Dear Readers,

Two years ago, David Stack and a group of Wiscasset business types were fed up with Wiscasset's reputation of being anti-everything.

As he explains it, they found that there are a lot of good people in town, but they were in a sort of paralysis. He and a few others got together and decided to be for something, rather than just against things, he said.

That group has grown into a coalition that revitalized the town's dormant Chamber of Commerce. They have brought together like-minded residents to show that there is a lot more to this lovely old river town than just a traffic jam on the highway for tourists on their way up the coast.

“We want to make Wiscasset a destination rather than a drive through,” Stack said.

The chamber rounded up some sponsors to help fund a July 4 celebration featuring a parade, a hot rod auto show, a riverfront music event and an evening fireworks show. Sounds like fun.

They are planning an even bigger event for August 6 featuring the Texas Flying Legends, the World War II warbirds that make the Wiscasset Airport their summer home.

They promise music, swirling acrobatic air show planes and more fireworks, along with an assortment of other fun activities.

They are partnering with other groups to extend and enhance their influence.

Good for them. Good for Wiscasset.

It is about time for all of us to realize the Hesper and the Luther Little, the picturesque hulks of schooners that made the town's waterfront a mecca for artists and photographers, are long gone.

So is the long lost dream (dating to the early 1800s) of Wiscasset as a major port for commerce from Europe.

As late as the 1950s, you could catch a train at Wiscasset and travel to Portland, Boston and beyond.

Maybe, just maybe, the success of Amtrak Downeaster passenger service will encourage the U.S. Department of Transportation to extend service from Brunswick up the coast to Wiscasset.

The town's once thriving waterfront business district is diminished, too, leaving this charming town with a handful of antique shops, restaurants, museums (including the magical “Musical Wonder House,”) churches and the county courthouse and sheriff's office.

Stack, a mechanical engineer who is used to working on complex issues related to the design and production of high tech turbine engines, is no stranger to the art of problem solving.

Admittedly, he and his group have their work cut out for them. But they have rolled up their sleeves and are working together.

They are backing up their words with deeds.

We encourage and support their efforts.