Beyond the South End

Beyond the South End…

the Year in Review, 2014

You’ve seen many “year in review” programs on T.V. by now. Here is my contribution as it concerns this blog. Maybe you can use it as your own guide when looking up a story from the archives for this year. I will discuss only the highlights of each month from January to December of this year.

January

The year began with a contribution from Austin Pillsbury Nagel about Rockland’s early sea captains, especially relatives of Austin, Hiram and Albert Pillsbury.

February

We began a tribute to the Beatles this month, “50 Years of Beatlemania.”

We said goodbye to former police chief, Bertram Snow in “The Last South End Snow.” There is actually still a Snow in the Southend, Richard Snow, a cousin to Bert. The dynasty of Snow’s Shipyard in the South End began in 1862.

March

March continued the tribute to the Beatles. We also included a history of the Shamrock and an introduction to “Cowshit Corner,” a new reality show taking place in Maine. I still haven’t seen a second episode of this hilarious show. I also made you suffer through my obsession with women’s basketball, especially the UCONN women as I was “Filling out the brackets…” for March Madness tournament basketball.

April

We posted a story on the prisoner poet, James Lewisohn, who I interviewed over at the old prison farm in Warren about 30 years ago as part of my master’s program at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

We talked more about the Beatles and took a spring walk around the Hilton Homestead.

There was also a “Spring Fever” story to contemplate.

May

We had the sad duty of reporting on the death of our beloved Aunt Virginia Poletti. I wrote a bio and tribute to her.

There are three patriotic stories: the Rockland Memorial Day Parade pictures; History of Memorial Day; Armed Forces Day on the 17^th.

 

We also posted an obit of classmate George Rundlett.

June

We explored high school yearbooks during graduation month. We examined my Cauldron of 1959 and my mother’s Cauldron of 1927. “Your History is in Your Yearbook.”

We celebrated Rockland’s 160^th anniversary and visited the oldest business on Main Street, E.C.Moran, where my mother worked with the Blackington sisters, Audrey and Dot.

July

I gave my two cent’s worth in a political commentary about Maine’s Governor LaPage. Not everyone was happy about what I had to say.

I shone a light on Maine…”Maine—the Ultimate Vacation Destination.

I reported on the fire that destroyed the well-known restaurant downeast in Machias, Helen’s. My alma mater of The University of Maine in Machias is there and I spent many happy hours in Helen’s.

 

I also presented the Sea Princesses for the Lobster Festival for 2014.

August

“Going Where the Weather Suits my Clothes,” was a review of “Midnight Cowboy,” one of my very favorite movies.

“I’ll Meet you at Sim’s Lunch Later on, Rose” was a tribute and an obituary for Rose Marie Malburg Sorbello, a childhood friend in the South End. We made an unscheduled trip up to Sim’s on Park Street all by ourselves one day when we were about four and five.

We gave you a history of the Peace Symbol and a story about the Summer of ’69.

Also included is my annual “Maine Report” which I do every year upon my return to Georgia after vacationing in Maine.

September

“Getting in the Hay” and “Getting Ready for Winter” were Maine historical looks of this time of year.

“Waste Not, Want Not” was an opinion piece about Maine’s recycling programs and environmental issues in Maine.

There was a Fall foliage piece and a tribute to Joan Rivers, who died in this month, “She Entered Laughing and Left us Laughing.”

 

We also celebrated the 5^th Anniversary of this blog.

October

Stories included, “Happy Days at Humpty-Dumpty,” “Scary Halloween Stories,” from Maine; “A Time of Gathering,” more Fall views of New England; and an opinion piece about the importance of continuing to teach cursive writing in schools.

November

Stories included, “The Other Plymouth Colony, Pemaquid, Maine.”

We also lost another classmate this month, Joan “nee” Knowlton who I wrote a bio and tribute to, “Hey, Joan, Come Bomb the Rotary with us.”

 

I also related my first time as a voter as we all voted this month.

December

This month, the final one of the year saw:

“The Best Christmas Present Ever,” a story about brother Harlan making it home for Christmas when he was in the Air Force in the 50s.

“…and God Bless Us Everyone” about Christmas traditions

“Christmas by Magazine” a review of the Christmas magazines and how they can help you through the holidays.

Most Popular Story

The most popular story of the year with 595 hits was “The Prisoner Poet…The Story of Jimmy Lewisohn,” which appeared in April.

The Year to Come

I hope you, my loyal readers, will continue to enjoy this blog space. I will try to make it interesting for you in the coming year. As always:

Thanks for listening.