Monthly Archives: October 2010

Another Maine native living ‘from away’

I spotted a sign the other day that was sort of out of place – “Mainely Stampin’.”

It was out of place because I spotted it in Fairfield, Calif.

I would have stopped in to find out more about Mainely Stampin’ – obviously the Mainely part caught my attention – but I was on a schedule and did not have the time. So I went to Mainely Stampin’s fairly limited website and learned this under “About Us”:

“We are a friendly stamping and scrapbooking store located in Fairfield, California, and have been opened since January of 2006. The owner is from Maine, which explains the name Mainely Stampin’, and has enjoyed a stamping hobby for many years. When she moved to California in 2001 she soon got a job working at a local stamp store and enjoyed meeting new people and helping them with their hobby of stamping. After the store closed she opened her own store and with the help of many friends and supporters the store is gaining popularity and is known for its warm atmosphere and a sincerely helpful customer service.”

See, there are plenty of Maine natives now living “from away.”

Oh, and the motto apparently is “The way stampin’ should be … Fun!” Part of that, I’m pretty sure, comes from a Maine tourism motto from a few years ago: “Maine: The Way Life Should Be.”

By the way, Mainely Stampin’ is located at 1318 W. Texas St., in Fairfield, Calif., in Solano County, the edge of the North Bay Area.

Political change has familiar feel, George Mitchell says | Maine Sunday Telegram

It was November 1988. Maine’s own George Mitchell had just been elected Democratic majority leader of the U.S. Senate. And high atop his to-do list was a sit-down with then-Republican minority leader Sen. Robert Dole.

“I said to him, ‘This job is hard enough under the best of circumstances. It’s impossible under bad circumstances,’ ” Mitchell recalled last week.

And so Mitchell and Dole agreed on a few ground rules:

Never surprise each other.

Never try to embarrass each other.

And finally, be as fair as possible to each other under whatever circumstances might arise.

“We kept our word for six years,” Mitchell said. “Bob Dole and I never had a harsh word pass between us – in public or in private.”

Ah, the good old days.

Click for the rest of the column by Bill Nemitz in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

 

Fish passage is the next step for Presumpscot | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Fish passage is the next step for Presumpscot | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Coffeehouse observation No. 216

It must be October. I woman walked in a little while ago and she was wearing a very bright orange – nearly DayGlo – top. And her hair was dyed to match. And then a short time later another woman with very bright orange hair came into the coffeehouse. See, October.

Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

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Maine moose season yields stories of success | Bangor Daily News

For the better part of a week, Shandy Schroder had a moose hunt that many would have described as miserable. The weather was foul. And the moose didn’t cooperate.

“Come the end of the week, everyone starts wondering,” the Bangor woman said. “I never said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to get a moose.’ I kind of tried to stay positive and said, ‘I’m not going to see anything if I’m not out there hunting.’

On Tuesday it rained. On Wednesday her rifle scope broke. On Friday the remnants of a tropical storm rolled through.

And still, she left the comfortable Ludlow camp she and her husband, Matthew, own, and went hunting.

“Rain, shine, mud, tired, hungry, I went out there,” she said.

Friday, she said, was the worst day of the week.

“I couldn’t have been any wetter if I had fallen in the pond. I was soaked. But I was still out there, every day,” she said.

When Saturday, the final day of her six-day season, dawned brighter — and without rain — Schroder rose early … again … and headed back into the woods, hoping for the best.

Chick for the rest of the column by John Holyoke in the Bangor Daily News.

Moose beckons Conn. wildlife photographer to Baxter | Bangor Daily News

For information about John Fast and to see more of his photos, visit www.johnfastphotography.com or imagingthenaturalworld.com. For information about the Digital Imaging Association, visit digitalassociation.org.

Maine hockey team sweeps No. 2 North Dakota | Bangor Daily News

Maine hockey team sweeps No. 2 North Dakota | Bangor Daily News

 

New DVD preserves language of Maine’s Swedish Colony | Bangor Daily News

NEW SWEDEN, Maine —There is no doubt that the Swedish culture is still alive in Maine’s Swedish Colony in Aroostook County.

Signs in the colony are written in both English and Swedish, many families still fly the Swedish flag in their yards, and children learn Swedish songs and dances every spring for the annual MidSommar celebration.

When the colony was established in northern Maine in the 1870s, the Swedish language was predominant. But as families saw the need for their children to become more Americanized, English became the language of choice in most households. Over the years, the language began to die off, and only about 30 residents in the colony still speak Swedish today.

Several years ago, Brenda Nasberg Jepson, a Madawaska Lake resident and filmmaker who owns Crown of Maine Productions, decided that she had to do something to preserve what was left of the language before it was lost forever.

Click for the rest of the story by Jen Lynds in the Bangor Daily News.

The DVD can be purchased at www.crownofmaineproductions.com and soon will be available in stores throughout The County.

 

Coffeehouse observation No. 215

Coffeehouse was busy earlier, mostly with people meeting friends or for a professional meeting or two. There was a lull after that, but now it’s busy again, this time mostly with college students meeting study partners.

Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.

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Author, humanitarian to speak at USM | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Author, humanitarian to speak at USM | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Lobster competition came down to chef’s confidence | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Lobster competition came down to chef’s confidence | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Mitchell Institute gala raises $150,000 | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Mitchell Institute gala raises $150,000 | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.

Sunday River opens first ski trail in the U.S. | Bangor Daily News

Sunday River opens first ski trail in the U.S. | Bangor Daily News.

Maine knocks off No. 2 North Dakota | Bangor Daily News

ORONO — The University of Maine men’s hockey team didn’t waste much time welcoming the North Dakota Fighting Sioux to Alfond Arena Friday night.

 Maine scored just 43 seconds into the game en route to a five-goal outburst in the opening period that carried the Black Bears to 7-3 win

 over the nation’s second-ranked team in front of 5,216 fans.

 Maine snapped a three-game winless streak and improved to 2-1-2. North Dakota fell to 3-1-1.

 The teams will play again tonight at 7.

 “We played Maine hockey tonight,” said Maine junior right wing Gustav Nyquist, who had a goal and two assists. “We got the puck down low, we worked hard, we moved our feet and we were tenacious.”

Click for the rest of this story by Larry Mahoney in the Bangor Daily News.

Some clarity around new Maine political poll | DownEast.com

[I haven’t had a time to read or analyze this poll, so I won’t comment about the candidates and issues, but I thought I’d offer it up for those of you in Maine who might be voting in the coming election. The link below is to Mike Tipping’s blog on DownEast.com and there is a copy of the poll results attached to the blog entry. I recommend reading Tipping’s comments – and reservations – on the poll before diving into the poll itself. – KM]

Some clarity around new Maine political poll | DownEast.com

       

In Greenwood, a turn for the better: Mills offer new opportunities | Lewiston Sun Journal

GREENWOOD (AP) — Many people gave the Saunders Brothers manufacturing plant up for dead when it closed its doors and went to auction last spring, a victim of the sour economy and cheap imports flooding in from overseas.

Less than five months later, machines are humming and the smell of sawdust is in the air again as a skeleton crew puts out rolling pins, brush handles, dowels and other wood products.

Maine’s wood products industry has been on the slide for years. Numerous plants that made hundreds of everyday things — toothpicks, tongue depressors, Popsicle sticks, pepper mills, checkers pieces, clothespins, you name it — have gone out of business.

Now, a Portland woman and her partners have bought not only the shuttered Saunders Brothers factory, but three other plants as well in hardscrabble areas of interior Maine. Louise Jonaitis says she intends to bring the plants back to life in regions where times are tough and jobs are scarce.

“I grew up knowing a mill of any size was the life of a community in Maine,” said Jonaitis, 49, whose father worked in a paper mill when she was growing up in Rumford. “What I’ve been seeing as plants close is the decline of the social fabric in Maine. And I thought, ‘What else do we have?’”

Click for the rest of the story by Associated Press Writer Clarke Cainfield found in the Lewiston Sun Journal.

 

5 things to do this weekend | Bangor Daily News

5 things to do this weekend | Bangor Daily News.

Yacht maker offers to buy Eastport’s Boat School | Bangor Daily News

EASTPORT, Maine — One of the world’s premier yacht makers, who has previously focused his manufacturing efforts in Taiwan, China and Tampa Bay, Fla., has made an offer that could turn around the financially struggling city of Eastport. David Marlow of Marlow Yachts approached the City Council during a workshop this week and floated a proposal to buy The Boat School, which is owned by the city and leased to Husson University.

His plans include expanding The Boat School program from a two-year to a four-year marine trades program while keeping Husson University involved. He also plans to revamp the campus, expand the existing boatyard and build an on-site yacht manufacturing facility that could create 100 new jobs.

“This could be a godsend for Eastport,” City Manager Jon Southern said Thursday. “This business is compatible with every city goal for our working waterfront. It is ecologically friendly. It would create high-quality jobs. It protects The Boat School and retains the partnership we have with Husson.”

Click for the rest of the story by Sharon Kiley Mack in the Bangor Daily News.

 

Three Maine newspapers restore online comments | Bangor Daily News

[This is what MaineToday Media probably should have done from the beginning rather than eliminate the comments all together. Close monitoring is essential. I was part of the online team that monitored comments on recordnet.com, and some online users simply are looking for a way to be anonymous bullies. That should never be allowed. One more thing, this flip-flop move by MaineToday Media simply makes them look as if they lack the abilty to make carefully consider decisions. That is never good for a business, especially for a newspaper. — KM]

Three Maine newspapers restore online comments | Bangor Daily News.

Jackson Lab radio interview about hundreds of Maine jobs created by Collier project causes ruckus | Naples (Florida) Daily News

Jackson Lab radio interview about hundreds of Maine jobs created by Collier project causes ruckus | Naples (Florida) Daily News

Portland Press Herald Drops Reader Comments in Response to ‘Vicious Postings’ | Poynter Online

Portland Press Herald Drops Reader Comments in Response to ‘Vicious Postings’ | Poynter Online