Features in the new edition take readers to Lille, New Sweden, Easton, Hodgdon and Mapleton with stories about angels, soldiers, teachers, ghosts and ice skaters.
The angels atop the cathedral that is now the Musee Culturel du Mont-Carmel have a long, complicated history, as told by Shannon Butler, who interviewed the museum’s curator Don Cyr. Replacing the angels originally crafted by famous Quebec sculptor Louis Jobin was no easy task. As a result, the museum now has two pairs of angels in addition to those that grace the twin belfries overlooking the St. John River.
In Part 9 of his series of articles about becoming a Peace Corps volunteer, Roger Parent of Lille describes how living with Thai families helped him become the kind of volunteer he wanted to be. He not only gained a better understanding of the culture, but came home with a new way of looking at life.
Historian David Bergquist of Hermon is descended from the Swedes who settled New Sweden in the 1870s, so his interest in the town’s history is deep. He was especially curious about the memorial gate at the entrance to Thomas Park. It was designed by his grandfather, Henry E. Anderson, as a tribute to the veterans of World War II. Bergquist combines his personal recollections with historical research to present the history of the gate in an article titled “Simple, Yet Symbolic.”
Glenna Johnson Smith of Presque Isle contributed not only her regular column, “Old County Woman,” to the new Echoes, but also a recollection of her years as a teacher at Easton High School. In the column, she analyzes the social and technical aspects of the quarterly stuffing parties at Echoes where the magazines are prepared for mailing. Her memories of teaching in Easton were inspired by a yearbook in which a picture of the faculty took her back to the days when teachers were as close as family members and students and their parents were friendly neighbors.
Thomas McCoy’s story about the Hannigan Farm is not the first time Echoes has presented Hodgdon ghosts on its pages. Echoes No. 2 (Summer 1988) contained “The Voice from the Bottom of the Stairs” by Leisha Libby Murray. “Hannigan Farm Hoo Hoo” in Issue 95 further documents paranormal experiences in the town and the extrasensory perceptiveness of children.
A pond in Mapleton always stirs memories for Dan Ladner of Presque Isle when he passes it, especially in winter when he remembers ice skating after the water froze. “The scene must have looked like a Norman Rockwell Christmas card, with people huddling around the fire for warmth,” he writes in “The Mapleton Mill Pond.”
For Phyllis Hutchins of Chapman and her sister, Mary Denis Schwartz of Portland, winter evokes memories of skiing on barrel staves. Growing up just across the river from Fort Fairfield, the girls delighted in outdistancing their brothers, who introduced them to the sport. During the Great Depression, barrel staves provided “Affordable Fun.”
Two Aroostook County natives now living in New York State have written essays for the new Echoes. When former Houlton High School basketball star Bob Fields hears the song “Zip-ah-dee-doo-dah,” he always thinks of the beautiful war bride who captured his teenaged heart as she sang for a program at the local recreation center. He decided to visit her 60 years later and the encounter was bittersweet. Presque Isle native Roger Akeley never forgot the potato houses of Aroostook County and has returned frequently to photograph and archive them. His essay “When Potato Houses Mattered” traces his research, which has resulted in a book.
Another bittersweet memory from Houlton appears in an essay by John Dombek in his regular column “Beyond Washburn Street.” “Feeling Blue” captures the unspoken bond between a mother and son.
Lucy Leaf who usually writes about her adventures living sustainably in Surry pulls a surprise in her current “From the Cabin” column. She takes readers to Florida for the winter — a place she would never have dreamed she would like. She was surprised.
Stunning photos by Mike McNally of Ashland, Ray Burby of Caribou, Bob Lester of Presque Isle and Shari Ireland of Castle Hill illustrate poems by Barbara Shaw of Williamstown, N.B., Mary Hanson Mailler of Owasso, Okla., Thomas McCoy of Westminster, Colo., Pike Messenger of Middleton, Mass., Robert Chute of Poland Spring, Maine, and Larry Conrad of Sebring, Fla..
Dedicated to rediscovering community and celebrating the heritage of northern Maine, Echoes [echoesofmaine.com] is published quarterly from offices in Caribou and printed at PrintWorks in Presque Isle.
