wine or can get it at a reasonable markup.

PRAZO De RORIZ Duoro, Portugal, 2019.

Should run around $20. Prats and Symington produced. This is the modern incarnation of that old classic Port, but as a dry, 12% alcohol table wine. It is still fairly under the radar in terms of demand, so you needn’t frantically price shop around.

This brilliant collaboration of an oldline Bordeaux producer (Prats) and their British/Port estate owner Symington rework the local Touriga National grape into a delicious, dry, aromatic, fruity, full bodied, spicey red wine with a hint of blackberry tinge. The classic earth of Bordeaux (terroir-offcial word) mingling with ripe fruit and sunshine of California make this a new treat from the classic grape. There are lots of producers working on this new template. Chapoutier and Joao Portugal Ramos to name a couple. Just keep your eyes peeled.

If you wish to chase the grape, it has been planted in Priorat in Spain, Paso Robles, California, Washington State, and Australia as well. We will be seeing lots

more of these wines in the future.

Should you wander down to Gordonsville, Virginia the Horton winery produces Dio (short for Dionysus, the famous Roman wine god) made from the Touriga National grapes they pioneered in the state, $30 a bottle.

LA CIGARRERA MANZANILLA Sanlucar, Spain $30.00 bottle

I haven’t had this wine in close to a decade. The problem with Spanish Sherry is that we expect it to change for us, or to be less complicated. Let’s get to know it better and not worry about planting new grape varieties, reducing the alcohol, or making it more of a friendly nondescript table wine. It is apropos that we discovered it once again at the newest bar for locals, The End, across from the Eastern Cemetery in Portland. Sherry exists on its own.

Great Sherry in this form and style is a saline, seaweed, and salt centric powerful drink that like its cultural counterparts – the bull fght and famenco – look more Cont'd on Next Page

toward the past than the present. The palomino grape – grown in chalky soil, aged in ancient barrels, and fortifed up to 17% alcohol – is perfect in small cold pours accompanied by local ham, olives, and nuts. It is not a dumbed down concocted beverage for those frightened of gluten, calories, or alcohol.

Sherry can be the soul of Spain. I know; I have lived there.

Sherry is also both confused and misunderstood.

STYLES OF SHERRY COOKING SHERRY

Cheap and rarely from Spain. A typical example is Kadem Gourmet Sherry Cooking Wine, gluten free, kosher. Too many to mention. FAUX in every way.

FINO

Dry, fresh, fortifed, and refreshing. Drink it chilled right out of the fridge with shellfsh. Store it cold.

MANZANILLA

Has a salty tang from the ocean. La Cigarrera is a small bodega of 11,000 cases named after the cigarette sellers of the 19th century. A benchmark of the region.

AMONTILLADO

Aged Sherry that is mellow and complex. Edgar Alan Poe was in his element because it was the connoisseur’s wine of the 19th century with passionate afcionados doing anything to obtain it. Read “The Cask of Amontillado” for inspiration.

OLOROSO

Dry, nutty, meaty. Great with Spanish ham.

CREAM

Your grandparents Sherry.

PEDRO XIMINEZ

Different grape nicknamed P.X. and different place in Spain. Dark, treacly, and can age forever. The best, oldest examples can fetch in the hundreds of dollars (and that’s for a half bottle!).

There are several ways to get to know Sherry. First, purchase Talia Baiocchi’s book “Sherry: A Modern Guide to the Wine World’s Best Kept Secret.” Or get out your phone and look up the Equipo Navazos website and scroll through listings of the hole-in-the-wall bodegas and wine clubs. Barbadillo is a favorite in all categories from light-style cheap to the most venerable.

Start your journey at Chaval, our local French/Spanish restaurant at 58 Pine Street in Portland. They have an admirable list of well cared for Sherries by the glass with interesting authentic accompaniments to enjoy them with.

MOULIN A VENT JEROME JANOTET 2021, $16.99 bottle.

Beaujolais region of France made from the Gamay grape, which will outperform in favor and price many overrated, overpriced pinot noirs that I have tasted this year.

The top villages, or “crus” as they are known, are seriously striving to overcome the “nouveau affiction” that gave the entire region and its wines a much-deserved bad rap for both low quality and elevated prices. Nouveau was made and marketed for quick, celebratory consumption that ran out of steam a few years back.

Moulin a Vent is both the fullest bodied and longest lived of the “cru” Beaujolais, with some superb examples taking on the characteristics of both great pinot noir combined with great longevity. Some have been reported to pass the ffty-year cellaring mark.

This is dark, superbly balanced, intensely fruity, but not sweet and can be drunk on its own as an aperitif, with a salmon dish, or with a steak. It will last and improve its complexity over the next fve plus years.

These are my faves based on a whole lot of wines tasted over the past few months. Stay tuned, there is always more to come.

-All photos courtesy of Layne Witherell 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.

This is not a pinot noir, and frankly, I am bored with reading about the latest “It Girl” pinot noir revolutionary discovery. No, this is a wine from a top village in the

Art & Crafts from My Adventures

By Nancy Dorrans

Every work of art has a story, whether the story of the idea, the artist, the craft, or the story of the work itself and where it was created. Then there is the story told of when and how the work was acquired. This you might say is the story of the beholder. Over the years I’ve brought back an eclectic collection of art from my travel adventures, and each has a story to tell...

When I was a little girl my great Aunt Mary had a basket of colorful alabaster marble eggs on her coffee table that her father had brought from Italy. I got the idea to collect my own eggs when I frst traveled to Italy. My basket is now a menagerie. The frst four or fve eggs are polished marble from Florence.

There’s a hand carved alabaster egg from Egypt and one of Malachite from Zimbabwe. Three small eggs from China, a painted Aboriginal egg from Australia, a wooden egg from the Dominican Republic, and a piece of decorated pottery I found along the Mediterranean coastline. Perhaps it is a relic from the lost city of Atlantis!

From Panama I brought home several handmade Molas. Each cloth panel has layers of bright colored fabric sewn together in a reverse appliqué technique. Originally used as part of the traditional women’s clothing of the Guna people, each Mola tells its own story. I used to do needle work and truly appreciate the amount of work that went into these beautiful geometric intricate designs.

From Switzerland came an intricate wooden bowl like those used by the dairy farmers to hold cream and cheese. It has no nails or glue. A true wooden craft that

now holds non-dairy hair accessories.

From Egypt I treasure an intricate painting on papyrus and a silver charm I gave to and have since inherited back from my mother. It is the Egyptian Eye of Horus. The Egyptian Eye is a symbol of protection, royal power, and good health.

From Zimbabwe I have many treasures: a batik wall hanging, an intricate zebra pencil sketching, a stone carving of kissing giraffes, several wooden carved animals, and a Marula necklace. The artist claims the Marula seed on the necklace passed through the digestive system of an elephant. The seed was “cleaned” of fbrous fruit in the process and was then mined out of the dung. I wear this story proudly!

Most special to me, however, is a painting of giraffes done by a young girl in a village near Victoria Falls. While she had no use of her arms and hands, she adapted and created works of art by painting with her feet, bringing pride and

support to her family and community. Sadly, the stone statue of kissing giraffes was knocked (by my elbow) off balance and shattered soon after the photo was taken.

My Own Art

The last three years are a bit blurry. During the pandemic I developed a “pandemic passion” for painting and bourbon. Maybe the bourbon is the cause for the blur? Hard tellin’... For me, painting is meditative. Meditation, painting, and a wee dram now and again helped me through the pandemic.

My pandemic paintings are a series of postcard size works from favorite photos. My friend Carl saw my collection and commissioned me to paint him something. I needed more than “something” to go by. He said he liked trains, and he gave me a postcard of the Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland. This is a much larger piece for me. It took quite a while. I added a caboose and sunny day. Carl was thrilled.

So, enjoy your art and the stories it tells, whether you received it as a gift, created it yourself, or found it at the Elephant’s Walk in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Nancy Dorrans with the artist that made that giraffe statuette at Elephants Walk Shopping and Artist Village in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

-All photos courtesy of Nancy Dorrans

Nancy Dorrans is founder of Adventure Marketplace... Navigating travelers on authentic, nurturing, global and local adventures since 2014.

“Bound for Glory,” Painting on canvas by Nancy Dorrans

Nancy Dorrans Travel Group Expert

Art History Trivia

1. What painter was known for her portraits and self-portraits was the first Mexican artist to be featured in the collection of the Louvre?

2. Artist Henri Toulouse-Latrec was a legend of Parisian nightlife in the late 19th century, and he's played by John Leguizamo in what 2001 musical film?

3. For a period from 1901 to 1904, Pablo Picasso painted mainly using shades of what color?

4. Unsurprisingly, in the work "Musicians in the Orchestra" by Edgar Degas, what type of performers can be seen in the background?

Mondays at Foulmouthed Brewing, Lazzari

Tuesdays at Ri Ra, Brookside F+D

Wednesdays at Wilson County BBQ, Elsmore BBQ in SoPo

Thursdays at Arcadia, Locally Sauced, Goodfire online @bestworsttrivia

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

ANSWERS

‘The Woman They Could Not Silence’

Review by Stephanie Miller

One summer morning in 1860, Elizabeth Packard, a housewife and mother of six, is committed to an insane asylum by her husband of twenty-one years.

Sadly, Elizabeth is not the only sane woman in the institution. No one is willing to fght for their freedom and because of their gender and the stigma of their presumed madness, they are unable to fght for themselves. However, it is Elizabeth – intelligent, charismatic, visionary, and unshakeable – who nearly single handedly gets married women a legal claim to their own lives.

Mr. Packard was well within his legal rights. In fact, married women had absolutely no legal standing: they could not open a bank account, earn money (or inherit it), fle a charge, or appeal any judgements.They were 100% the property of their husbands. When she gets to the ward, Elizabeth meets many other women who tell the same story she does. They are committed to the asylum simply because their husbands wanted them out of the way. Conveniently labeled, “crazy,” their voices are silenced, their persons become invisible.

I know I will see many raised eyebrows for recommending a 600-page, non-fction hardback book during beach reading season. Stick with me, because best-selling author Kate Moore’s “The Woman They Could Not Silence” is fast paced and unputdownable.

Elizabeth realizes a few months into her incarceration that the merit of losing everything is that you no longer have any-

by Kate Moore

thing to lose. This woman never gives up. She initially trusts the medical director of the asylum. His approach is to get the women to admire and even love him, so they will recognize a male authority fgure and thus be more accommodating to their husbands and fathers. As she starts to document the treatment she receives and witnesses in the asylum, Elizabeth slowly awakens to the reality of the battle she is in with this man. She is truly alone in this – he intercepts, reads, and holds all her inbound and outbound mail.

Finally, she forces his hand and he and her husband must give her a trial. Of course, it’s up to her to prove she’s sane. The account of the trial is fascinating and the stuff of drama. Spoiler alert: she wins. But she does not stop.

Elizabeth becomes an activist for married women’s rights. She is abandoned by her husband (beaten in court, he takes all they own and runs away with the children), and she is not legally allowed to earn money. So, she does the 19th Century version of a Kickstarter campaign: she goes door to door selling subscriptions to a pamphlet she hasn’t written yet, which she promises will expose the fraudster psychiatrists and advocate for every woman incarcerated in insane asylums to get a trial.

Spoiler alert: she wins. But she still does not stop. She takes on cause after cause and earns such respect and authority that she is invited to sit with the allmale state legislators and write new laws protecting the rights of married women as citizens.

I was amazed to learn of this mostly forgotten heroine of human rights. Her resilience, kindness, and industry, and her unwavering dedication to her children

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

and fellow asylum prisoners, are inspiring proof that justice can be found when the force of a determined woman is behind it.

Micro Shorts

‘The Daughter of Time,’ by Josephine Tey

Scotland Yard detective Alan Grant is trapped by injury in bed, bored and cranky. He turns his mind to a long unsolved puzzle: whether King Richard III of English murdered his nephews, the Princes in the Tower. Long condemned as a monster, Grant starts to suspect King Richard was innocent of the crime. But can 40 million schoolbooks have it wrong? Selected as the greatest mystery novel of all time in 1990 by the Crime Writer’s Association, this is one of Tey’s best. It’s out of print, but available for the persistent in great used bookstores (I found mine at Green Hand on Congress) or on ThriftBooks. com

‘Love and Saffron,’ by Kim Fay

Oh, this is a beautiful story and lovely read. It’s perfect for the beach or a rainy afternoon (anyone experience them this summer?!). But bring snacks, because the letters that make up the novel – which start out as fan mail and end up as friendship – cover a lot of good food. This is

a story of deep connection across one thousand miles, a generation, and widely different experience. But in the end, it’s these two pen pals that end up seeing each other truly, and clearly, and lovingly in a correspondence that changes both their lives.

‘Shrines of Gaiety,’ by Kate Atkinson

In 1926, with the country still recovering from the war, London’s nightclub scene exploded into being. Nobles rub shoulders with gangsters, flm stars, writers, and dignitaries; and girls sell dances for a shilling. The queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless, ambitious, and determined to advance her six children. Atkinson weaves an engaging plot with enigmatic characters, pitting the dazzle of the dance foor with an underbelly of darkness where it is easy to become lost.

Bayside resident Stephanie Miller is a voracious reader and bibliophile. Find her online @StephanieSAM.

Elizabeth Packard.

The Portland Gothic House & Cuba Connection

Part III: 19th Century Life in the Gothic House

By Marta Morse

Current resident, Marta Morse, explores the history of the historic Portland Gothic House in a three-part series. Part I tells the story of the Gothic House’s big move across town to save it from urban renewal in the 1970’s. Part II looks at letters from former Gothic House residents the Fox family as they write back and forth from Cuba to Portland.

When we left the Fox family, it was 1865 and they were reacting to news of Lincoln’s assassination with shock even though they were far away, busy with trade in Cuba. Then the Ten Years’ War, an uprising for Cuban independence, began…

Fox Family Returns to Portland

The Ten Years War was precipitated by increased taxes and Spain’s refusal to grant Cubans autonomy. The United States urgently called its citizens to return home, leaving business and plantations behind. At the time, harvests of sugar cane were plentiful, hogsheads of molasses flled, and all seemed content. Granted, Spanish colonial soldiers had been riding through the various estates, letting workers know they were being watched.

Pobres niñas… The six little girls in the Fox family were unconsolably. They had just been told they were to leave home…. ¿Por qué? Family stories differ and it is diffcult to pin the exact date of the arrival in Portland of mother Mercedes and her six little sisters. Sailing from Trinidad de Cuba, up the eastern Atlantic coast toward Portland Head Light, Casco Bay, and the City of Portland took almost a week. The arrival of ships were watched from Munjoy Hill Observatory (1807) and families alerted.

Sails lowered, paddle wheels now steered the ship bringing the Fox family home to the Gothic House. Horse and buggy awaited the family at the Commercial Street dock. Big brothers Carlos and Enrique greeted the arrival of mother and sisters. Traveling along with them was a servant and pet parrot screeching, “¡Trinidad!”

Up the hill they drove, glad to be on land, after the long journey. In fact, 1873 is the frst date the city of Portland has Mercedes listed as a resident of 40 Spring Street, the former location of the Gothic House. Horatio Fox, listed as merchant, arrived in 1875.

Tia Sarah Jane (1809-1883) was there to greet them when they arrived. How the family was to ft in the house was the least

of anyone’s concern. Everything would be challenging for the girls: Anita, Rosa, Carmen, Mercedes, the twins Serafna and Carola, along with four brothers. The house was small compared to the space in Trinidad.

It helped that the wooden Gothic Revival house was on a residential street with space all around. The small garden at the back included the privy. Sleeping was done in one of the rooms upstairs where many slept together in large beds. Some rooms had a freplace for warmth. All quickly learned that cold weather required many more layers of clothing.

The weekly bath took place in the kitchen in a tin tub with buckets of water warmed on the cast-iron kitchen stove. Water was from roof gutters, supplying a basement cistern or an outdoor well. People then used a modest amount of water each day for cooking, washing clothes, and bathing. The 1866 fre that devastated businesses in Portland’s center found citizens approval of the formation of a Portland Water Company.

Three years later water arrived from Sebago Lake. Some natural springs existed and the “Mariners Spring” of 1754 probably named the street the Gothic House was on. Indoor privies were required years later. The girls were young women by then, and the stairwell at the interior back of the house became a bathroom for frst and second foors. Quick exits down fights of stairs for the privy eliminated.

With the arrival of Mercedes and daughters the household became a female domain… heads of the kitchen and the chamber, including the chamber pots! Women provided “creature comforts” and clean clothes. Widowed Tia Sara welcomed added support. Her nephews had been providing wood for the fres and buckets of water for the kitchen, but she now had help from her sister-in-law and the girls.

Fox family men were busy during business hours. Ample supply of wood for the kitchen stove and four freplaces was necessary and monies for stocking the larder not to be forgotten.

Horatio Fox (1815-1902)

The City’s census provided business addresses for the Fox men, providing insight into diverse family interests. Horatio lived in the house until his death in 1902. He had an active life, twenty-six years as clerk at Portland Customs House…

“Mr. Horatio Fox one of Portland’s most genial and kindly citizens as well as one of the last

survivors of those who made the name of Portland famous throughout the West Indies many years ago, passed away at his home on Spring Street yesterday at the ripe old age of 87… Nineteen years old sailed for Trinidad, Cuba… (Later) Eaton, Salford & Fox, also Portland men had proftable business in molasses and sugar… United States Council (Cuba)… while in Cuba married… twelve children…”

Last of the Fox Family at the Gothic House

In 1940 the Gothic House and remaining interior artifacts were put up for auction by the last Fox family resident, Anita F. Thompson (1861). But, not before the Gothic style living room lamp took its residence at the New York Metropolitan Museums Gothic library.

Harken, the parrot calling ¡Trinidad!… The years pass by… Wallpaper, faux grain wood, and history unite with the new. Salmon became the background color for new artwork. A white foor with painted hall rug, silver tray for calling cards as trumps l’oeil on bright green walls. Tour visitors voiced approval, especially those who knew the past dark woodwork and walls.

Many years later, I formed a friendship with Rosa and Elisabeth Corey, great

granddaughters of Horatio Fox. They shared many wonderful stories.

Previously…

Read Parts I and II about the Gothic House’s big move to save it from urban renewal and about the Fox family in Cuba online at thewestendnews.com.

Marta Morse is a freelance photographer who has shown prints at galleries and diverse venues around the country. She has lived at the Gothic House since 1986.

Daughter Anita Fox Thompson (1861).

-Family photos given to Marta Morse by Rosa and Elisabeth Corey, great granddaughters of Horatio Fox.

Twins, Sarafna & Carolina (1860-1938 & 1940)

CLIMATE JUSTICE

We’re All in This Together Live Better Electrically

By Tom Berry

Chances are, you’ve seen, or heard, ads encouraging Mainers to take advantage of tax incentives and rebates offered through Effciency Maine to improve the energy effciency of your home or business, and thereby save considerable amounts of money.

And chances are, if you’re anything like me in a former time, you may have been aware of Effciency Maine for a while but have never quite gotten around to really checking it out. For some of us, procrastination can weave a powerful spell. As a certain Cuban saying translates: “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.”

Such was my case until 2014, when my wife and I fnally decided it was time to put our old monitor heater (remember those things?) into virtual retirement and replace it with Effciency Maine’s help.

We purchased an HVAC mini-split system and realized within the frst year that we wished we’d made the change sooner. When we had relied on the monitor as our sole source of heat. We had to buy 100 gallons of K1 several times every season, totaling about $1,000 to $1,200 per year. Now, we only crank up the monitor for brief stints when it’s near zero degrees out - and we haven’t had a K-1 delivery in almost 10 years. Adding an EM-rebated HVAC water heater a few years ago has not only markedly reduced our electric bill but has also dehumidifed our basement - eliminating a chronic problem with mildew. An unexpected bonus!

We are all lucky to have Effciency Maine - which is helping our state be a

national leader in energy effciency. In fact, one in ten heat pumps sold in the US are sold in Maine!

Because Effciency Maine is separated by law from the state utilities, it is unreservedly looking after the welfare of our wallets. In other states, where effciency agencies are governed by the utilities, they may well want to save customers money, but not too much money. After all, they’re connected to the ones selling the oil, gas, and electricity.

My recommendation? Don’t be like me. Don’t waste time procrastinating. If you haven’t already done so: Get Pumped! Heat pumped, that is. And check out the array of other solutions and incentives designed to help homeowners, businesses, and municipalities reduce energy costs. Visit https://www.effciencymaine.com and see for yourselves.

And, to learn more about the federal funding to be provided through Effciency Maine by the Infation Reduction Act, check out the Go Electric IRA Guide and IRA Savings Calculator.Visit the non-proft Rewiring America at https://www.rewiringamerica.org.

It really is time to Live Better Electrically. You’ll not only save a decent amount of money, you’ll be doing the planet a big favor.

Tom Berry is a retred speech-language pathologist and 30-year resident of Kennebunk.

Garden for Fun, Food, and to Fight Against Climate Change

By Jennifer Ruggiero

As we collectively attempt to navigate the climate crisis and fnd ways to reduce environmental impacts on an individual level, carbon is usually at the forefront of the conversation. While we reduce consumption, switch brands, and change habits, there is something right out your backdoor working in your favor. Your yard and garden are chugging along working as a carbon sink.

A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores carbon-containing compounds, thereby removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbon sinks, or sequestration strategies, are being deployed globally. Typically, it refers to large swaths of land being set aside for reforestation/afforestation efforts, or even ocean space for kelp forests. However, gardening also contributes to this effort. Whether for fowers or food, admiring the latest bloom or crop brings joy, satisfaction, even pride. Now it can bring you one step closer to achieving your personal climate goals.

It goes without saying there are techniques (pesticides) and equipment (gasoline mowers) that negatively contribute to overall efforts. In general, though, if you’re looking for ways to increase the carbon capture of your backyard, there are some easy things to do.

Selection. Different plants have different capacities for carbon capture. For instance, a tree captures more carbon

than grass. Perennials capture more carbon than annuals.

Diversifcation. Planting a cross-section of plants, specifcally native types, improves soil health and supports wildlife.

Retention Bare soil is at risk for losing carbon. Keeping it covered in fall and winter, or ensuring ground cover during growing months, will keep carbon locked in the ground.

Reclamation. Use compost as fertilizer. It diverts food waste from landflls, reduces the production of harmful methane when food waste is locked away in landflls, and makes use of yard trimmings.

Incorporation Nitrogen is crucial to carbon-fxing. Instead of turning towards commercial fertilizers, consider incorporating nitrogen-fxing plants for the assist.

Sometimes the choices we must make to ensure we aren’t causing harm to natural cycles are diffcult. However, gardening doesn’t have to be one. With some simple switches your backyard could be your number one ally. Wouldn’t it be great if each yard offset the carbon use of the household?

Check out how local organizations are helping: Wild Seed Project and SoPo’s 100 Resilient Yards.

Bright Ideas by the Portland Climate Action Team (PCAT), meeting the 3rd Tuesday of the month, 6p: portlandclimateaction@gmail.com.

HILLTOP SUPERETTE’s

SLICE FROM THE PIE

TOSSING UP THINLY PREPARED INDIVIDUAL SERVINGS OF COMMUNITY NEWS…

A mobile free pantry is parking next to UFF on Anderson Street… Give what you can, take what you need…

Portland Downtown holds a contest to name a new city street sweeper and the winning appellation is Meryl Sweep

The Portland Public Library Bookmobile returns to Longfellow Park in the Oakdale neighborhood on Mondays…

In centennial celebrations news… St. Christopher Church on Peaks Island celebrates 100 years with Mass, dinner, and reception… And Maine Irish Heritage Center’s home, the historic St. Dominic’s Church hosts the marriage of Rebecca Joy Burke and Nicholas Geotis one hundred and one years and one month after Burke’s great grandparents married there… North Optical moves to a new location just down the road at 68 Washigton Avenue… One Longfellow Square hosts the second Square to Square Outdoor Concert featuring The Gawler Family for free in Congress Square Park… And the Maine Offce of Tourism unveils a refreshed brand…...........

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Summer Rain

Middle English reyn 1100s

A summer rain passed through last night

Without thunder and lightning

Just high winds

Rocking the giant mast trees by the lake

The English felled these trees at will

For their ships over four hundred years ago

To sail the seven seas of their empire Americans rebelled - and won

This was the winter of our discontent

Our country has grown and prosperedNot always without troublesome storms or devastating hurricanes

The Civil War, the World Wars, the never-ending nameless wars

- Despite internal growing pains

But what are we experiencing now? Discord, disruption, discontent

Disturbance writ large

Which we must again rebel against and win

If we are to remain Americans

After the summer of our discontent

A soothing, needed rain passed through last night

A gentle breeze now moves the tall trees

The sun now sparkles

Wet leaves now shimmer

On the becalmed lake

Peace is Beautiful

-Susan Pickford

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Summer

Sand and sun Summer fun

Playground laughter

Picnic after In the mood

Tailgate food

Hammocks swaying Children playing Birds mating Outdoor skating

Enjoy summer

Winter‘s a bummer

By Elaine Carver

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