Remembering Franklin County : stories from the Sandy River Valley

Snow swirled around the first Sandy River settlers in the winter of 1780, testing pioneering spirits. But the founders proved tough and able, incorporating Farmington in 1794 and soon establishing other towns, raising crops, building roads and institutions and bringing Franklin County to life. Former Lewiston Sun Journal columnist Luann Yetter describes the early years, the rumored Indian attack that led to the discovery of Rangeley Lakes, the World War I sacrifices of Company K and the Weld baseball player who managed Babe Ruth\u27s Red Sox to two World Series championships. Yetter also notes the delinquent debt collected by Paul Revere, the murder suspect who made history by (unsuccessfully) defending himself and the near total destruction wrought by the flood of 1869. Describing war, wealth, industry and oddity, she reveals the richness of Franklin County\u27s past.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1075/thumbnail.jp

Profile of Barbara Skapa, a Maine wild mushroom entrepreneur and United Nations

Profile of Barbara Skapa, a Maine wild mushroom entrepreneur and United Nations economic consultant, and of her Mount Vernon-based mushroom business Mycelles Inc. Skapa is able to maintain both careers because the Maine mushroom season lasts only six to eight weeks, from the onset of cool nights in September to the first hard frost. She employs about sixty harvesters who search the woods of Maine\u27s western mountains for highly vaued chanterelles, armillaria pondersa, sulfer shelves, and boletus mushrooms. Skapa, who maintains collecting stations in South China and Anson, where the mushrooms are inspected, sorted, and quickly shipped to urban areas, says that experienced pickers can average $200 to$400 a day in a good year, half that in a bad one. Recently, Skapa has been considering reintroducing ginseng to Maine. The state once produced the highest quality gensing, which is used as both a food and a medicine. The plant was picked to exhaustion during the Depression of the 1930s

Making It In Maine, piece on Allan Mac McHale, 64, who established the Old T

Making It In Maine, piece on Allan Mac McHale, 64, who established the Old Time Radio Gang six years ago to recreate the sound and ambiance of old live radio shows. McHale has fond memories of the Maine music scene of the thirties and forties. As a boy he attended live radio broadcasts in Bangor. His band has made four albums, and his music is played by radio DJs for fans all over the world

Making It In Maine piece about the Different Drummer Workshop in South Solon,

Making It In Maine piece about the Different Drummer Workshop in South Solon, which makes toys. The business was started by Frank and Mary Lou Ripley, more than two decades ago. Mary Lou has taken over much of the production and Frank handles the packing and shipping. The bulk of the company\u27s customers are in New England, but the toys are shipped to gift shops all over the country, including Alaska and Hawaii. The Different Drummer Workshop has gross sales of about $65,000 a year

Portland\u27s past : stories from the city by the sea

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized Portland, Maine, as the beautiful town that is seated by the sea. In this volume, Maine author Luann Yetter presents the stories from its past that not only showcase this exquisiteness but also illuminate its diverse and exciting history. The founding members of the Forest City braved the harsh winters, but not without scandals and struggles. One man raised a navy to fight the Barbary pirates threatening ships that sailed from Casco Bay, and privateers brought rum onboard and ashore. And while one Portlander traded slaves, many others worked the Underground Railroad as staunch antislavery crusaders. Discover Portland from its beginning as uncharted territory through to its development into the quintessential New England city it is today.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1076/thumbnail.jp

Article about sculptor David Pollock, who has a retreat in Fayette, west of Augu

Article about sculptor David Pollock, who has a retreat in Fayette, west of Augusta, and a home-studio in Scarborough. Pollock is famous for his wooden flowers, which are so delicate and lifelike they have adorned the windows of Tiffany & Company in New York City and sell for up to $17,000. Pollock, a native of Biddeford, also designs jewelry

Bar Harbor in the roaring twenties : from village life to the high life on Mount Desert Island

From the end of the Great War until the onslaught of the Great Depression, Americans had a good time, and nowhere was that more true than in Bar Harbor during high season. Amid peace and prosperity, the wealthy flocked to Mount Desert Island, foxtrotted at the Swimming Club and tangoed at the Dreamwood Ballroom on Ireson\u27s Hill. Rumrunners made covert pickups from isolated coves along the Mount Desert Narrows while Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and Astors coasted serenely in and out of Frenchman\u27s Bay. Horse-drawn carriages found a haven in the quiet roads of Lafayette National Park while roadsters sped along Bay Drive. Year-round residents faced brutal winters, but even then they had spirited celebrations with Winter Carnivals and Hayseed Balls as the \u2720s roared on in Bar Harbor.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1077/thumbnail.jp

Making It In Maine, piece on Portland native Glenn Gaudin, whose Northeast Woo

Making It In Maine, piece on Portland native Glenn Gaudin, whose Northeast Wood Products supplies Maine curly maple to buyers who have historically looked to German wood for making violins. Gaudin initially came to Maine to find the right wood for his violin shop in Boston, but his wood business quickly grew, and he returned to Maine to devote himself to it. He looks at thousands of logs a day to find the two or three he wants and says the best curly maple in the Northeast can only be found in Maine

Making It In Maine piece on three of the state\u27s small businesses. With profi

Making It In Maine piece on three of the state\u27s small businesses. With profiles of Arthur Mitchell of Temple, owner of W.A. Mitchell Chairmakers; James Taylor of the York-based furniture-manufacturing business James M. Taylor and Company; and furniture maker Dennis Saindon of Deer Isle

Teaching Matters, Volume 3 : Essays by Faculty and Staff of the University of Maine at Farmington

Essays by the faculty and staff of the University of Maine at Farmington. Edited by Linda Britt Forward by Edward Sernahttps://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1096/thumbnail.jp