Beyond the South End

The Maine Report 2013 or

What I Did on my Vacation

 

Maine this year was in one word: HOT! My visit this year was spent mostly in search of cooler air. However I did manage to meet with some special people; attend a family wedding; and have breakfast with my class of ’59 at the Brown Bag.

I walked Main Street on probably the hottest day of my vacation making courtesy calls to The Reading Corner and Hello Hello Books. I then climbed a long staircase (with my bad leg and cane in hand) to visit Lorain K. Francis, Executive Director of Rockland Main Street Inc. She previously sent me an email telling me how she’d enjoyed my story on her organization. We had a nice long conversation about the present makeup of Main Street.

I presented her with the fact that not all people are happy with the state of things on Main Street, especially the natives of Rockland. The fact is, as a native pointed out to me, you can’t buy a pair of shoes of Main Street.

Lorain replied that the organization is continually looking for new businesses to locate on Main Street. She expressed a need for a general store of sorts where those visitors who come ashore from the many boats who dock here during the summer could have a place within walking distance to buy some groceries and other personal needs. I thought that was a good idea, except for the fact that we are still thinking about tourists’ needs and not those of the natives. Of course, during the off-season the store would be a convenience to the locals also.

We used to have several small stores of that nature in the South End. They would all be within walking distance of the “boat people” if they existed today. Duncan’s, on South Main Street, which has changed hands several times over the years, was once such a store and would be an ideal location for our tourists to restock their boats if it still existed today.

Ironically, one store has almost gone back to the kind of store it was originally. Sweets and Meats on the corner of South Main and Water Streets recently went out of business and the new owners have opened a fresh, local produce store. Originally this store was Naum and Adams which sold fresh fruits and vegetables as well as maintaining a soda fountain in the back of the store. They used to have a big outside bin attached to the side of the store to display their fresh fruits and vegetables. So we return to its beginnings.

Lorain descended the stairs with me and I remarked that I used to climb similar stairs, maybe even these ones, to practice with the Drum Corps on the big open floor at the top. She remarked that, indeed, they are probably the very stairs as there is a big open floor there.

The State of the Roads

I noticed that the state of the roads seem even worse than last year. The snow plows must have overdone it this past winter. Of course I’m used to smooth roads here in Georgia because we have no winter weather to speak of. In fact, they will find any excuse to resurface a perfectly good road.

The Wedding

 

The day of my great-niece Danielle Sylvester’s wedding turned out to be the best day of my vacation weather wise. It was not humid for once and the Catholic Church in Rockland was the scene of a beautiful wedding for Danielle and her husband-to-be Haydn Deal. This picture tells it all I think. We all had a wonderful time at the reception at the Elks Club. Many of the nurses who work with Danielle on her floor of Mass General (I think that’s the one in Boston where she works) were there too. They added an air of citified sophistication to the day and we felt secure in knowing that we had so many nurses on hand in case of an emergency. Two of Danielle’s friends, a married couple, both lost a leg at the Boston Marathon and couldn’t be at the wedding.

The Keag Tradition and Cookouts

I followed my usual tradition and had a lobster roll from the Keag Store in South Thomaston, eating it with my friend Sandra Sleeper Zimmerman, who lives next door to the store. I also had a crabmeat roll with another friend, Violet Karl. Both of them are ’59 classmates and we all met with the rest of the class on hand this summer at the Brown Bag for breakfast. The class meets every third Friday in the month. Whoever who is home and can make it goes to catch up with each other. I try to make it when I go home. This time we had a good crew of approximately 15 people.

I also got two good helpings of fried clams while I was home.

The family met at my Aunt Virginia’s cottage in Spruce Head for a delicious meal made by brother-in-law, Jerry Tavares. My sister Sally, Jerry, daughter Kim, and grandson, Nicholas spent a few days at the cottage.

The family also had a cook out at my brother, Ted’s place in Owls Head. He and his wife, Nat were my hosts while I was home. I cooked some leftover Vidalia onions (from Vidalia, GA) that Jerry left us with on the grill. I cut them up for use on hamburgers and everyone loved them.

After that cookout, my last day in Maine, also one of the best days weather wise, I left with sister-in-law, Kay Sylvester to take Aunt Virginia home to Bartlett Woods and to stay the night with her so I could catch the van to the airport in the morning. Kay made a detour along Main Street for Aunt Virginia as she doesn’t get to go downtown very often. She remarked about how much the street had changed and was very surprised about how many boats were moored in the harbor. Kay swung down around the harbor so she could see them all closer up. Since she is now 102, all the changes are unbelievable to her.

Which leads us back to Main Street again. In the old days, after I’d left home, I always took a swing around the rotary one time before heading out to Connecticut. This little detour with Kay and Aunt Virginia brought all those times back to me. One day I won’t have to make that last trip around the rotary as I’ll be home for good. The day can’t come soon enough. Meanwhile, see you next year in Maine.