I’ve been in newspapers for 22 years or so and found the DownEast.com trivia question of interest.
What was the name of Maine’s first newspaper?
Answer:
The Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser began in 1785 and was used to promote separation from Massachusetts.
Bond targets wind project, energy upgrades | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Will birds and wind farms compete? | Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Economy, Education and Schools, Energy, Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged BioDiversity Research Institute, bond, ducks, electronic tracking, fuel oil, Gov. John Baldacci, jobs, Maine, Maine Heritage Policy Center, Maine Maritime Academy, migration, offshore wind power, Orono, Question 2, University of Maine, wind power
SABATTUS — Erin Black thought she’d be OK introducing her dad, two uncles and an aunt to her school. But moments in, her throat closed and her words ceased.
“I don’t know what happened,” the 14-year-old said later, still choking back tears. Her dad, Gary Black, stood nearby. His eyes were red and puffy.
“I never get a chance to tell them how proud I am,” Erin said.
That’s what the annual Memorial Day service at Sabattus Central School was meant to do.
Fathers, grandfathers, cousins and friends — veterans all — stood by while their eighth-grader introduced them. The intro included years served and where. Then, the kids spoke about why they were proud.
Erin Black called her dad “an American hero.”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by Daniel Hartill in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Posted in Education and Schools, Maine
Tagged hero, Maine, Memorial Day service, Sabattus, Sabattus Central School, school assembly, veterans
This is the first photo in an irregular series called "Maine stuff in my California apartment." It includes a book of a history and heresay and a cookbook to mark Portage, Maine's centennial. And a cookbook to mark the centennial of the local Catholic Church parish.
This is the first photo in an irregular series called “Maine stuff in my California apartment.” It includes a book of a history and heresay and a cookbook to mark Portage, Maine’s centennial. And a cookbook to mark the centennial of the local Catholic Church parish.
I’m launching a new feature today on Letters From Away. I’m calling it “Maine Stuff in May California Apartment.” From time to time, I will photograph and share stuff from Maine or related to Maine that can be found in my California apartment. Um, I suppose you probably figured that out from the title of the series.
Most of the Maine Stuff may seem insignificant to some, but it is my stuff and it means something to me. I suppose it means something to me because the Maine Stuff helps me maintain my tie to that emerald jewel of a state.
I’m not sure how often or how regularly I’ll post Maine Stuff photos on Letters From Away, but the other night I took about two dozen photos of Maine Stuff and I didn’t even leave my living room, so there is Maine Stuff aplenty in this apartment. Look for at least one new Maine Stuff in My California Apartment at least once a week.
Enjoy! Or not. It’s your choice.
Today’s photo shows three books found in my California, a book of history and heresay and a cookbook marking the centennial of my hometown of Portage located on Portage Lake in Aroostook County and a cookbook marking the centennial of the St. Mark’s Parish and Missions. Portage turned 100 last year and St. Mark’s – including Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Portage – turned 100 in 2002. Fun stuff in the history book and yummy stuff in the cookbooks.
Posted in Maine history
Tagged buggies, Canada, French Canadian, horses, journey, Maine, Mainer, Old Canada Road Scenic Byway, Québec City, Saint-Gédéon, trips, visits
Posted in Consumer warnings, Economy, Education and Schools, Maine
Tagged college, education, Maine, tuitiion, university, University of Maine System
[For some reason, I do not recall ever hearing about this fish when I was growing up in Aroostook County. It is wonderful that this restoration project is taking place. – KM]
TOWNSHIP 8, RANGE 10, WELS — To get from Big Reed Pond to Frenchville at the far northern tip of Maine requires a float plane trip to Munsungan Lake and from there a two-hour drive, most of that on logging roads.
It is a journey that state fisheries biologist Frank Frost has made on a regular basis for three years in an effort to restore one of Maine’s most uncommon species, the Arctic char. Until recently, Frost made the disjointed trek seemingly in vain.
Now the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologist and several locals in the St. John Valley are celebrating the restoration of the char, northern Maine’s unique, threatened and much-loved game fish.
To say the Arctic char is native to Maine is an understatement.
The population in Big Reed Pond is one of the few that remain in North America since the last glacier retreated more than 10,000 years ago. It is one of 14 Arctic char populations in Maine and the only population in the lower 48 states.
Several years ago, however, rainbow smelt were illegally introduced into Big Reed Pond and decimated char numbers there.
Where fly fishermen once camped at the remote pond full of the brilliant orange char, the famous fishery now attracts none.
Then, three years ago, Frost began an ambitious project in hopes of restoring the wild Arctic char at Big Reed.
Click on the link for the rest of the story, photos and video by Deirdre Fleming in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.
Posted in Environment, Food and Drink, Law and Order, Maine history, Outdoors
Tagged Arctic char, Big Reed Pond, fishery, fishing, fly fishing, Frank Frost, Frenchville, game fish, Gary Picard, Igor Sikorsky, Maine, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, Mountain Springs Trout Farm, Munsungan Lake, old-growth forest, rainbow smelt, restoration, St. John Valley, The Bradford Camps, The Nature Conservancy
I’m in a whoopie pie-induced buzz just now! And I LIKE it!
Two things contributed to this feeling:
1) I just found out that the Trader Joe’s nearby sells what it calls Whoopee Pies – and they are nearly as good as Mom made;
2) I just stumbled across www.whoopiepie.org, which includes historical information, recipes, and even video!
Whoopieeeeeeeee!
For those of you who have never had a whoopie pie, I am sorry. Sooo, very sorry, because whoopie pies are wicked good. You missed out on a deliciously sweet treat – usually two soft, cake-like cookies with a creamy white filling. Yes, a sugar rush of the grandest kind.
Of course, there are variations on the combination. I’ve had whoopie pies with pumpkin cookies, oatmeal cookies, and even chocolate chip cookies. And the fillings can be peanut butter or maple, too.
The Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies were the basic chocolate cookies and white filling.
Whoopie pies are most definitely a Maine and New England tradition, and there’s even a small whoopie pie industry thriving in New England. Small bakeries ship whoopie pies all over.
This is from www.whoopiepie.org:
Whoopie pies are considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition. They’re one of Maine’s best known and favorite comfort foods. People living in Maine often claim that they were weaned on whoopie pies. These treats are more like a cake than a pie, as they are generously sized to be about the side of a hamburger patty. To eat a whoopie pie properly, you need a glass of milk.
A whoopie pie is like a sandwich, but made with two soft cookies with a fluffy white filling. Traditional whoopies pies are made with vegetable shortening, not butter. The original and most commonly made whoopie pie is chocolate. but cooks like to experiment, and today pumpkin whoopie pies are a favorite seasonal variation.
The Pennsylvania Amish may get credit for developing the dessert, but I don’t know about that. It’lls always be a Maine delight to me. The whoopie pie history on www.whoopiepie.org indicates that the treat was made with leftover batter and that the Amish children would yell “Whoopie!” when they found the dessert in their school lunches.
I pretty much did the same thing in past years when my family has shipped whoopie pies for Christmas.
So, I had to take some of Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies home yesterday and give them a taste test. Frankly, I seriously thought I would be disappointed, but I was not. The cookie was moist and fudgy and the filling sweet. I can confidently endorse Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies as being, well, very close to the real thing.
As the photos prove, I finished off one. The photos do not show that I also finished off a second whoopie pie.
The website warns that eating whoopie pies requires a tall glass of milk. In most cases that is true. But red wine also works.
Trader Joe's Whoopee Pies are home and on my kitchen counter. I can hardly wait ... so I didn't. Container is open and the plate is at the ready.
On the plate. It won't be long now.
One bite down ...
Hmm, another bite. It's not bad at all.
I'm busy! Don't bother me when I'm with my whoopie pie!
Good to the last bite.
Nothing but crumbs.
See? Nothing but crumbs. Time for a second whoopie pie.
Posted in Family and Friends, Food and Drink, Maine history
Tagged Maine, New England, recipes, Trader Joe’s Whoopee Pies, whoopie pies, www.whoopie.org
Forest cover declining across New England – Bangor Daily News
A copy of the report can be found online at www.wildlandsandwoodlands.org.
Posted in Economy, Energy, Environment, Law and Order, Maine, Outdoors, Politics and government
Tagged “Wildlands and Woodlands”, conservation, environmentalists, forest, forestland, forestry and ecology research center, Great Northern Paper, Harvard University, Maine, Maine Forest Service, Maine’s North Woods, public-private partnership, timberland, trees, woods
From the BDN story:
Guides and safety experts recommend that kayakers always check weather forecasts before any voyage, get safety training and have:
• Open-water sea kayaks, generally 15 to 16 feet or longer, which have watertight flotation chambers. The boats are more stable in wind and waves.
• Spray skirts that can keep water from washing into a boat and reducing stability.
• Wet suits or dry suits, until water temperatures rise above 60 degrees, or until the combined air and water temperature exceeds 120 degrees.
• A waterproof VHF radio, or a cell phone in a watertight case.
• Signaling devices.
• Life jackets.
• Name and phone numbers written on the boat.
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged Casco Bay, hypothermia, kayak, Maine, paddling
Posted in Economy, Energy, Environment, Maine, Politics and government
Tagged BP, British Petroleum, coastline, Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Stream, Maine, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, marine resources, oil spill, U.S. Coast Guard, University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, wildlife
Forest cover declining across New England – Bangor Daily News
[There is a note at the bottom of this story that indicates there might be updates to this story. I’m guessing the BDN will localize it and expand the information. At least, that’s what they should do. — KM]
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged conservation, ecological research, forest, global warming, Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Maine, New England
State says beware of health insurance scam | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Consumers with questions or concerns about their insurance can contact the bureau’s Consumer Health Care Division by calling 1-800-300-5000, e-mailing insurance.pfr@maine.gov, or visiting the bureau’s website at www.maine.gov/insurance.
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