A good part of the rest, including the bigger questions of background and intent, and who was right or wrong, depend mostly on whom you ask. It's an island tradition! This isnt a place that could exist on the mainlandor, probably, even 10 miles closer to it. It doesnt come in here, she said, and that was the end of that. Now, the whole country is waiting for a package from Amazon, waiting for tests and vaccines, waiting to find out if the kids hockey is going to start back up. The next ship wasn't scheduled for several weeks so I would return to the mainland on the "mail-plane" in four days -- weather permitting! They need things, distances are not trivial for hauling gear around (try carrying building supplies a mile on a hand cart over gravel roads) and they use their pick up trucks to get these things from place to place. There are probably not 35 today. The pair find inspiration amid . A few moments after we arrived, a small Cessna plane approached and landed, dropping off a couple with a dog. All those generations. So we went back to get more instructions. The first of these was on a Tuesday and the next that following Thursday, which would permit a two day stay on the island. Matinicus is officially a plantation, a Maine-specific, organized form of municipal self-government, similar to but with some differences from a town or city. Admittedly, Matinicus Isle isn't a major tourist attraction in Maine. Stunning cliff-side views and seascapes, along with a special island light, entice many artists there every summer and their studios are often available for a tour. On Matinicus Island, until that July morning two years ago, it was still that time. Two hundred traps, maybe 250, were the most a man could manage. About a year ago, as we were discussing our next such Monhegan trip, Harold and I shared that we had never been out to Matinicus Island, actually a small archipelago, somewhat further out from Monhegan. For over 100 years they have visited islands along Maines coast (originally focused on the lighthouse keepers on small rocks and living with no outside support at all) bringing health care, companionship and simply attention to some of the States most isolated communities. I made my way along the gravel road, walking past small scattered homes, some with mountains of lobster traps neatly stacked in the yards. He had built for them a small bridge over a creek to cut their well trips down by around 50 feet, but they didnt use it. The only opportunity for food, other than what we brought with us, was to buy hard-as-rock hard shell lobsters from the fishermen at the dock and steam them ourselves in the inns kitchen. In Maine, heavy rain and powerful wind gusts knocked out power for more than 50,000 homes and businesses on Monday morning. Nope, not one little bit. MATINICUS, Maine The snow had begun falling overnight, and fell throughout the day, draping the towering pines and the lobster traps, stacked up on land for the winter, in blankets of white. Damn, we have a lot of cardboard here. When half of them were cut two weeks later, he was sure he knew by whom: a pair of stepbrothers, Chris Young and Weston Ames, both in their early forties, with 400 years of island ancestry between them. He graciously had us at his home for a couple of nights. Since there are no stores, except for a "bakery" which operates out of a residential kitchen in the summer, many islanders have their own gardens. Its all around us, layers and layers of it. While youre at it you can also paint the dogs nails. This was not a story dating back to an earlier era, 100 or even just 50 years ago. The Matinicus Island Ladies Literary League and Subversive Activities Committee, also known as the Red Dahlia Society, was . I have been waking to this sight at this cottage off and on since about the age of two. Were probably not going anywhere except the airstrip to collect the milk order anyway. I am happy to note that telemedicine is becoming much more mainstream. There was a time, Philbrook says, when he had thoughts of leaving the island: He went to college, took courses in aerospace engineering (I thought maybe I wanted to go into space), switched to biology, then to photographybut nothing clicked. Apple cider, hard from aging a year in mason jars, was served and enjoyed. It seems almost of a different world. Were living it, every one of us, every single day. Be sure to check the most recent online schedule. This from someone who recalls the days, 30 and 40 years ago, of church suppers, bingo nights, and community softball games; when times were so tight that most of the men fished year-round (the norm these days is April through December) and still went out at night with herring nets; and grudges, no matter how bitter, were nearly always trumped by need. Now youve got the big fishermen with their fast boatsAlan Miller, hes got two boats, hes not a young guy anymore, hes already made his moneywho come in not caring about anything, just looking to fish some sweet waters.. No more. The short gravel runway ends at the water's edge, so as we rumbled full throttle toward the crashing waves I was hoping things would go as intended! Join for as little as $2.99 per month and support local journalism on a community hub that serves everyone. Born and raised in pre-WWII/ pre-discovered Nantucket, then served in the post WWII navy, then lived for awhile on Peaks Island in Casco Bay and now here. The community has been exploring alternatives, including solar and battery storage. But how about other trash? It needs them, its always needed them. Vance and I were kids together. For those at the moment safe from the big problems wildfire and hurricane, racism and hunger, depression and fear, and forgive me for making light in a time of crisiswe might compare notes. This is not just a learning curve for the patient, by the way. I cut a few of yours [traps], you cut a few of minethat was always going onuntil the time came when somebody lost their boat or their roof blew off in a storm, the islander says. Its the same with everyone here. In our modern world, most of us probably think that things like this dont still exist, at least not in the US. Itll take five minutes. And we were told that the water taxi service is well run and a good option. (Only? A mile and a half down, past all but the last of the houses, where the island starts to narrow and you begin to think you can smell the ocean again, you come to the cemetery. Once we loaded three cars, two pickups, a dump-truck (which barely fit), and four passengers on foot, we set sail for the 2.5-hour trip. They voted him off the islandout of island waters. A nurse visits the island homes, and there are telemedicine facilities on board to e-link in doctors as needed. Then she stopped. The mail will be late. A man drives too fast, we tell him to slow down. He was a nice guy and came in for a sit and a talk, after both ends of the bargain had been completed. Harold in back with our bags, me in front in the copilots seat. For those at the moment safe from the big problems wildfire and hurricane, racism and hunger, depression and fear, and forgive me for making light in a time of crisiswe might compare notes. Metinic Island is approximately 2 miles long and is less than half a mile wide at its widest point. Fish crates, firewood, and rope coils are piled about. The people who are really necessary in civilization are the folks who deal with logistics and freight and utilities and emergencies and human care, not the men in three-piece suits. As the evening of our second night approached, while we waited for a fisherman to deliver a bucket of 4 lobsters, we heard outside the rumble of a lawnmower. school that is overseen by a part-time superintendent and a three-person school board. Congress appropriated $4,000 on May 18, 1826 for the project, and the island was purchased for $20 from George W. Coffin and George Irish. CW: domestic violence, death of animals About the host: Writer Crash Barry lives near a cannabis grove in the foothills of western Maine. That's the island way! For example, the rest of the country is realizing that siblings learning side-by-side is just not that weird. Organized, continuous and full time missionary work has gone way out of style. On JamesEdition you can find luxury homes in Finland of any size between . It was good enough to have our gear get a ride from the first truck that went by. In the end, though, it is the islands willfulness, more than anything elsemore even than its isolationthat sets this place apart. There was a time when that wouldnt have mattered much; 50 or 60 years ago, with an island population just shy of 200, there were other ways to make a living here. There were many sorts of birds, not just gulls. That isnt the law. There [on the mainland], when you want your car fixed, you go to the garage. It is exactly what that island life is, unvarnished by anyones expectations. We really had very little planned. Pools of water formed among the rocks by the receding tide, leaving behind small crabs and other marine life to be discovered by curious students. Everyone knows that the kids are the future of the island, Heather Wells told me when I met with her last summer. Anybody who still believes that the CEO is by definition more important than the delivery boy is thinking like its, well, 2019. How could they possibly, with all their troubles? The island has a growing group of children approaching school age. Dispatches from the Boulevard of Broken Dreams and other travel observations, Montana, Glacier national park, Amtrak, North Dakota, Empire builder, Great Plains. Join our email list to stay updated on all things Maine; food & drink, events & festivals, home & garden and much more. Of fires, drownings, lost boats, sea rescues, church suppers, roof raisings, shared food, every neighborly act you could think of. When Charlie first came here all those years ago, they cut his traps, too. Turning into their drive meant putting my back to a view of the many islands crowding the western half of Casco Bay. And hes the one who brought the guns to the argument., Three summers ago, the summer before the shooting, the island got together and threw itself a high-school prom: men, women, and teens, many in 30-year-old tuxes or too-tight, floor-length dressesone guy even in white tierocking out to Boogie Fever in the church basement under crepe paper and string lights, popping flashes, selling raffle tickets, drinking spiked punch from a bowl in a neighbors yard. Lobster buoys hang like Christmas balls from the branches of a spruce. And as soon as things get a little tough, they get all pissed off and start setting up rulesabout property, and family and whatever, and who can fish and who cantand writing them down and passing them out. But it seemed as though the main reason to have a ferry to Matinicus was to permit the sizable number of pick up trucks to transport their sizable payloads of gear, food, hardware, building supplies and whatever may have been loaded in that U-Haul that was on board. And these did not prevent really restful nights. Grants and Scholarships Portal Apply Here, Download Matinicus Community Profile (PDF), Steamboat Wharf, a publicly accessible ferry landing, Power station generating electricity for the island. Throw them out in road of course. Physicians are also being forced to adjust to a reality where not every hangnail must be seen in the office. There was nothing legally binding in anything they decided; a licensed lobsterman, as far as the law is concerned, can set his traps anywhere he chooses. Theres no war going on, and no one I met is groping for their guns. But other than that, theres at least some truth to most of it. There is no dry cleaning. But lately, since that July morning two years ago, when Vance Bunker shot Chris Young-and the islands clan-based, sometimes brutish culture was suddenly the stuff of cable-TV newsthe islanders devotion, while no less total, has stiffened and turned fearful. There were also some items that gave a sense of the man. ), Out on the water, Nat said, Youre close to your work, youre wet, its noisy, its real, sort of like farming must have been at one time. Lisa, for her part, talked about the silenceYou listen carefully, you hear individual things: the wind, the bell buoys, the generator at nightand the spareness of day-to-day life: That whole Walmart mentality, theres none of that out here. Hussey is a lawyer in his forties, a slight man with thin features and tousled, receding brown hair. Their cottage was without water and electricity. It was a while before either of us mentioned Alan Miller. Matinicus Island, the most remote island in Penobscot Bay is rarely visited by tourists, and is considered a working island, not a tourist island, but this beach camp, right on the ocean's edge, has for 41 years been available for individuals and families seeking a place off-the-beaten-track who understand that in trade for the occasional . As the ferry cautiously made its way into the picturesque Matinicus Harbor, there was simple beauty all around. Or you get your answers off the record. Its hard times for everyone, he said. Call Josh Ames at (207) 366-3128. The inn doesnt have a sea view but I think the ocean couldnt have been more than 20 or so yards away from the trees that lined the property. Seurasaari. Or maybe Vance Bunker cut them, or maybe both of them did, or neither; it can be foggy off Matinicus in the early mornings. Lisa, busy readying her Matinicus Island Store for its spring opening, just days away, came and went from the conversation. While we work hard to keep you informed about the Midcoast community, how citizens cope and thrive, we need your help, too. The shooting happened over lobster traps: who has a right to them, and where. Matinicus Island lies 23 miles out to sea, the most remote inhabited island on the Atlantic seaboard. Hes the last guy on the island I would have expected this from. And then the fire, and the center of our community is gone, just like that. Forget about ambling around with a little basket over your arm, scrutinizing the obscure tropical delicacies in the produce section and picking out the very plumpest tomato. Some managed to get along by operating small farms and raising their vegetables, cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs. In the meantime a nice lady came by and threw our bags into the back of her truck to deposit them for us at the runways edge. A friend of mine had recently taken a job on a tiny Island, 24 miles off the coast of Maine. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. Medals followed, and media stories, a standing ovation on the floor of the Maine State House, a citation in the Congressional Record. And the land got farmed out. The trip takes over 2 hours. Most Matinicus residents are self- employed, with fishing and construction being the most common industries. And with the new hydraulic trap haulers, all you had to do was twist a handle and up they came. I had seen this all my life as well, and so did not pause there this morning. Not like today, with computers, where the process works in reverse , And you know what? We are grateful to those who already participate. The Bunkers and the Youngs feudingthat goes back. Your support is even more critical during rapidly changing times, when communication is paramount. Never in this so-called modern era has there been so much bread baking and chicken-keeping. You have to understand: This bottom, for these guys, its like the family farm. Crabs that are found in lobster traps are relieved of their claws and returned to the briny depths to regrew them. And probably a few other professions I dont know about. Theres a war going on in coastal Maine, where renegade crustacean gangs are forcing people to grope for their guns, was how one national magazine painted the scene, ludicrously, late last year. Most are aggravating, to be sure, but a few really are for the better. On Matinicus, where the lines were drawing tighter, they told Vance Bunker that his son-in-law, a mainlander, was no longer welcome to set his traps. But the couples primary home was on the mainland; some said their island house wasnt even winterized. Many of them are included in the thin, typewritten, hand-stapled book she wrote a decade or so ago: Tales of Matinicus Island: History, Lore and Legend. Designer handbags are not useful, and neither are sport jackets, ties, panty hose, or any of that complicated architectural underwear they try to sell women to make us look other than how nature intends. The Good Table has everything you need to prepare your next delicious meal. These were piers made to serve a high tidal range where the sea bottoms out twice a day and where they must be kept up with minimum fuss. Box 648 If Im buying for my own table, I guarantee you, theyre going to come from Matinicus.. When Lisa finally didshed been talking about neighborliness and the response to the post-office fireit was so unexpected, and came in such a half-whispered seethe, it felt almost like an eruption: Its such a fragile system we have here. That was the way it workedbefore the boats got fast enough so a man could live in one place and fish in another. Hes my family. He had been an island man for most of his life. Its always been that way here. We could fly out whenever we wanted; we told them we could be ready to leave by noon. Residents. As a child, she spent her summers on this island and now has returned here with her family. Their current ship, at 75 feet and drawing 7 feet, is the Sunbeam V (there have been four other Sunbeams since 1912), and she had arrived in the harbor that day.
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