GARDEN WORKS: When rain is your friend

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Emily CatesGARDEN WORKS

by  Emily Cates

Thank heaven for the rain! As I awoke this morning to the thunderous sound of raindrops pounding the ground, I thought what a relief it was to have a day where I would not feel so bad for staying inside. While the freshly-planted trees and shrubs from last week’s Fedco tree sale (also May 5 and 6) get a hearty dose of water from the sky, I sit here at my computer, typing, and listening to the downpour. Officially, the drought here in Central Maine has ended, though a conservative approach to using water is always the course of wisdom. In this article we will look at the pros and cons and a handful of ideas – some old, some new – on how to harvest the benefits of rainwater.

There are a myriad of benefits and a few risks to using rainwater in our area. Let’s start with the benefits: It’s free, simple, pre-“softened,” and (so far) legal. What more could a gardener want? With an inch of rain, you can capture .62 gallons per sq. ft. of each non-permeable surface area. When you apply this formula to the buildings on your property, the amount of potential harvestable water can be substantial. Consider this disquieting fact: according to the EPA’s website, the average American household uses more than 300 gallons of potable water each day, 70 percent of which is used indoors. What about the other 30 percent used outdoors, an average 90 gallons (Wow! Seriously?) a day? Depending on a few factors, such as time of year and amount of rainfall – rainwater collection, along with mindful usage – might be sensible drops in the bucket to help alleviate our thirst for water.

Unfortunately, there are risks to using rainwater: As much as we would wish otherwise, the upsetting fact is that rainwater is not always as pure as nature intended. You see, mankind has got into the habit of polluting the earth, and what goes up into the air comes down with the rain. Substances such as heavy metals, pesticides, industrial emissions, radioactive particles, and other harmful toxins are potentially lurking in rainwater. Also, in our neck of the woods we have acid rain as a result of being downwind of substantial fossil-fuel burning areas of the northeast. Do the benefits of using rainwater outweigh the risks? That’s a decision you’ll have to make. It can be filtered, but at what cost? “Well, it’s going to rain on the garden,” we could reason. “Why not use water that would just run off anyways?” Something else worth noting is that several states have laws that ban or restrict the collecting of rainwater. As ridiculous as it sounds, it’s true – but at least we do not, as far as I know, have such restrictions here in Maine. So why hold back? Nature sure doesn’t when it rains like it did last night. Let’s see if this is a project worth exploring.

The simplest, old-fashioned way to collect rainwater is by using a barrel. Divert the waters on your roof onto a downspout that flows into a rain barrel, and now you’re talking! Elevate this barrel to a level that is higher than your garden and you’ll have a gravity fed system of irrigation. Use drip irrigation tubing plugged into the barrel’s spout on one end, with the other ends strategically-placed in the garden and orchard, and the efficiency of this system will be greatly enhanced. Here’s a nifty link to an article on making a rain barrel out of a recycled food barrel.

Okay, okay, so putting a rain barrel in the middle of the garden could possibly present an aesthetic challenge. I’ll admit it. But your garden will thank you for it with lush growth. Also, never underestimate the power of making a statement with a rain barrel! Soon, hopefully, everyone will be in on the merits of them and they’ll be a mainstay in every garden. Now if Martha would do a show about that….. Hey wait, check this out, and this.

You can also divert water into a cistern, which is a below-ground collection reservoir. One drawback with cisterns is that a pump or similar system is probably needed to draw the water up. Other problems with cisterns are that they can be the cause of unwanted moisture if situated in a basement, can be a danger if improperly constructed where people or animals could fall in them, and the water has the potential to become stagnant. Be sure that the cistern is made from ingredients that do not leach harmful substances into the water. With these considerations in mind, a cistern could be another helpful tool in the water conservationist’s toolbox. Here’s a link for cisterns.

With these ideas in mind, the value of conserving water is priceless. In our area with China Lake, rivers, streams, ponds, waterfalls, and swamps within sight, we may tend to take water for granted. I recall growing up in a time when few of those around me gave much thought to the significance of having a dependable water supply; it was just assumed it had always been there and always would be. Thankfully, attitudes have changed since then and I see a much greater appreciation for this most precious resource. Water-saving appliances and devices are the norm, and it is not as much en vogue to have a lawn showered with sprinklers in the heat of summertime. Since there is no good reason to waste what we do not need to use, let’s always have a mindful approach to how we use water.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: What is Aylostera Vulpina?

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

It’s simply amazing what you come across in the woods of Maine. Last weekend, while preparing to open camp for the season, my wife and I were helping some friends next door do some raking and leaf pickup, when the wife showed me something that she had raked up. It looked kind of odd. OK, something else I had never seen in the 29 years my wife and I have been there.

It was round, like an orb, a little smaller than a tennis ball. Brown in color, with black bristles all over the exterior. At one end was a hole with what appeared to be dried mud inside.

That evening, I perused through the myriad of books I own and found nothing that really resembled it. The closest I came was that of a milkweed stock, but still didn’t look the same. So, I turned to my contact at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in Augusta. His initial thought was a gall, but he would confer with his botanist colleagues.

Basically, a gall is a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants or animals. They are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts on animals. They are caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites. They are highly organized structures and because of this the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. In human pathology, a gall is a raised sore on the skin, usually caused by chafing or rubbing.

In the end, what we had found was not a gall.

Several emails later, my contact replied following some consultations with the botanists, and were wondering if it might be a Chestnut gall. This would only be possible if we had a mature Chestnut tree on the premises. There are none that we are aware.

What we found, left, and what we think it is.

Then, another state botanist, Don Cameron, concluded that there are no trees in Maine with galls that have multiple spines from the same attachment point and therefore he speculated that it was most likely a cactus house plant that was thrown away in the yard some time ago.

He concluded the orb was possibly that of the Aylostera vulpina plant, a cactus that is native to Bolivia and Argentina, but very popular as house potted plants. In the wilds of South America, they grow at altitudes of 3,400 – 3,900 feet. I was not able to find a common name for them.

The plant is easy to grow and recommended for beginners. They prefer a gritty, porous soil mix with a pH slightly on the acidic side. Full sun to light shade. The root system is rot prone so watering should be monitored closely.

It’s recommended to let the pot dry out before adding water. It is winter hardy and will sustain temperatures below freezing. They require a winter rest period.

This species of cactus will occupy a small flower pot comfortably and remain a manageable sized house plant. The flower is bright red with scarlet petal tips and white stigma.

They are subject to mealy-bug attacks and to fungus and rot brought on by over-watering and high humidity.

It appears that in cultivation they grow larger and cluster more vigorously than in the wild.

The site where the pod was found has had a high turnover rate in the past 6 – 10 years so could very conceivably have been a potted house plant. The area had not been raked in quite some time.

I guess, for the time anyway, we have solved another “mystery” at camp.

I’m Just Curious: Victorian America

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by Debbie Walker

A while back I added a book to my collection of odd books. This one is Manners and Morals of Victorian America. I love reading this stuff and I enjoy sharing them with you.

In 1868 it was said that Americans were too grave a people. We make business the “be-all and end-all” of life. We laugh too little. Work is better when there has been some level of recreation.

I always wondered why men are expected to remove their hats when they enter a building but a woman is not. It has to do with the difficulty of rearranging the hat of a woman (info from 1889).

A man when visiting should keep his hat in his hand. This will show your host that you’re not there for a meal (1875).

Chaperones: They come in one of three age brackets – marriage, parental or doting age (maybe the proverbial old maid) (1906)

Chaperones are the shepherds. She must lead her charges, properly and safely. She’s to keep her eagle eye on her charge to prevent her from committing indiscretions at a debutants ball (1910). (And our kids complain about their freedoms!)

Children: Some people prefer children to dogs because a license is not required for children (1910). Women used to (1910) like to grow the hair of their sons, much like a female child. The mother is encouraged to cut the hair when the son is 6-8 years old so they can grow manly.

Driving: Hold your emotions in check. It is wrong for the motor passenger to express emotion of any kind, either by facial contortion or bodily wriggling (1910). Guess they wouldn’t approve of road rage!

In 1906 when you got a car you wouldn’t be stingy. You were to allow the neighbors a smell of it!

Weapons—If you are going to drive alone on the highways and byways it might be advisable to carry a small revolver (1909).

Story telling (1883) never make yourself the hero of your own story.

Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted yourself.

A lady’s first marriage refusal: It is not always necessary to take a lady’s first refusal as absolute. She may reconsider.

The offer of a man’s heart and hand, is the greatest compliment he can pay her, however undesirable to her these gifts may be (1838).

A man should not court a girl, nor ask her to become his fiancée unless he can support a wife. To marry on nothing at all is very foolish, and seldom results happily (1910).

Refusing an offer of marriage: In refusing, the lady ought to convey her full sense of the high honor intended her by the gentleman, and to add, seriously but not offensively, that it is not her wish at this time.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed Victorian America!! There is a lot more of it, however, I will finish now. I’m just curious how you would handle these situations.

Thanks for reading! Contact me with questions or comments at dwdaffy@yahoo.com.

REVIEWS: Musician: Aladdin; Music Maker: Artur Rubinstein; Recording Artists: Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius

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Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by  Peter Cates

Words of Inspiration

by Aladdin
Dot DLP 3570, mono LP, recorded early ‘60s.

Aladdin

Aladdin Ahmed Abdullah Anthony Pallante (1912-1970) was best known as a regular on the Law­rence Welk Show from 1953 to 1967 and a talented violinist, comic foil for novelty songs and skits and reciter of inspirational verse. This LP features him in some of his most popular recitations – Why Do I Love You?, Deck of Cards, A Cowboy’s Prayer, Windows of Gold and Touch of the Master’s Hand. Each one is accompanied by some of the most beautiful music performed exquisitely by Welk’s instrumentalists.

Five used copies of the LP are available from three different Amazon vendors, ranging from $5 to $20.

Aladdin suffered a heart attack in 1967, resigned from the show and died in 1970 at 57.

Artur Robinstein

Complete Polonaise and 4 Impromptus
Artur Rubinstein, pianist; RCA Victor LM-7037, two mono LPs, recorded 1965.

Artur Rubinstein

Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982) was a great player, not only of Chopin, but also Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, etc., and my shelves bear witness with 78s, 45s, LPs and CDs. His happy go-lucky personality and sociability at more parties than one could shake a stick at belied his purposeful discipline and very high standards.

However, he admitted in his memoirs that, before he turned 42, he caroused most of his days away until he had a very serious inkling that his talent was being squandered. Fortunately, he regrouped and became the much-loved music maker for the remaining 50 years of his life.

The performances are, of course, top-notch, and these pieces, with their infinite range of mood, will repay concentrated listening. A must set for Chopin fans!

Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius

I’ll Never Be Free
RCA Victor APL1-2781, stereo LP, recorded 1978.

In recent years, I have become a fan of the late country singer Jim Ed Brown (1934-2015) and own a batch of recordings covering three major phases of his career and focus-first, with sisters Maxine and Connie as The Browns from the early ‘50s until 1967; then on his own from ’67 until ’75; and finally part of a duo with Helen Cornelius from ’75 until she ended the partnership in ’81.

Jim Ed Brown

At first, Brown was skittish about pairing up with anyone, but RCA A&R man Bob Ferguson prevailed with his idea that Brown and the then unknown Helen Cornelius (1941-) might be a good fit. He proved right; the two blended exquisitely and this album is one lovely disk. The ten selections are new to me but not one of them is a dud.
My absolute favorite, one I have played over and over again, is Lay Down the Burden of Your Heart. It never fails to provoke goosebumps!

Helen Cornelius

On June 4, 2015, country legend Bill Anderson presented Brown with the medallion for inclusion in the Country Music Hall of Fame, in the presence of family and friends, at his hospital bedside as he was dying from cancer; then everyone sang Will the Circle Be Unbroken? Brown passed away on June 11, at 81.

Tracking – building confidence and desire

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

Successful tracking comes from the dog wanting to follow the scent you have indicated to them. In this case, the scent of the “start article.”

You must motivate them to lock on to this scent because this scent “pays” – and ignore all the other wonderful scents they may come across along the way.

You must motivate them to persevere even when the path is hard and it is easier to go another way. You must motivate them to keep working even when they are tired and would like to stop.

So how do you communicate this to your dog?

Some dogs find sniffing very rewarding; however, this does not mean your dog will necessarily want to follow the scent of what you have directed them to follow. In order to create desire to follow the scent you have indicated (the start article) you must in training make the job of following the start article scent very rewarding. This is why using multiple articles on training tracks and rewarding for finding and indicating each article will teach the dog to stay on the scent you started with. I try to communicate to my dog that each article they find is very important and will “pay” very well. I vary the value of my rewards so the dog will always keep working to find the article that will pay with high value treats. I am enthusiastic about what they find. Just paying at articles and going on is not always enough for some dogs. Some dogs need excited input; others need sincere appreciation from the handler. This is where relationship comes in.

What does your dog need? This could change as the track progresses. This is where tracking really shows off the relationship with your dog. You must train this way with your dog so you can encourage them through the difficult parts of the track and get them to search for that elusive scent one more time.

Even though at a test you cannot reward your dog with food at the article, the relationship you develop through training each time your dog finds an article will carry over into competition and you will be able to help your dog focus and go back to tracking. Spending time at the article is a good mental break for both dog and handler. It gives the handler a chance to assess what has been going on and where they are on the track and enables the handler through their relationship with the dog to encourage and motivate the dog to go on or to calm and focus the dog on the next section of track.

What your dog needs at any particular time will depend on our dog’s personality and the difficulty of the track. When your dog finds multiple articles along the way during training their confidence builds because they are successful and are praised for their effort. This interaction enhances their relationship with you and will build confidence and desire. Long, arduous, unrewarding tracks will not build the desire you need for a successful tracking dog. If you are struggling with focus or desire, try to put some motivation back into your tracks.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of May 11, 2017

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

My thanks to Marie Poulin for sending me a Solon Historical Society program, I appreciate it greatly. Officers are president, Chris Shaw; vice president, Neil Hunnewell; secretary, Maureen Shaw; treasurer, Albert Starbird and financial secretary, Marie Poulin. Trustees: Rance Pooler, three years, Chris Shaw, two years, and Jeff McAllister, one year. Publicity Marie Poulin and Marilyn Rogers-Bull. Program Juanita McAllister, Neil Hunnewell and Ann Padham. Dues are $5 per person or family, payable at the annual meeting in September. Meetings will be held on the fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m., at the Gray Merrill House, 28 South Maine Street, unless otherwise stated. No regular meetings will be held in December or January. Programs and locations are subject to change. This months meeting is on May 22 and the program is called Issac Davis Celebration presented by Issac Davis. The Solon Historical Society was organized on May 8, 1999, by Virginia Merrill.

The monthly supper at the Embden Community Center will be on Saturday, May 13, at 5 p.m. Country Sunday/Open Mic will be held there on Sunday, May 14, from 1 – 4 p.m.

I have always been an animal lover and when a friend showed me a clipping entitled “A Dog’s Plea” I thought it would be nice to share . It was written by Beth Norman Harris. Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I might lick your hand between blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me learn.

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music, as you must know by the fierce wagging of my tail when the sound of your footstep falls upon my waiting ear.

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated animal, no longer accustomed to bitter elements. I ask no greater glory than the privilege of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst. Feed me clean food that I might stay well, to romp and play, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect y6ou with my life.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and I no longer enjoy good health, hearing and sight, do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having fun.

Please see that my trusting life is taken gently. I shall leave this Earth knowing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

Another friend who reads this column faithfully, and finds Percy’s memoirs quite inspiring gave me some that she had saved. The love and thought were very precious to me.

Percy’s memoir this week is one we both found and loved, it is entitled “A Touch of Loveliness.” Add a touch of loveliness To the things you say and do, Give pleasure to more people By a happy smile, won’t you? Be thoughtful of the people Whom you meet in shop and store, Then to God you will be dearer, He will love you even more. Aim higher, think kinder, Be a better, nicer you, Aim higher, think kinder, For this world has a need of you. (words by Sr. Mary Gemma Brunke.)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The return of the Eastern Phoebe

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Easstern Phoebe

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Several years ago – there seems to be disagreement when it was – we had an Eastern phoebe build a nest under the awning, on a cross beam that abuts our camp. We watched as the female incubated the eggs, and my wife had the opportunity to witness the last of the chicks leave the nest.

Well, I think it’s about to happen again, and to quote the late, great Yogi Berra, “it’s déja vu all over again!” We noticed an Eastern phoebe hanging around last Sunday when we went to camp to assess the winter damage and begin the clean up. She seemed to be scoping out the area for a potential site for a nest.

In the past, the female arrived and began building the nest sometime after May 1. When we moved out to camp for the summer on May 9, the nest was about half complete. Even with the increase in traffic, the bird continued on its mission of finishing the task it had begun, despite the fact that the nest was about two feet from the door to the camp, in the exact location the other bird had chosen a few years back.

eastern phoebe

There were four eggs in the nest. We determined this by taking a mirror, placing it on a stick and looking inside the nest. The female, at that point, would leave the nest every time the door opened. They were all phoebe eggs. The Eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasitic brown-headed cowbird.

As the incubation period approached its end, she was a little more reluctant to leave the nest unattended. She was more tolerant of our presence and did not leave the nest after sunset, regardless of the commotion that was going on around her.

Returning north at the beginning of spring, sometimes before the snow has left, these early arrivals are unmistakable. They pump their tails up and down, as only phoebes can. They have remarkably large heads, and the straight-up feathers on their heads are far too short to make a respectable crest.

In inhabited areas, the phoebes like to build their nests under bridges, porches, eaves and sheds. They will practically move in on favored homeowners – which I suppose is what we became – who may then be lucky enough to watch the construction of their moss and mud nests, the hatching of the eggs, the feeding of the young, and finally the fledgling of the brood as they take their first awkward flights, all things that we have been fortunate enough to observe.

Phoebes will frequently return to the same nest sites year after year, which we have discovered.

Although only the female incubates the eggs, both parents share in the feeding of the young. They generally will raise two broods a year, sometimes three. In our case, the last experience with them was only one brood, because we deduced that because of the many times she leaves the nest in our presence, it may take longer than the customary 14-17 days to incubate.

The young will leave the nest approximately two weeks after hatching.

The nest is an open cup with a mud base (makes a mess on the windows) and lined with moss and fine grass stems and hair.

Although the book on the phoebes indicate they are loners, and that even during egg laying the female will chase away the male, the pair that we have stay close. While the female is in the nest, the male is never too far away. We witnessed the male attack a Baltimore Oriole that had landed on the edge of the roof, eight feet away from the nest.

When we go back to camp this weekend, we will try to find if the phoebe has found a place to nest. The beam that once was home for these birds is no longer there. I’ll keep an eye on the outbuildings.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

What pitcher twice struck out 20 players in a single game?

Answer
Boston’s Roger Clemens, against the Mariners and Tigers

I’m Just Curious: “911” called

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by Debbie Walker

I love it when things happen in daily life and it turns out to give me the next week’s column. That’s what happened on Thursday, April 27.

Ken and I were coming back to Burnham from Waterville; there was nothing unusual about that. I heard my cell phone making a noise, usually that wouldn’t be unusual but it wasn’t ringing and I heard someone talking. I picked it up and spoke into it. There was a voice saying it was the 911 operator.

My phone had called 911 all by itself. Oh, I felt so bad because I know how busy these people are with real emergencies; I didn’t want to waste their time.

I was ready to end the call so the woman could go on to help a real emergency. What I didn’t think of was this woman needed to make sure I wasn’t her next emergency. We verified where I was at the time, my name, my address and was anyone telling me to say I was “okay?” I was able to assure her that we were fine and I apologized again for my phone’s bad behavior.

We rode the rest of the way home without any more incidents. Things were normal for the rest of the afternoon and evening until… There was a knock on the door. It was after dark and neither of us had any idea who it might be. So Ken went to the door and opened it. He was quite surprised to see the smiling face of a Waldo county sheriff’s deputy looking back at him.

This was a follow-up visit to the afternoon’s phone call with the 911 operator. I was so surprised; I didn’t expect a follow-up visit. But I did understand the concern for safety.

Today this was a funny situation but I am sure that is not what these people deal with daily. Their caller could actually be in a life or death situation and desperately need help.

I was told that cell phones often call 911. From what I was told people usually just hang up without talking to the operator. When an operator calls back (part of the job) that number people very often will not answer the call. I don’t know if that is because of embarrassment or bother.

The job these operators have is very serious and I would imagine rather stressful. I certainly didn’t want to add to anyone’s stress. I know this would not be a job for me; I admire them.

I’m just curious if you ever had this experience? Contact me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com sub: 911

Thanks for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Baritone: Emilio de Gogorza; Author: Edward Garnett

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Peter Catesby  Peter Cates

Emilio de Gogorza

The Holy City
Victor- 74041, one-sided, 12-inch 78, recorded 1906.

Emilio de Gogorza

The baritone Emilio de Gogorza (1872-1949) recorded more discs for Victor than has been documented accurately. Despite this number and his success as a concert artist, he never appeared in any opera on stage due to terrible near-sightednss.

The Holy City has been recorded many umpteens of times since the cylinder days. My favorite records of this are the Richard Crooks 1935 Victor 78 and the 1950 Decca ep 45 but Gigorza performed it with intelligence, sensitivitivity and a very polished voice- qualities that have been consistently noted by his fans.

He was married for 25 years to the famed soprano Emma Eames (1865-1952), who grew up in Bath and whose house is still standing!

Letters from Joseph Conrad

Edward Garnett, ed.; The Bobbs-Merrill-Company, 1928, 302 pages.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) did not master English fluently until his 20s. Later the Polish-born merchant marine seaman would leave his oceanic livelihood to devote his energy full time to becoming one of a tiny handful of the greatest 20th century writers and a vibrant, multi-faceted individual to those fortunate enough to have met him.

Edward Garnett

I have read and deeply enjoyed Heart of Darkness (the basis for the late ‘70s film classic Apocalypse Now), Lord Jim, the short story “Typhoon”, “Under Western Skies”, and, a huge favorite of mine, “Victory”. Searchers for truth abound in his stories with their exotic and frequently hostile locales in the darker corners of Europe, Czarist Russia, and Africa, and on board the ships travelling the dangerously wide open seas.

This book of correspondence has an insightful introduction and notes by Conrad’s longtime younger friend and editor, Edward Garnett (1868-1937), who was most helpful in motivating the often insecure writer to keep working during their mutually edifying friendship- starting in 1895, just when Conrad began his writing career, to 1924, when the author suffered a fatal heart attack. However, only Conrad’s letters to Garnett make up the bulk of this fascinating volume.

I offer select comments from Conrad to provide a sense of his larger than life personality:

His ability to put pain in its rightful place with an unexpected twist while carrying on about petty matters- “Why am I fooling thusly while there is a pain in my back to which a jab with a carving-knife would be a soothing application?”

His impatience with people – “Don’t you know my dear Edward how stupid people are! They take delight in merest twaddle, they look out for and welcome the obvious. And they understand hardly anything which is not either one or the other.”

His praise of Garnett’s uncanny ability at helping him write his best work – “You are a dear good old critic – you are! You’ve a way of saying things that would make an old sign-post take to writing. You put soul and spunk into me – you, so to speak, bamboozle me into going on – and going on and going on. You can detect the shape of a mangled idea and the shadow of an intention in the worst of one’s work – and you make the best of it. You would almost persuade me that I exist. Almost!”

Reading him at first can be difficult but patience, as I know from my own experience, yields rewards of great worth. I recommend Heart of Darkness for the beginner.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of May 4, 2017

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by Katie Ouilette

WALLS, surely we must feel honored. I found a business card, which I probably received at a Skowhegan Chamber of Commerce FAB Fair years ago and it read that The Town Line is the oldest [existing] weekly newspaper in Central Maine. The date was 1989. Y’know, faithful readers, the Skowhegan Independent Reporter surely outdated The Town Line, as its history follows, but certainly, WALLS, it is a great honor to be presenting your thoughts in print each week.

Yes, you are well-aware that the pocket-park at the corner of Madison Avenue and, what was, Russell Street in Skowhegan was the site of a large building. Yes, it was empty and folks learned that it was beyond repair by an architect and several others who were well-acquainted with old buildings. In fact, the same was determined for the, one time, Reporter Office. O.K., WALLS, go for it as this is reminiscing time for our faithful readers.

WALLS, tell about that big old building first. Yes, faithful readers, the top floor was the location of the first photographic studio in Skowhegan. Surely, WALLS, there were a lot of stairs to climb, so parents who wanted their children’s photos or people who wanted photos of people who were incapacitated for any reason had to have the photographer carry his equipment to one’s home. Then, on the third floor was Lydia Deane’s ‘candy kitchen’ and anyone who remembers those divine candies know that she shipped Lydia Deane’s candies to our military during World War II, while we lucky folks at home could visit her store that was located over our Maine Liquor Store on Madison Avenue. Our once Maine Governor and now U.S.Senator Angus King ran a law office for the Kennebec Legal Association on the second level. The first level housed two small grocery stores, one owned by Howard Gray and one by Emil Stred. After Wallace’s TV and Radio Sales and Repair became the building’s owner, we are told by Donna Wallace Finley that her dad placed a loud-speaker on the building and hundreds of people gathered there to get news of the ending of World War II. Ah, what a wonderful world we all thought we lived in!

O.K., WALLS, you told us that Skowhegan’s Reporter Office Building was torn down to create the ‘park’ in our downtown, so tell us about what happened to those bricks. Yes, Katie’s car was to be filled with some of the bricks. Oh, in her back seat, of course. Some of the bricks were to be used as a memorial to Herb Paradis, who was a founder and the first host of our Channel 11’s Keeping Pace, but we must remember that Herb wrote a column entitled Keeping Pace for our Somerset Reporter. WALLS, make sure to tell our faithful readers that “Buster” Foster was editor of The Reporter, too.

Now, here comes a twist to this bit of history. In East Madison is what has always been known as the Whittier House. Yes, Emma and Ed Whittier lived there and, when they ceased their living, the house was sold. to Jackie Jacques and Dick Anzelc amd all their family was born there. Dick worked at Alfond’s Shoe Manufacturing until Alfond’s ceased to exist. Well, Walls, now Rick and his wife have purchased the house, which was abused to say the least, and now it is the Anzelc house again. In the process of refurbishing “the Whittier house,” Katie learned that the fantastic antique brick fireplace that has a washtub and ovens in the kitchen had some broken bricks and what better place for antique bricks than what is now ‘the Anzelc House.’