Sir Noel Coward in a fine pose

Many people come to Maine for kayaks, schooners, trekking, bike touring and all other manner of outdoor activities.  There is another side exceedingly well represented by the Acadia Repertory Theatre.  Each summer season the troupe stages four plays in a delightful, small theatre in the town of Mt. Desert located in Mt Desert Island.  About 80 patrons fill the audience, so all seats are the best.

We just had the pleasure of seeing Noel Coward’s “Private Lives.”  What a hoot…  the story is about a divorced couple who both wind up at the same hotel (alas, in adjoining rooms) on his/her honeymoon night!  Sorry, even if you run fast, the play had its final performance 12 August.

The first play in the season was “Fully Committed” – a riotous one-man play, starring David Blais, as the downtrodden reservation phone operator for a very trendy New York restaurant.  The second play, “Almost, Maine” about a fictitious town in Maine has won many awards but I fail to see the reason.  Okay, I am not a certified play critic but I also do not think Ulysses is the best novel every written either!  (Anyone out there agree with me?)

The final play in the series this summer is the always delightful “And Then There Were None”, Agatha Christie’s eternal whodunit.

Later,
Diana

The White House Inn

Andrew Wyeth: "The Young Fisherman and his Dory"

I am an inveterate student – show me a lecture on art or literature, and I am there.  Tonight I attended a wonderful presentation by Michael Komanecky, Chief Curator of the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland.  The University of Maine at the Belfast campus (Hutchinson Center) is hosting a series of cultural events in July.  Usually, I take notes but tonight I winged it – the following is what I remembered.  It’s a little sketchy (no pun intended).

The whole thing started with N. C. Wyeth of Massachusetts, who later moved to Pennsylvania and then, when the bucks started rolling in, bought a summer place in Maine.  N. C. was primarily an illustrator for magazines and books but preferred to be known as a painter.

Andrew Wyeth was the son of N. C. Wyeth.  N. C. taught his son to draw and Andrew learned well – over his lifetime he produced a prolific portfolio of drawings, watercolors and paintings.

The son of Andrew is Jamie Wyeth, also an artist; he was born in 1946, hung out a lot with Andy Warhol, and is still painting.

The Farnsworth Museum celebrates the artists and art of Maine – it is not a Wyeth museum even though the museum owns an extensive collection of these three artists.  Lucy Farnsworth died in 1935 at the ripe age of 97; having not married and outlived all her siblings, she directed that her large estate be used to establish an art museum in Rockland. Voila!

Okay, I should have taken notes.
Diana

The White House Inn

The Antique Juggling Girl - a real gem

Sometimes when we have no guests, I “play house” – which means I roam from room to room rearranging furniture, changing wall art, fussing with the decorative pieces.  Basically making mischief – for invariably I find that we need another piece of furniture, an additional vanity tray, or some little item that will bring the room together.  What to do?  The easy answer is hop in the car and take a drive down Route 1.

Route 1 along the mid-coast is a cornucopia of antique shops.  Now an antique shop can range from junk emporium, to old but good stuff to the real deal (think Hepplewhite and Biedermeier).  Each type of shop has a certain allure and you can always find a treasure (affordable but fabulous) if you look long enough.

Just last week, after playing house, I needed another bedside night table.  After rooting through Searsport Antique Mall where various vendors rent a space, I struck pay dirt at The Red Kettle Antiques, just north of Searsport on Route 1.  Then on the way home, I just popped in Kendricks Antiques right here in Belfast and found another treasure that just begged me to take it home.  How could I resist?

Many of these antique shops do not have a website; sometimes they are members of the Maine Antique Dealers Association; and frequently you just have to be on the lookout as you cruise along Route 1 – not too fast or you likely will miss a shop and the deal of the century.

later
Diana

The White House Inn

Ah, the Romantic poets – Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and the eternal John Keats.  Their poetry permeates our lives and uplifts us all – even in subtle ways.  As I was thinking about a Special for Mother’s Day, into my mind crept the famous line, “She walks in beauty like the night…”.

The Romantic Poet Lord Byron

Yet, we are witness to the appearance of new and exciting poets, indeed, in Belfast.  Jacob Fricke is one.  I met him in Paperback Books here where he works, and always look forward to our literary chats.  One day, as I was waiting to purchase a cache of items, I noticed on the counter a new book entitled, This Book of Poems You Found, by Jacob Fricke (The Illuminated Press, Belfast, ME, 2011).  I scooped one up and glad I did as the collection is full of remarkable poetry.  Let me quote a few lines from one poem:

My love, my girl, you haunt the colored world -
In skies, in fields, in depths – I see your face
As if you were an utter soul in the clay Earth’s mold
Whose movements fill all things with immediate grace

“My love, my girl, you haunt the colored world.”  One day we may remember this evocative phrase much as we remember, “She walks in beauty like the night.”

later,
Diana

The White House Inn

Outside a snow dusting is giving Belfast the patina of fine, old silverware.   Beautiful, to be sure, but I am not wishing for snow – remember the old bumper sticker which proclaimed, “Think Snow!”?  Well, I am thinking Farmers’ Market and warm weather.  Just a few days ago, the Belfast Chamber of Commerce issued its electronic newsletter with its calendar of events – lo and behold, the Farmers’ Market was listed for this Friday.  Wow!  But my spirit was dashed with subsequent notification of an error!

For those of you who eagerly seek the spring, take note.  The Belfast Farmers’ Market opens Friday, May 11, 2012, at the Waterfall Arts on Upper High Street until the last Friday in October. Exception: evert first Friday of the month, the Market is located on Main Street.  Then for November and December, the Market moves to the Aubuchon Hardware store on Rt. 1 towards Camden.

The Belfast Farmers’ Market is a festive event where fresh produce as well as canned, jarred and baked goods, and dairy products can be tasted and purchased.  Our market is a member of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets.

brrrrr,
Diana

The White House Inn

Razorblades

Usually, this space is full of information regarding what to do and where to go in Maine.  Alas, the entry today is about what you missed.  Two weeks ago while on a visit to Washington DC,  I was reading the New York Times of 2 October 2011 in my dad’s kitchen – and came across a story about a decommission of an art work.  In 2006, the city of Portland purchased a piece of sculpture called “Tracing the Fore”; it consisted of a series of wavy-edged stainless steel panels and was installed in Boothby Square near the harbor. Grass planted between the panels was to grow billowy, creating a wave-like effect in the wind. Well, apparently the grass did not cooperate; rather than evoking a nautical visage, the grass and steel panels looked like one big mess, at least to some.

Local Portland residents referred to the sculpture as Razorblades.  This derisive nomenclature called to mind the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome – Italians have longed referred to this gigantic structure as the Wedding Cake.  And in my hometown of Washington, we call the Kennedy Center the giant Kleenex box.  Romans and Washingtonians poke fun at their singular monuments but over time have grown accustomed to them and even fond of them.

One hundred and fifty Portland resident signatures on a petition convinced the city to deinstall Razorblades.  Alas, this unusual sculpture did not have the time to bond with its locality.  The art work was purchased for $100 by a local collector who also paid $9k for removal.  The story may not be over!

later,
Diana
The White House Inn

The Gigantic Kleenex Box

The Wedding Cake

Ernest Hemingway was one ubiquitous man – seems like every nook and cranny in Europe was visited by this American writer.  I recall well an obscure cafe in Mont Saint Michel which proudly hung a photo of Hemingway at the cafe’s bar – where else?

Nighthawks

Well, I am trying to draw a parallel with Maine.  This state seems to beckon every reknowned American artist with its pristine shoreline, amazing sunlight effects and undisturbed natural beauty. Edward Hopper, of Nighthawks fame, was no exception.  Bowdoin College, recently in the national news as the most expensive college in the country, is also more happily in the news for its Edward Hopper exhibit, currently on display at its Museum of Art. Bowdoin is located in the lovely town of Brunswick.

A few days ago, Santiago and I visited this excellent exhibit which features 88 Hopper paintings created in Maine – many of them a series of oil sketches made on Monhegan Island 1916-1919. None of the works are owned by the museum; they are owned by 30 different lenders, some private lenders which means that these works are not seen often. Highly recommended is the brief film on Hopper which shows every half hour.  Both the film and the exhibit are free.

Captain Upton's House

Don’t miss this special exhibit which concludes 16 October 2011 — you can get in some leaf peeping at the same time.

cheers,
Diana

The White House Inn

This quote belongs to Mr. T. Jefferson but it is borrowed by many, including myself.  I recently finished East of Eden, John Steinbeck’s immortal classic.  How did I live this long (and “this long” is my little secret) without reading this book is a true mystery.  I was transported, immersed, and elevated.  East of Eden tells a family saga wrapped in Steinbeck’s beautiful philosophy of life.

After taking a deep breath, I perused the books already on our library shelves to see if I missed one.  The Lobster Coast by Colin Woodard, 2004, caught my eye and just coincidentally that evening the young man who gave that book to me was coming to dinner, so I plunged in — rather like a chore.  After all reading a book about Maine when you live in Maine is like taking coals to Newcastle.

Not Anna Karenina, but a good read

What a surprise! The book is engagingly written and reveals some astounding historical information and fascinating contemporary facts.  Such as:

*   Monhegan’s intrepid band of lobstermen fish in the deep, ferocious winter;
*   Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame journeyed to Maine; thereupon, he gave the region its name of “New England”;
*   Long before the Trail of Tears was the Great Dying when the plagues of 1616-1619 (caused by pathogens brought to the New World by Europeans) wiped out huge segments of the native Indians in Maine;
*  Despite the Great Dying, the much-aggrieved Indians rose up in the Great Uprising which lasted almost fifty years until 1726;
*   Maine was a colony of Massachusetts until 1820 when it became a state — all Mainers know this, but I had no clue;
*  A higher proportion of Mainers fought in the Civil War than that of any other Northern state;
*   Canning is not just for sardines – in the late 1800s Maine had 23 lobster canneries but by 1900 there were none;
*   California and other places tried to transplant the Maine lobster – but it never worked.

If I have whetted your appetite and intrigued your mind, grab the book (or borrow my copy) and come on up.

Later
Diana

The White House Inn

When we travel, I load down the suitcases with a lot of books – never want to be without a book on a vacation or at an airport.   So my sweet husband bought me an iPad – no more heavy books, just weightless e-classics and e-modern fiction to my heart’s content.  (Buying me an iPad is like my son buying me a football for Christmas — I hardly ever see the device.  But that’s another story.)

Life is good – we spent the month of June in Tuscany where we rented a villa and hosted several couples who signed up for the bella Belast, bella Toscana special.  The first day was filled with sunshine of the indescribable Tuscan kind, so off to the pool I went with my new toy and ready to read the day away.  No one tells you that sun reflection is not good for iPad reading; further being near the water gives me the heebie-jeebies that I will drop the electronic gadget in the pool, and that will be that!  The moral of this story is that hard copy still cannot be beaten.

iPads and Tuscan sun do not mix!

Belfast also holds to this mantra; indeed, Belfastbound is a weekend devoted to books: new, used, rare, all kinds.  With several new book stores opening in our little town, the festival weekend , July 29-31,will celebrate reading, writing and publishing.   Our Inn will participate with personal tours of this 1840 Greek revival manor house and the chance to purchase Historic Maine Homes. Ladies and gentlemen: open your books!

Later,

Diana
The White House Inn

I received an invitation to attend a slide show and panel discussion hosted by the Belfast Historical Society entitled, “Working in Belfast, Chickens and Sardines.”  Now who could turn that down?  And besides for the two short years we have been here, I have heard stories of people raking up chicken feathers from their yards as if they were leaves.  Turns out that Belfast in truth was a center for poultry processing for many generations; indeed, the last plant to shut down was Penobscot Poultry, closing its doors in 1988 — the year the smells and the feathers disappeared.  Also disappearing were many jobs, making Belfast one more footnote in the deindustrialization of the United States.

long title and a fascinating read

The panel discussants were four ladies who worked in various poultry processing plants in and near Belfast.  In a nutshell, the ladies, although working long and hard, were grateful for the work,  thought their wages fair, believed their bosses were supportive, and felt the plant and its workers to be one big family.  One lady had previously provided her oral history as a worker in the “blood tunnel” (that would be where she finished off the birds that had been missed by the automatic neck-cutter).  Her history has been preserved in “I Was Content and Not Content”: The Story of Linda Lord and the Closing of Penobscot Poultry. If you must have your own book, Amazon.com still has a supply – next best thing is read our Inn’s newly acquired copy.

a sardine by any other name.....

The sardine business closed a little later in 2001, and just this year the processing plant on the waterfront in Belfast was torn down to make way for the more tony pleasure boat building enterprise.  A few weeks ago, we visited the Portland Museum of Art; after strolling through the permanent collection with its fair sampling of Impressionism and a few John Singer Sargents (my personal favorite), we came across a special exhibit containing a large white board with about fifty empty sardine cans glued onto it.  (At this point, Santiago is looking at me and I can read his thoughts …”If I can do this….”  you know the rest).   What was educative was the text next to the sardine can board which explained that sardines are not a fish per se but consist of any of 21 different species, all of which are small and oily.  So I cannot say which species of fish was canned in Belfast as a sardine, I can state that all Maine’s sardine plants and canneries are now closed.  Next time you buy a can of sardines, see its country of origin and what’s in the can.

Later,
Diana
The White House Inn