BUSHNELL ON BOOKS: ‘Wild! Weird! Wonderful! Maine’ and ‘The Maine Point’
A collection of historical Maine tidbits and a historical romance sequel spanning centuries of Bath history and multi-family relationships
By Bill Bushnell
WILD! WEIRD! WONDERFUL! MAINE
At least 10 other authors have written Maine trivia books over recent years, focusing on Maine history, people, places, events, curiosities, strange happenings, wonders, legends and some hilarious and goofy anecdotes. And now Bar Harbor author Earl Brechlin has come out with his own collection of historical tidbits.
Brechlin joins the good company of authors like John McDonald, John Cole, Michelle Souliere, Gail Parker and Neil Rolde, adding his own spin to obscure Maine history in this very readable and entertaining addition to Maine trivia historiography.
FOA names new communications director
BAR HARBOR Friends of Acadia hired Lori Schaefer as its new communications director as of Feb. 1. Schaefer takes over for former Communications Director Earl Brechlin who is stepping down at the end of February to pursue independent writing projects.
“Lori will be sharing her 20-plus years of experience in strategic communications and outreach from working for the Minnesota state legislature, to leading a nonprofit economic justice think-tank, working as a journalist and running her own marketing and PR firm,” said FOA President David MacDonald. “We welcome her to the team and look forward to working together to share our messages and address key issues facing the park in today’s rapidly changing world.”
Annual baked bean supper goes virtual
MOUNT DESERT Baked beans are an important part of Maine culinary life. Recipes are much debated, with bakers arguing about which ingredients make the best beans, and which variety of beans to use. Baked bean suppers are a Maine tradition, bringing generations together to share a meal, exchange news and spin a few yarns.
The Mount Desert Island Historical Society’s 10th Annual Baked Bean Supper will still capture these important elements of a traditional baked bean supper, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event will take place online instead of at MDI High School.
Toboggan Run: A holiday story to read to your children
By Earl Brechlin
Illustration by Nadine Gilliland
Easton tugged hard on the rope as he wrestled to get his toboggan to the top of Molehill Mountain. The snow was hard and icy. It had been packed down by dozens of kids, all rushing to get in a few more rides before dark. At the top he laid flat on the thin pad and gave a mighty push.
Bouncing and skidding down the hill, scarf trailing behind in the wind, he hardly noticed the weathered wood skeleton of the old toboggan run that had not been used in years. Once known as the “Blizzard Buster,” the aging relic let sledders shoot down the mountain and out onto the ice of the lake at the bottom, even if there was not any snow. Built for national competition, its owners let children from the community use it when the schedule and conditions allowed.
Go Way Far Out in ‘The County’
There are lots of places in Maine that are out of this world but Aroostook County takes it to the extreme.
For nearly 40 miles along Route 1 you can drive through a 3D scale model of our solar system. It is the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere second largest in the world.
Running from a 50-foot yellow ring representing of the sun at the Northern Maine Museum of Science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) to lowly Pluto, just an inch across, inside the visitor information center at Houlton it covers some 3,670, 050,000 scale miles.