The next Public Supper will be Wednesday, July 5. Menu is Tuscan ribolita, herb rolls, salad, baked haddock, baked potato wedges, broccoli, and ice cream sundaes. Cost is $10 for…
Columns
A Bird’s Tale
More often than not, the quiet ambles of our dog walks seem to yield some of our most interesting bird experiences. That was the case yet again last night. We took our little black dog out for one…
’Round Town
It’s evenings like this that help sooth the soul.
I have often spoken of the mystery of surprise and the gift of wonder with my “work.” And this week’s…
Joe’s Journal
Here on the Boothbay peninsula, folks say there are two kinds of residents, natives and those from away. For many, it is a distinction of note.
For example, Mary Dodge Brewer, the late…
The next Public Supper will be Wednesday, June 21. The menu is vegetable soup, bread, salad, chicken pot pie, and ice cream cake. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members.…
Community of Hope
Technology is a double-edged sword when abuse is involved. For survivors of domestic abuse, it can be an effective tool for safety planning and finding support groups. However, misuse of…
Where It’s At
The Boothbay Farmer’s Market has moved around over the past two decades from the Boothbay Region schools parking lot to the Meadow Mall parking lot to the Boothbay Common, and man has it grown.…
A Bird’s Tale
The heat was oppressive, like a mid-July day, not like what we are used to on the second day of June here in Maine. But as we stepped outside to walk the dog in the morning, there was an…
’Round Town
We were sorting through some old family letters at home last week and came across mail from John Endicott, my wife’s uncle, dated June 18, 1937. The letter included instructions from Donald B.…
Joe’s Journal
If you attended one of the six Boothbay Region Memorial Day parades, you witnessed an authentic slice of Americana.
You saw flags fly, bands play, preachers preach, veterans march, and…
The next Public Supper will be Wednesday, June 21. Menu is vegetable soup, bread, salad, chicken pot pie, and ice cream cake. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers.…
Salt ’n Spar
“Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Not long ago, Larry Rines of Wiscasset telephoned…
A Bird’s Tale
Like many people on the recent very warm, sunny Memorial Day weekend, we decided to head to the beach, where the temps were markedly cooler. We went to a spot that is a favorite of many Mainers…
Joe’s Journal
Did you view our Memorial Day parades? Do you know why we cheered the old marching veterans?
Today, our newspapers, television sets and smartphones bring us the news of a European war half…
’Round Town
Alice Hodgdon Thompson, Hugh’s mother, was a bright and shining light when I photographed at the Hodgdon Yachts yard on Murray Hill Road in…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, June 7. The menu is minestrone, garlic bread, salad, lasagna, and brownies a la mode. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers. Take-…
A Bird’s Tale
It should come as no surprise to learn that some of the greatest mysteries of the bird world are within some of our most common and familiar birds. Take the ever-present blue jay, for example. On…
’Round Town
Spring is springing little by little. Here on Southport Island things are moving along at a snail’s pace.
Wiscasset is in full bloom along the Route One corridor. We know this because in…
Joe’s Journal
Dear Reader,
Last weekend, I was in the produce aisle of Hannaford market when I got a pointed suggestion from one of my favorite readers.
No, it was not one of the three online…
Maine House District 47
What Mainers earn belongs to them. They are "free" to use their earnings as they choose but they have chosen to let others decide where their earnings are to be used. Many are not satisfied with…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, June 7. The menu is minestrone, garlic bread, salad, lasagna, and brownies a la mode. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members. Take-…
From the House of Representatives
I have written and submitted the following letter on May 15 to Commissioner Bruce Van Note, Maine Department of Transportation, following my attendance at the Edgecomb Selectmen’s meeting May 2…
A Bird’s Tale
We have had the good fortune to be able to be spending time with family in Central Florida, from where we are writing this column. While many birds are just returning to Maine in mid-May, the bulk…
’Round Town
It was a packed house! Hundreds of people coming to pay their respects on a beautiful spring day when anyone could have been elsewhere – a very impressive gathering for Mr. Farrin and his family…
Joe’s Journal
Dear Reader,
The last thing I want to do on this sunny Sunday morning is sit in the house and pound out a column. But duty calls.
On a normal week, as if there is ever a normal…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, June 7. The menu will be minestrone, garlic bread, salad, lasagna, brownies a la mode. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers.…
Salt ’n Spar
“Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits.” – Henry David Thoreau.
I had intended to write this Salt ’n Spar column last September but one thing led to another and I never got…
The heavy rains last week in Central Maine brought some major flooding across many parts of our region. By one estimate, a month’s worth of rain fell in about 24 hours. As that water collected…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, May 17. The menu will include beef stew, biscuits, salad, macaroni and cheese, peas, and rhubarb crisp. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for…
’Round Town
One of the things that struck me during a recent visit with Dr. William M. “Barney” Balch, senior research scientist at Bigelow Lab, was his sense of curiosity. Our conversation reminded me of our…
There won’t be a taco Tuesday but tacos will be on the menu at the Wednesday, April 17 potluck. Hosts, Paul and Louise, will be providing the main dish of tacos with the trimmings and are asking…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, May 17. Menu: Beef stew, biscuits, salad, macaroni and cheese, peas, and rhubarb crisp. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members;…
A Bird’s Tale
Looking across the valley during a noontime dog walk around our neighborhood a few weeks ago, there among the drab, gray trunks and limbs of yet-to-leaf-out maples and oaks was a burst of yellow.…
’Round Town
For almost 235 days Kirsten Nueschafer sailed alone via the three Capes and just over 30,000 miles to win the Golden Globe Race around the world. She was one of 16 sailors who set off from Les…
Joe’s Journal
Yes, Dear Readers, I am a Dummy.
Let me explain.
This tale began last Christmas when I put up a few decorations and got out my favorite Christmas music CDs. With apologies to Bobby…
Criminals have so many ways to getting in touch with us these days. According to new data from the Federal Trade Commission, the winning entry path in 2022 was the internet.
About one…
A Bird’s Tale
Mistakes happen. Even in the bird world. Take for example the osprey that recently tried repeatedly to place sticks atop a tall light pole, high above the Bates College athletic field in Lewiston…
’Round Town
Recently, during a drive to doggie day care, my car radio, tuned to NPR, revealed a most interesting bit of news.
It seems that an artist won a photography contest with an AI-generated…
Joe’s Journal
Note: For the record, Boothbay Harbor residents will elect local officials on May 5. Boothbay town residents will vote on May 1.
No, it is not time to elect a president. We will leave that…
On a recent trip to Washington, D.C., I gathered historical information about Maine’s lighthouses with a special focus on those in Boothbay Harbor. After an intense week of research, I had…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, May 3. The menu will be mushroom barley soup, rolls, salad, chicken a la king, rice peas, and cottage pudding with lemon sauce. Cost is $…
A Bird’s Tale
The sound was as clear as could be, a distinctive “kidick, kidick.” That’s one of the sounds made by the Virginia rail. Rails are generally very secretive birds that inhabit wetlands with…
’Round Town
One of my enjoyable check ins over the years, here in the harbor, was my altogether too frequent visit with Ken Brown and Brown’s Wharf. Ken…
Joe’s Journal
Last week, for once, most of the Washington political/media class spoke in unison condemning the conduct of the 21-year-old airman who somehow acquired and posted some of the nation’s secrets for…
Maine House District 47
During my campaign, one of the more frequent issues discussed was Ranked-Choice Voting. Many were against Ranked-Choice Voting, but only one voter was in favor of it. I presented bill L.D. 1038,…
From the Maine Senate
The recent legal challenges surrounding the abortion medication mifepristone have cast a shadow over reproductive rights, not just in Maine, but across the country. While the legal battles…
New Hope Midcoast
Denying someone the right to work or have equal access to money is not only mean and unfair, it’s a form of domestic abuse. Economic abuse is usually minimized and misunderstood because talking…
Salt ’n Spar
“Being bissextile, or Leap-Year, and the Thirty-sixth of Independence of America. Fitted to the Town of BOSTON, but will ſerve for any of the adjourning states. Containing, beſides…
The next public supper will be Wednesday, April 19. Menu will be split pea soup, cornbread, salad, shepherd’s pie and chocolate applesauce cake. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for…
A Bird’s Tale
For much of last week, we were fortunate that our backyard was blessed with the presence of one of our largest and brightest colored sparrows, the fox sparrow. While there are a number of…
