History on My Shelf and In My Backyard: Frances Perkins

One of two books I've read this summer with Maine as a connected setting is Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. The story is more character and story-driven rather than focused on place. However, the historical nature of the book highlights a local-to-me place that I was glad to finally visit after reading the book. 

Becoming Madam Secretary was a fabulous historical fiction read about Frances Perkins, the first woman to sit in a presidential cabinet as the Secretary of Labor for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is in the vein of many historical character-driven stories that are being dug out of the history books and fleshed out by creative and research-driven authors. It was a fascinating and worthwhile read. Much can be said about Ms. Perkins and her contributions to labor relations, length of work days and weeks, and social security. She had quite an influential career and not just at the federal level. She cut her teeth working at Hull House in Chicago and in Hell's Kitchen in New York City and for the city and New York state. This book also delves into her personal life, her marriage and her relationship with her daughter, which was not easy to balance with the demands of a job tied to the White House, as well as friendships that influenced and supported her during her career. She paved a solid path for women in politics, and she knew she had much to prove. 

The Maine connection is that her grandparents lived in Newcastle, a small rural town in Lincoln County that sits in from the immediate coast along the Damariscotta River. The Perkins Homestead is still standing and has a vibrant new destination by President Biden in 2024 as a National Monument. 

Back view of homestead

It has been a historic site for some time, but since the site's designation as a National Monument, the home and grounds have been getting a bit more attention. I attended an open house earlier this season, and while the brick Colonial is currently closed to visitors, the barn and grounds are open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. and for special events. (See the Facebook page for updates.) A new welcome center is open, and the barn, built in 1837, has a self-guided exhibit "The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins," about her family's history on the 57 acres along the Damariscotta River, and highlights of Frances' career. As FDR's secretary of labor she is credited with many helping to create programs, laws, and policies we take for granted, such as social security, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Fair Labor Standards Act, anti-child labor laws, minimum wage, and more. The barn also has antique farm implements on display, and a fun full-size cutout of Ms. Perkins as a fun photo spot. There are gardens and a walking trail through fields and woods to the shoreline. At trail's end we found remnants of brick, presumably leftover from the Perkins' brickmaking enterprise. The trail map marks foundations from 18th-century buildings, remnants of a garrison built for neighborhood protection during the years of the French and Indian War, a clay pit, and the brickyard site. 

The river view includes 
an oyster farm, 
 a new staple of the area.

While the house is currently closed, we found the self-guided tour in the barn to be interesting, and the trail is wide and an easy walk. I recommend the book especially for those with an interest in women's or labor history and U.S. historical fiction. Maine does not figure into the story much, but it is mentioned as Frances’ summer home as a child. The family influence and affection for Maine was mentioned throughout. We learned at the barn that her parents also lived at the homestead for a time until they moved to Massachusetts.

 The Frances Perkins Homestead is an easy way to get a history lesson,     take a walk, and enjoy Maine. The book is a great addition to your to-  be-read list. The website and Facebook page has a lot of resources and  links to talks and articles on Perkins.

On My Shelf: A Doctor's Maine-Based Island Memoir

Recently I was able to travel to Vinalhaven, an island in Penobscot Bay. I hadn't been there since high school decades. Island life is definitely intriguing, and a different way of life. 

Maine State Ferry Service 
dock on Vinalhaven

Soon after that someone handed me Go By Boat. I thoroughly enjoyed  Dr. Chuck Radis's stories about launching the first health clinic on  Peak's Island, a year-round island community in Casco Bay, off  Portland, Maine. 

Although some of the health stuff may not be to some's taste (it doesn't get too graphic), the stories of hardscrabble, tough Maine people, who live on an island rings so true to my experiences of growing up in  Maine. I loved it. Radis talks about his personal growth in learning how to manage the care of year-round and seasonal residents on four islands, plus his duties at the Osteopathic Hospital of Maine in Portland, raising a young family and buying his first boat. Here is a caring doctor trying to do his best by the people, providing them with good care (in one instance he was coerced to perform a procedure he was comfortable doing at his kitchen table), and riding a ferry across and around the bay to meet patients' needs. 

Its a slice of Maine and island life and depicts the resilience it takes to live on an island. It is a pleasant story about the work of a caring professional matriculating into a small community to bring health care services in a personal yet professional manner. 

A dock on a
Casco Bay island.

This book is mostly about connection. Radis had to earn the islanders' trust to open his practice (especially because he was not even from Maine originally, often a negative for Maine people with a long family history of living in and being "from" Maine) and work hard to care for them when the weather was terrible or they didn't want to ride the fire boat to go to the hospital in Portland or he wasn't even sure what was wrong.

One very sad aspect of the story was a teenage boy with anorexia. His declining mental and physical health mystified Radis until a terrible secret was revealed and "island justice" took over to provide a safe haven on the island for him again. I won't spoil anything; its heartbreak and healing together. (And island justice is real. It recently happened on Vinalhaven after an attack and death that never saw a conviction come to trial. Its not always best to take the law into your own hands, but in a small island community, being able to trust your neighbors is very important, and the story he includes here illustrates that. Content warning: Its a brutal story to read in this investigative report and the friends and family of the victim and eyewitnesses are very much alive and still wishing for real justice.) 

Radis does include a disclaimer than most of the people in the book were composites and names were changed. However two prominent characters were depicted as they were known by the community. Its amazing he earned their trust enough that he felt he could write about them. 

View of sailboats between
Casco Bay islands

In a case of synchronicity I've been also reading a very difficult book about the war in Uganda and South Sudan in the 1990s and the Lord's Resistance Army, which kidnapped thousands of young people and enslaved them into brutal training to fight for Joseph Kony. Dr. Radis, I've learned from his website, has been working in South Sudan and Uganda to provide training for doctors and provide support for clean water, schools, and women through the Maine-African Partnership for Social Justice. 

Go By Boat is a fairly short (192 pages in the hardcover edition), easy-to-read book published by DownEast Books, a Maine imprint. I would like to read his other works. Dr. Radis has a website with more information on his books, his nonprofit, and "short stories." 

👉For more information on Peak's Island and how to visit other islands in the Casco Bay, see the Casco Bay Lines website. We've taken the "mailboat" run to sail around the bay or to Long Island many times. You may even get to see one of the smaller cruise ships that dock in Casco Bay, like we did last fall.

The Emerald Princess was 
docked right next to the Casco Bay
Lines terminal. It towered over
everything on Portland's skyline.

On My Shelf: Favorite Maine Picture Book

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey, published in 1952, captivated me as a young child for its simplicity and lovely depictions of young sisters on a day out with their father, who readers are introduced to as he is digging clams down at the shore. My dad was a clam digger all his life, and so I thought the book was written just for me. 

After the opening scene of awaking and helping her baby sister out of bed and dressing, Sal, trundles down stairs to breakfast in a 1950s rural kitchen. Then she skips along to see her father down on the shore where she finds her father digging clams and tells him about her loose tooth. As she digs around in the mud, her tooth pops out, and she is sad because she couldn't find it. 

My father dug clams from the time he was a boy and made a handy living at it for many years. He continued to dig clams even when his body was giving out. He had been a lobsterman and truck driver for various construction operations and seafood wholesalers over the years. But clamming was his go-to. I remember when he would go to other towns for the week to dig, and sometimes my mother and us kids would tag along in a camper for the week. I remember when he would come home from meetings when they were tightening up licensing, and clammers would be restricted to getting licenses in their own towns with lottery-type opportunities to buy non-resident licenses in other towns, and when the size of clams that were "keepers" had to be 2 inches or more. All these changes were to preserve the natural resource and keep it stable. I remember the frustration when red tide (a bacteria) would cause restrictions for digging. I remember being "shushed" during the weather report on the evening news. I remember shifting tides, long and short, early ups and early to beds to make those early tides. I remember my dad coming home from early tides and steaming a mess of clams for his breakfast. (Eww, I was not a fan, only fried clams for me!)

One Morning in Maine was my childhood. Its the first picture storybook I loved and had read to me over and over. I have purchased a copy for nearly every child in my life. I never went clamming much myself. I have two recollections of going along with my dad as a young girl. It was usually where we could walk in and didn't need to take the skiff down river. I was likely a nuisance. I remember one time when rolling thunder could be heard. I was scared. We were out in the open. The storm was far off, and Dad kept reassuring me that it was ok, and we would leave soon, but I kept whining until we left.

The book continues that Sal and her baby sister go to town with their dad, which requires going in their skiff across the bay, to do errands. Along the way, the outboard taps out, and dad has to row. Big sister Sal is more concerned with keeping her little sister safe and big-sistering. I was a big sister, too, so I could relate to her "responsible" demeanor. 

The story is sweet and innocent and a slice of Maine. Sal loses a tooth, talks to a seal, falls on the slippery seaweed, and gets an ice cream treat in town. Its lovely. The drawings are line drawings and the coloring is black and white with some background color, but it all represents that time period of Maine coast well. This will always be a favorite. 

Robert McCloskey was not born in Maine but in Ohio. He landed in Maine sometime after he started his family. Apparently they resided on Scott Island, a 6-acre island off Deer Isle, in the summers. I found this article stating the daughters, Sal and Jane, (who are the girls named in One Morning in Maine), finalized donating the island to the Nature Conservancy in 2017. 

Here is a video showing the town where Sal and Jane and their father went in the book.

McCloskey is known for other Maine and New-England based story books, Blueberries for Sal and Make Way for Ducklings (Boston). In the Boston Public Garden there is the now-famous installed sculpture representing the ducks. They often are dressed in garb representing a holiday, a happening, or in support of a cause. 

I also came across a play based on One Morning in Maine. It will be playing in May in Ellsworth!

The local agricultural fair in Union, "Maine's Wild Blueberry Festival," will have a permanent mural installed at the fairgrounds from McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal. Sarah "Sal" McCloskey is also scheduled to read her father's book during the fair. 

I love this book and highly recommend any of McCloskey's books for children. He also has the Homer Price and Centerburg Tales series of children's chapter books, which I enjoyed reading to my son as a grade-schooler. 

More info on Robert McCloskey, the reluctant book illustrator and author. 

Favorite Beaches: Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve

Tucked into a quiet little cove just east of New Harbor on Route 32 is the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve. What's not to love with the salty air, ocean blue views, wading (or diving!), creatures, rocks--the Maine coast! It is named for Rachel Carson, a scientist, environmentalist, and influential writer, who had a home in Southport, two peninsulas south. She researched the ocean (including at this very salt pond) and the negative affects of DDT. Her books and articles changed views on the ocean and conservation and effectively helped to see DDT banned.

There are other places in Maine with her name attached to it, but this one was dedicated to her in 1970 after the area was donated to the Maine chapter of the Nature Conservancy, which she helped start, in the 1960s. It wasn't until recently that I learned there are wooded trails on the other side of the road, but I have not had a chance to explore those yet. 

The salt pond at low tide.

From the rocky beach is a view of the ocean, peninsulas on either side, and the large tidal pond for exploration. It's not a big area or marked by a parking lot or large sign. If you blink you might miss it as trees and roses edge the road obscuring the view of it, although after it in either direction are ocean views, cottages, and rocky beaches more visible from your car, and to me they are quintessential Maine. Parking is along the road. Its not the most accessible place for all. There are steps over the embankment to the beach where you can sit and ponder, listen to the waves, stick your toes in the water, hum to a hermit crab or snail, look for sea treasures, or build a rock cairn. 

This season's visits have included foggy and sunny days as seen in my photos, wading, looking for pretty rocks, and breathing in the salt-laden air. Summer in Maine is the best time to visit the ocean.

Read more about Rachel Carson's legacy on the Nature Conservancy page. 

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells, York County (more south), is also a beautiful natural environment open to visitors. 

Triptyph of the salt pond and rocky beach.

Maine Seasons: Owl Hunting and a Winter Walk at Ocean Point

Even though I grew up in the Midcoast, there are many parts of it that I have yet to explore or even visit once! One such place is Ocean Point, East Boothbay! I had never even heard of it until a Boothbay native friend told me how beautiful it is. The more recent attraction is the Snowy Owl that has been sited the last two weeks in the neighborhood. This is supposedly rare to see in the U.S., but the Cornell Lab "All About Birds" website seems to indicate they often come south from their breeding grounds in the Arctic this time of year. 

Ocean Point Preserve.

So on a mild 40-degree Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we went owl hunting, but we did not see her, although my friend had earlier in the morning. We did get to enjoy a lovely walk at Ocean Point preserve. The walk is less than a mile (.9) through lovely woods with a place to bird watch at the marsh and/or Tibbetts pond. Or you can do the short, short walk of .2 miles that leads straight along the pong to the marsh lookout and avoids the more narrow forest trail. It has been such a mild January that the ice only partially skimmed the pond, so no ice-skaters! One part of the woods has many blow-downs. 

No owls of any kind in the preserve, so we drove along Grimes Cove that looks out to Linekin Bay where the owl has most been seen. I was wowed by the views in this summertime community of ocean-front cottages, mostly on raised supports, not foundations. I had no idea this place existed in the Boothbay region, although it reminds me of many other ocean-front communities in southern Maine.

Looking out to Linekin Bay.

There is on-street parking along the water, which I'm sure fills up fast in the summer months. I will pack a lunch, blanket, and book and come enjoy the views again when it is warm enough to stay a while. My son said he felt like he could see forever. While there are long ocean views, there is also a great view of Southport (another ocean-front town that I only visited last summer for the first time) and the Burnt Island lighthouse. We did see many people out walking, a few toting cameras. This owl has caused a stir and a lot interest for photographers! 

I am thankful to live in this beautiful state and to be having such a mild winter in the midst of Covid-19, so that we don't have to be more housebound than usual this time of year. Get out and walk, if you can!

The Boothbay region has many more walks to enjoy! See the Boothbay Land Trust website. 

For more on the owl, read the linked local report.

My friend graciously allowed me to use one of her photos!

Snowy owl sits on a railing in
Ocean Point, Boothbay, January 2021.
Photo courtesy Jean Duncan.

Maine Seasons: Fall Walks and a Real Pet Cemetery

Mackworth Island, Falmouth, Maine

Big creepy tree on Mackworth Island.

Just in time for Halloween, I wanted to share the walk I took a few weeks ago when it was still a warmish early fall day. Mackworth Island in Falmouth, Maine, is a beautiful, easy, and not-too-long (1.5 mile loop) walk with ocean views, forest glens, beaches, a fairy house wood, and a real pet cemetery. Yes, indeed, and that brings to mind how...

Maine is famous for horror writer and philanthropist Stephen King, who wrote Pet Sematary, published in 1983. Not being a fan of horror, I have never read it, although anyone who pays attention in Maine knows most of the names of King's horror novels. They are legendary books and movies in Maine's cultural memory. 

Mackworth Island was deeded to the state of Maine by another famous Maine son and philanthropist, Governor Percival Baxter. He grew up in Portland and inherited the bulk of his family's wealth made in canning. (His father, James Phinney Baxter, started Portland Packing Company with William Davis in 1861.) Percival Baxter attended Bowdoin College like his father and brothers before him. Baxter served in the state senate twice and state house of representatives, and then he became Maine's 53rd governor. He is one of the most recognizable names of famous Mainers. Baxter also gave the state his "cottage" on Mackworth. The state started the Baxter School for the Deaf on Mackworth in 1957. It was housed and run on the island until just a few years ago. It did indeed look dreary, run-down, and out of use, and I was not aware of its history until I came home and read up (some of which is, tragically, not savory at all!). The school now works within the public school system in the area and has outreach to other Maine schools. 

As we enjoyed the quiet day walking the island, we came upon a sign pointing in the direction of the pet cemetery, which is encircled with large stones. Within it is a large stone with a plaque of dedication to Governor Baxter's 14 Irish setters. There are also two headstones. One is engraved in memory of Jerry Roan, a beloved horse. And the other is again engraved in memory "To Gov. Baxter Dogs / For Over 40 Years / His Constant Companions / 1887-1926." It's a little creepy or not depending on how your imagination runs wild. (We did not see any wildly misbehaving cats!) Baxter reportedly had a   great love for animals! 

Baxter not only donated this gem of an island to the state but acres and acres surrounding Mount Katahdin, known as the rugged and wild hiking and camping area of Baxter State Park, and another 30 acres in Portland called Baxter Woods. 

If you are ever in Falmouth, take a side trip to Mackworth Island, pack a picnic and sit on one of the beaches or walk and enjoy the views between  the trees. I've lived here nearly my entire life and had never been there. It's worthwhile, and you'll be intrigued by it's history as well along the way. 

For more on Mackworth Island State Park, go here. There are small fees and not a whole lot of parking

but wait a while and a spot may open up, like it did for us on that busy fall Saturday. 

Other Baxter resources: Baxter Woods (on my to-visit list!) 

Baxter State Park--Maine's tallest mountain, Katahdin, is the main attraction. It is the northern terminus to the Appalachian Trail, and even a day hike is not for the inexperienced, out of shape, or faint of heart! There are other trails, camping, kayaking, and water falls, really so much more to do and see then the big mountain (I was greeted by a moose in the road the last time we were there). Plan ahead and make park reservations if needed. 

This link is some Baxter family history in relation to Bowdoin College given at a talk by State Historian Earle Shettleworth at the opening of a Baxter family exhibition at the school in 2012.

And for all things Stephen King, because some just have to! 

You can peak at views of Casco Bay through
the trees on Mackworth Island. 

On My Shelf: The Magic Ship, Set in Maine with a Historical Backdrop

A big ship, summer breezes, and a world about to change.

I finally finished The Magic Ship by Sandra Paretti. I picked this one up time and again, and it didn’t grab me, but this summer it finally did. Maybe reading pandemic style helped as this book is also about lives disrupted and somewhat "quarantined" by a world-wide event, World War I.

Romance
It is a tale of summer romances (clean) that emerge when a German liner takes refuge in Bar Harbor during the height of the summer “cottagers’” season, August 1914.

Don’t expect huge fireworks or a scandalous mystery. This is a nice easy-reading story about an unexpected event in the life of a small harbor town and the new and unexpected relationships that change people’s lives.

History

It also tells a story from Maine history that I didn’t know about, that is of the German ship Kronprinzessin Cecilie holing up on Maine’s coast until the authorities of Lloyd (the North German shipping company that owned it), government officials, and ship officials can figure out what to do about the ship, its passengers, and its cargo (loads of gold!). The passengers are off-loaded (many to their disappointment at not completing their journey in England or Europe as expected) and given passage via train back to New York as is the cargo, but some passengers choose to stay in Bar Harbor, as well as the crew, and that is where the story gets interesting as the lives of the crew intersect with the lives of the summer residents. In the backdrop is the ship, always the ship. Some of the characters are based on real crew members of the Cecilie. The rest are likely fictionalized, but they are believable character portrayals of wealthy socialites of that time.

Author of Note

Also of note is that Sandra Paretti was not a Maine author, or even American, but a German authoress who wrote historical fiction and whose books were very popular in their day. Also Sandra Paretti is not her real name. The author bio in my copy of The Magic Ship says her seven novels had been translated into 11 languages (from German) and that she was a “number one bestselling woman novelist.” The Magic Ship was published in 1979 and listed as $10.95. The end page has a pencil inscription of $12.50, so apparently on the second-hand market, its value went up. 

Last Word
While there is nothing truly magical about this book, and as it was written in the 1970s, it doesn’t have the same catchy themes and writing styles that contemporary authors and publishers use today, I thought it was an engaging read, especially because I am a sucker for old-style straight-forward real-time narratives (old school writing). Plus I love that it is based on a historical event, right here in Maine in the summer.

The "magic" of reading this book is in catching the feel of a place and its people in a short moment in history, in an idyllic summer setting during the heady pre-World War days. It’s a little piece of historical summer magic. Maine has a fascinating history of coastal exploits; sometimes it takes an old book to make us aware of them. Don’t disregard older books, there are treasures waiting to be mined.

2020's Maine Magic Ship

I read The Magic Ship earlier in the summer, and then this week I read in Down East Magazine, published in its October issue, a story about another cruise ship that just this summer tied up in Eastport, Maine's harbor to quarantine. It was fascinating the way the townspeople were intrigued by the ship and its occupants and tried to connect with them from a distance (pier to deck). Unlike in the Magic Ship, the crew was not allowed to disembark. I had not heard about this ship coming to rest in Eastport’s deep fishing harbor, right along its newly built pier, for a month, while awaiting orders about its next "safe" voyage. The story by Jaed Coffin definitely caught my attention. It's worth a read.

You can read more about the real story of the Cecilie here, here, and here, and its service to the United States military!