Lake Living Winter 2012

Maine’s Lost Ski Areas

winter 2012 • vol. 15, no. 4

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perfect day at the pac shawnee peak turns 75 pineland market cassoulet

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winter 2012 • vol. 15, no. 4

cover photo skiing at jockey cap in fryeburg, fryeburg historical society

6 lost trails byleighmacmillenhayes

9 formula for a perfect day bylaurielamountain

13 the ultimate slow food bylaurielamountain

14 shawnee peak turns 75

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Lake Living is published quarterly by Almanac Graphics, Inc., 625 Rocky Knoll Rd, Denmark, ME 04022 207-452-8005. [email protected] www.lakelivingmaine.com ©2012. All rights reserved. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent from the publisher. Annual subscriptions are avail-able by sending check or money order for $20 to the above address.

Editor & PublisherLaurie LaMountain

Contributing WritersLeigh Macmillen Hayes, Justin Ward, Pam Ward, Susan Connolly, Perri Black, Sarah Françoise

Contributing PhotographersEthan McNerney, Leigh Macmillen Hayes,

Graphic DesignerDianne Lewis

Proofreader/Copy EditorLeigh Macmillen Hayes

editor’s note If you live long enough, you come to ap-preciate how much can change within the relatively short span of a lifetime. Some things become completely obsolete, while others evolve to meet modern stan-dards. Our two articles on skiing illus-trate how one industry has both surren-dered to and withstood the test of time.

It wasn’t all that long ago that skiers, who by the way were dressed far differ-ently than they are today, flocked to the top of Jockey Cap in Fryeburg, making Fryeburg “The Ski Capital of Maine” for a brief time in the ‘30s. At a mod-est elevation of 587 feet, Jockey Cap of-fered skiers only one trail, but it boasted the region’s first rope tow, an innovation worthy of coverage in the 1936 issue of National Geographic magazine. Un-fortunately, the lowly mountain lacked the essential ingredient to keep it going and ceased operations two years later in 1938. That same year, Pleasant Moun-tain Ski Area opened to the public and, though its name has since changed, is still in operation today. Quad and triple chairlifts, expanded trail systems, hy-drogen lighting, and, most importantly, enhanced snowmaking capacity are the means by which Shawnee Peak Ski Re-sort has survived low snow years and a fickle economy.

Ski apparel has definitely changed in 75 years (it’s unlikely you’ll see anyone wearing a tie on the slopes these days), but what hasn’t changed is our love of winter. Let it snow!

—Laurie LaMountain

16 to market, to market byleighmacmillenhayes

18 once upon a winter bytheowners&staffofbridgtonbooks

20 in praise of unsung heroes byperriblack

21 the way snow should be bysarahfrançoise

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Bud is referring to the ski area and toboggan slide that the town of Harrison built on Hobb’s Hill in 1937. The town fathers leased the fields that encompassed an 800-foot hill at the end of Old Whitney Road, which sloped toward Crystal Lake, with a few obstacles along the way.

He was eleven or twelve years old at the time and recalls that local kids could ski at no cost. He and his friends would walk to the hill. They didn’t know anything about skiing, but they sure had fun. “You could hear the chug, chug, chug of the engine. It

didn’t go very fast. We’d ski straight down and hit the trees. We had no lessons,” Bud says, moving his hands to indicate that they never learned how to turn on the slope.

Hobb’s Hill didn’t operate for more than a few years and in 1948 a more ambitious project was undertaken in Harrison. Busi-nessmen including Bud’s uncle, Wallace Lovell, were asked to in-vest in the Deer Hill Ski Area. “It wasn’t much of a hill,” says Bud, “but they cleared it out and built a small lodge. They never did start the ski area.” He surmises that may have been because the $10,000 project was developed on the sunny southern side of the hill.

Trails hidden in the forest provide us with clues that our town fathers worked hard to create recreational areas, but also to boost the local economy. You can still find some of the trails and rem-nants of rope tows and chair lifts. When you unexpectedly come upon cement pads and towers while hiking, it’s a bit like entering

Lost Trails

“They used an old Model A engine to operate the rope tow and it’d chug you up the hill. Then you’d ski down. We only had rubber bands to hold the skis on and we’d go like hell,” says Sam (Bud) Pitts, Jr.

text&photosbyleigh macmillen hayes


a ghost town, a place that has seen a livelier day. So many people have a history with these legendary ski areas. They learned to ski at this one, met their spouse at that one or won first place in a race.

The skiing industry began in the lakes region in 1936 when a group of ten businessmen each invested $25 and considerable labor to build the first rope tow in Maine. The Jockey Cap Ski Tow helped make Fryeburg “The Ski Capital of Maine” for a brief time.

According to newspaper articles and brochures preserved by the Fryeburg Historical Society, the Fryeburg Winter Sports Committee hired Paul Lamere, a ski instructor, to run a branch of the Lamere School of American Skiing. Lessons were offered one day a week.

Because the Maine Central railroad had a station in town, Fryeburg residents saw the ski area as a means to support busi-nesses during the Depression. Leaflets proclaiming “Weekends for Your Winter Sports” mentioned “good motels, good restaurants, good rooms in private homes, all prices reasonable . . . use the lighted ski-tow, Friday and Saturday nights, a brilliantly lighted slope and rope to pull you up the hill, a new thrill for winter sports enthusiasts” were distributed in the Portland area. The cost for a ride on the snow train from Portland to Fryeburg was $1.50 and a ski ticket was about $1.00.

Local lore indicates that farmers used their hay wagons to transport skiers from the train station to the slopes. Residents placed signs in their windows advertising that they were serving coffee, tea and lunch.

An article in the 1936 issue of National Geographic included a photograph by B. Anthony Stewart showing skiers lined up for the rope tow and others gliding down the slope. The New England Lost Ski Area Project Web site (NELSAP) states that the slope at Jockey Cap was a quarter mile long and three hundred feet wide. The top of the slope entertained intermediate skiers, while the bottom was for novices. Due to lack of snow, the operation shut down after only a couple of years.

Skiers could also enjoy Starks Hill, located near the train sta-tion and Pine Hill on the Weston property in the center of town. In his 1938 book, Fryeburg, Maine: An Historical Sketch, John Stuart Barrows writes, “On Starks Hill two fast, twisting slides were made, giving the coaster all the thrills desired. On Pine Hill there were shorter slides for novices.”

Harvey Dow Gibson, Fryeburg Academy class of 1898, em-ployed the Austrian Ski Meister Hannes Schneider as ski instructor at Mount Cranmore in North Conway. In 1940, favoring his alma mater, he started the Fryeburg chapter of the world famous Hannes Schneider Ski School at Starks Hill. Students were bussed to the hill for weekly instruction. The ski school didn’t last, but students continued to ski either at Starks Hill or Pine Hill.

In the early days at Starks Hill there was no lift service. Brett Russell moved to Fryeburg in 1947, when he was entering fourth grade and began skiing that winter. He recalls that in 1951, John LaCasse, the academy headmaster’s son restarted a competitive ski team. “After school, we’d take the bus to the hill, tramp up and practice till dark,” he says. In the summer of ‘55, Skip Eastman and boarding student Guy Allan Thomas received permission from John Weston to install a rope tow. Old utility poles topped with rusting tire rims still stand among oak and birch trees.

The tow took skiers two thirds of the way up the hill. They had to hike the rest of the way. “It was arduous, but the skiing was great” says Brett, who led his teammates to the first state championship in 1956. “You might get three runs in after school.”

In 1960, Brett says that Erlon “Bucky” Broomhall ac-cepted a position at the academy and received permission to erect a twenty meter ski jump to the left of the main slope. The following year, the academy hosted the State of Maine Class A state championship ski meet. By 1964, Brett joined the academy as a history teacher and alpine coach.

Though the advent of the skimobile at Mount Cranmore saw the demise of Starks Hill as a public ski area, it continued to serve the academy students for years. In 1972, Keith Hodsdon, a local skier, and his stepsons acquired rights to the mountain from John Weston and spent the next two years installing a T-bar. Towers and the cable still mark the hillside. They also built a lodge and named the area the Ski-W, the W standing for Weston who passed away unexpectedly before the project was completed.

Roger Lowell of Bridgton remembers taking the Gray New Gloucester High School Ski Team to Starks Hill. “It had a nice, even pitch, a good slope and it was reasonably long,” says Roger. He was disappointed when it shut down two years later after the lodge burned to the ground. “The ski area was great for kids and for people who couldn’t afford to ski at the bigger areas.”

He also skied at Burnt Meadow Mountain in Brownfield, which had one lift and a lodge. According to NELSAP, in 1967 the Burnt Meadow Mountain Recreation Area received a loan from the Farmer’s Home Association to create a ski area that opened for the 1971-72 season, but saw its demise when several bad snow years

Trails hidden in the forest provide us with clues that our town fathers worked hard to create recreational areas, but also to boost the local economy. You can still find some of the trails and remnants of rope tows and chair lifts.


followed. In 1980 Wendell Pierce, owner of a northern Maine ski area, purchased Burnt Meadow and renamed it Zodiac Skiway.

“It had pretty good skiing from the top,” recalls Roger, “but three quarters of the way down it flattened out and you had to get up steam to make it all the way without poling.” He and his team got into trouble for going too fast. “We were bomb-ing the thing so we wouldn’t have to skate to the lift,” he says.

While there on his own one day, Roger learned about a race. After discovering he couldn’t inspect the course, he found himself last in line. “I fig-ured what have I got to lose so I went fast. It didn’t matter if the gates were down a bit. You would have thought I was Jean-Claude Killy.” Roger won the race and received a blue ribbon similar to what they award at the Fryeburg Fair. “I think it said something like FIRST on it,” he says, a wry look on his face. “It was very generic. A conversation piece.” That was the last race held there. The ski area continued to lose money and closed in 1982. The T-bar still stands intact.

Of all the ski areas that no longer exist, Evergreen Valley in Stoneham was perhaps the most legendary. The plan was to make it a sports mecca—like others, in a down economy the town fathers saw it as a chance to revive their hometown.

Pam Bliss of Lovell tells the tale best of the people who put their heart and soul into this place. Her father, Ervin Lord, was appointed one of a three-member committee to pursue the devel-opment of Evergreen Valley. Pam says, “Dad was in the Tenth Mountain Division. Those were the guys who started places like Vail or Aspen when they came back from the war.” At the 1961 Lovell and Stoneham town meetings, concern arose about

youth moving away. The traditional jobs of farming, logging and the forest product industries were on the decline. Residents wanted to create employment that would keep young people here and wouldn’t affect the environment. A ski area was proposed.

Thanks to Pam’s generosity, the Lovell Historical Society holds nine volumes of information about Evergreen Valley, which began as Adams Mountain Ski-Way. The original plan put forth by Sno-Engineering, a consulting firm from New Hampshire, was for one T-bar, several trails on the 1,050-foot mountain and a small lodge. Most of the land would be leased from the White Mountain National Forest. The estimated cost as proposed in 1962 was $299,000. Over the next couple of years, the plan evolved into a four-season resort, including a nine-hole golf course. Eventually it grew to an 18-hole Robert Trent Jones golf course, indoor tennis courts, heated outdoor Olympic-size pool, marina on Kezar Lake, riding stables, hotel, retail stores, and second homes. The price tag also grew substantially.

Being so remote, the intention was that this would become a destination resort. “That was always the plan,” says Pam. “They wanted a gas station, movie theater, convenience store.” She was five years old when the idea, which consumed much of her father’s time, was conceived so she grew up living and breathing Evergreen Valley.

Along the way the resort went from being locally focused to corporate takeover. It finally opened in December of 1972 with a large and elaborate base lodge. Three Swiss-built double chairlifts brought skiers to the summit for twelve trails. “It was a family-oriented place with a great ski school,” says Pam. “All the kids in town learned to ski there.”

“I was a coat girl and worked for tips,” she says, her bright eyes twinkling. “I made fifty cents a night because nobody knew they were supposed to tip the coat check girl.” Over the years, she worked a variety of jobs. During her breaks, she and others skied in what became a work/party atmosphere. Pam affectionately refers

to it as her college experience. For a while, business hummed.

Sadly, however, by the time Evergreen Valley commenced operations, Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton had opened trails on the East side and a second chairlift. Sunday River had added a second peak. Burnt Meadow Mountain and the Ski-W at Starks Hill were also functioning. The vision was too grand for this little hill, far off the beaten path and with other mountains pulling skiers away.

In 1982, the ski area at Evergreen Valley closed. The chairlifts were finally removed in 1991. Today’s references to

this legend include the rundown lodge and swimming pool, ce-ment platforms for the ski lifts and a porcupine infested lift shack.

How could these ski areas disappear? Blame it on low-snow winters, small size, insurance rates, the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973-74, and the fact that the sport became more upscale. The small to mid-sized facilities couldn’t keep up with the big boys. NELSAP lists 76 lost ski areas in Maine and over 500 throughout New England. That doesn’t even include the backyard sites that many people created. Though they’ve disappeared, may these ghost trails continue to elicit wonderful memories. a


“We’re still kind of a ‘Best Kept Secret,” says Sarah MacGillivray, box office manager of the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Fryeburg Academy. If indeed she’s right, this is one secret that should definitely be shared. Opened for its first performance in January 2009, the Leura Hill Eastman PAC is not your average high school arts center.

“So many people come in here and are impressed with the magnitude of this building,” says Sarah. Mark Lee of Harriman Associates in Auburn designed the center, as well as the Academy’s science building and gymnasium. Before the Gibson Gymnasium was destroyed by fire in 2005, the plan was to renovate the 50-year-old building into a new athletic com-plex complete with performance space, but when the gymnasium burned to the ground, the plan changed. Instead, a major capital campaign was launched to fund a new, multi-purpose athletic center and a separate performing arts center.

A standard ratio for capital fundraising is that 80-90% of donations come from alumni and friends, and the balance from businesses and foundations, and when it came to funding the PAC, this proved to be true. The outpouring of community response to the loss accounted for nearly all the funding. “People really felt compelled to help with the rebuild,” notes Sarah.

The daughter of Leura Hill Eastman, the woman for whom the PAC is named, was one of the larger donors. Diane Eastman Powell generously funded the project in honor of her mother and her love of the performing arts. Leura was a student at the Academy in the 1920s who loved theater, singing and music. A photo in the lobby shows her in a production of “Come Out of the Kitchen,” the senior play of 1927. The stage on which she stands in the photo is far different than the one that now graces the center bearing her name.

When the artistic director of the Portland Ballet first saw the PAC stage, she pointed out that it’s the same depth as that of Merrill Auditorium. Immense pocket doors on either side can be drawn to create a more intimate performance space for smaller productions, and

by laurie lamountain

formula for a perfect day Maine has a rich tradition of

regional art galleries, but most of them are located along the coast. As the sole fine art museum in western Maine, the Pace Galleries benefit the local economy by attracting art lovers from afar to the region.

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collapsable shells can be positioned on stage to control acoustics. Dolby surround sound was recently added and, according to Sarah, has brought their Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD presentations to a whole new level for audiences. Add to this that there’s not a bad seat in the house, especially since audio clarification devices are available for patrons with hearing disabilities, and the result is a first-rate performance center in a small New England town.

While the stage and 370-seat theater is the star of the PAC, a state-of-the-art con-trol room, box office, green room, dressing rooms, scene shop and costume storage room are the supporting cast. Architect Mark Lee and a faculty team toured other high schools to survey what they had for features in their performing arts centers and incorporated many of the best features into the PAC. The backstage bathrooms have showers and quality lighting. A student art gallery is located on one end of the build-ing and the Palmina F. & Stephen S. Pace

Galleries of Art are to the right of the front entrance. The lobby, an elegant expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows, gleaming stone tiles and artichoke chandeliers imported from Denmark, provides the perfect setting for gallery receptions and pre-show dinners.

As upscale and impressive as the PAC is, Principal David Sturdevant points out that there are many wonderful opportuni-ties between here and Portland, but they’re often out of reach for local audiences. His mission is to bring quality performances to the PAC, while keeping ticket prices afford-able. In fact, thanks to the Goldberg Foun-dation endowment many performances are subsidized or even free to the public, such as the annual Candlelight Concert.

Portland Symphony Orchestra performance tickets cost a mere $4 and the Academy Jazz Cabaret are $8 per ticket. The most expensive tickets in the upcoming calendar are for the Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD presentations, but given that it’s like being at the Met with a backstage pass, the adult ticket price of $26 is a bargain. An added bonus is that attendees can now pre-order a gourmet lunch prepared by Lake Region Caterers for around $5 and enjoy it in the lobby prior to the presentations.

Thanks to the generosity of Palmina & Stephen Pace, admission to the Pace Galler-ies is open to the public and always free of charge, the philosophy being that since they were so graciously given to the Academy, the galleries should be a culturally enriching resource for the community at large. Three galleries afford 1200 square feet of exhibi-tion space complete with climate control and 24-hour security.

Director John Day is passionate about the Pace Galleries and committed to making

The lobby, an elegant expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows, gleaming stone tiles and artichoke chandeliers imported from Denmark, provides the perfect setting for gallery receptions and pre-show dinners.

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them an inland destination. Bitten by the art bug at a very young age, John recalls when he was a student at Fryeburg Acad-emy spending hours studying a landscape painting by Benjamin Tucker Newman that hangs in the Tinker Library. His love of art guided his choice of education and his twenty-five year career at Greely High School in Cumberland as a humanities and art history teacher. It is also the motivation behind a personal collection of more than a thousand paintings and sculptures he has collected over the years that focus on the art of Monhegan Island between 1940 and 1970. Several of the artists whose work John has collected have become close friends, in-cluding Stephen Pace, a noted New York painter who, with his wife, Palmina, was a longtime summer resident of Maine. It was John’s friendship with the Paces and his suggestion that led them to fund the galler-ies named in their honor. The permanent collection also includes twenty of Stephen’s paintings that he and Palmina donated to the museum before he passed away in 2010.

John is quick to point out that while he does try to feature the works of local and re-gional artists in the exhibitions, he has also hung shows with collections from galleries and museums outside of New England. The current show, Apple of My Eye, is on loan from a private collector, from whose vast collection John has planned two more shows. Four exhibitions are scheduled for 2013, and each will open with a champagne reception, catered by the Oxford House Inn, to which the more than 900 people on the Gallery list are invited to attend.

Maine has a rich tradition of regional art galleries, but most of them are located along the coast. As the sole fine art museum in western Maine, the Pace Galleries benefit the local economy by attracting art lovers from afar to the region.

Sarah MacGillivray, David Sturdevant and John Day all wear a lot of hats, which they often share with tech wizard Whit Lucy and box office assistant Jackie Lounsburg. From booking acts to hanging shows to manning the box office, they are committed to doing whatever it takes to keep overhead low and ticket prices affordable. And it’s ob-vious they share a passion for the performing arts center itself, for both what it gives the students and what it brings the community.

“It’s a perfect day when we can have our students benefitting from a performance or lecture [during school] and have it available for the public in the evening,” says Sarah. a

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winter calendardecember ‘1216Cooper Campbell Day at Shawnee Peak Learn to Ski or Snowboard FREE! (pre-registration required) Free Lesson, lift ticket and rental equipment! FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com 27Winter Fest 2012 at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort Welcome winter with fireworks, live entertainment and giveaways. Free! FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

31Ring in the New Year in Blizzard’s Pub at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort Live music, dancing, champagne toast! FMI: 207-647-8444 or visit www.shawneepeak.com

january ‘132&3Racing with the Moon Series Begins The kick-off to another 9-week race series at Shawnee Peak! All abilities welcome to join this weekly racing league. FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

5Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester Ski Day at Shawnee Peak FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com12&13Shawnee Peak 75th Anniversary Weekend Join us in celebrating 75 years of fun on the slopes. 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

26Hyannis Yacht Club Ski Day at Shawnee Peak Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

27AAA Appreciation Day at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com26&27Winter Carnival/Mushers’ Bowl A weekend of fun-filled family activities including Carnival dance, polar bear dunk, dogsled and skijoring races, ice fishing derby and lots of great food! FMI: www.mushersbowl.com or call 207-647-3472.

february ‘13223rd Annual Mountain Dew Verti-cal Challenge at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort The largest family ski racing series in America! Open to all abili-ties. FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

18Camp Sunshine Day at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

18Bob Marley Comedy Evening at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

20Shawnee Peak’s 25th Annual Family Fest FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

24Russ Haggett Memorial Race at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

march ‘131Holloway Ski Day at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

3Hear ME Now! Race at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

10Retro Day at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

1628th Annual Spring Fling at Shaw-nee Peak Ski Resort Say goodbye to winter with BBQ, live entertainment and the Shawnee slush cup. FMI: visit www.shawneepeak.com

17St. Patrick’s Day at Shawnee Peak Ski Resort Get your Irish on and cel-ebrate St. Paddy’s Day with Shawnee Peak. FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com

236th Annual America’s Mattress Race at Shawnee Peak FMI: 207-647-8444 or www.shawneepeak.com


cassoulet toulousain

We are in many ways a culture of extremes and our food consumption is a prime example. Our food is either fast, which often means high in saturated fats, low in

nutritional value and relatively cheap, or it’s elevated to the level of modern art, which means it’s minimal, abstract and expensive. Case in point, after an afternoon at a museum in Portland, my mother and I thought we would catch an early dinner at a restaurant special-izing in French cuisine that shall remain nameless. A previous plan to eat there hadn’t worked out and I was really looking forward to end-ing our girls’ day out with a meal that would satisfy the francophile in me. Having checked their Web site that morning to find out if and when they were open, I noted that the plat du jour was cassoulet. I already knew what I would order.

My first experience with cassoulet was in a little town in Gas-cony outside of Toulouse. Despite the fact that it was a hot day that really didn’t lend itself to a hearty dish like cassoulet, I ordered it because, well, when in Rome . . . and I had come to the right place. So began my love affair with cassoulet, a dish of peasant origins that consists mostly of white beans and an assortment of meats, from duck confit to sausages and cuts of pork, lamb or poultry (OK, so it’s not exactly low in fat), and depends on the slow-cooked combination of these and other ingredients to yield the ultimate one-pot meal. Not long after that trip, I found a recipe for cassoulet in Elle magazine and endeavored to replicate my gustatory experience in southern France. And I succeeded. In fact, I thought my cassoulet as good, if not better. So what if it took me the better part of a day to make it?

Flash forward twenty-odd years and there I was in Portland,

Maine, with an opportunity to savor my beloved cassoulet with-out any of the effort. That was the plan, anyway. I chose a glass of wine that I thought would complement the meal and eagerly awaited my entree. What arrived instead was a shallow white bowl

with a small enameled pot of white beans set in the center of it. A duck leg hung rakishly over the edge of the pot, saved from an encounter with the floor by the otherwise empty white bowl. I thought, this is different (and small), but strived to keep an open mind. In an attempt to make it look like a cassoulet, I overturned the pot of beans into the bowl and stripped the meat off the duck leg to combine it with the beans. There was no rich, fragrant sauce, no sausage, and none of the characteristic breadcrumb topping. I could have accepted all that if the beans hadn’t been so salty and the

entire dish so dry. Did I mention it wasn’t cheap? Which brings me back to my original premise. Call me a reverse snob, but it seems to me that too many “foodie” restaurants are relying on presentation to make up for a lack of simply good food. I don’t need to remember how my food looked, but I do want to remember how it tasted. That is, of course, if it was good. Which brings me to another point: just because something is expensive, does not necessarily mean it’s good.

Now, with a Maine winter yawning before me, I’ve no choice but to go through the effort of making a real cassoulet and I’ve decided to try this one from The New York Times. For the duck confit, I’ve opted for this recipe: www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_duck_confit/. Preparing my cassoulet will probably consume the better part of a weekend, but at least I know consuming it will make it all worthwhile . . . and then there are the leftovers. a

The ultimate slow food

by laurie lamountain

Melt the fat from the bacon in a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add the beans and carrot. Stud 1 onion with the 4 cloves and add, along with 5 of the garlic cloves and 1 bouquet garni. Season with 1/2 tsp of salt and add a half gallon of broth. Cover and simmer until the beans are almost tender, about 1 hour. Drain, reserving the broth and beans. Discard the onion and the bouquet garni. Cut the bacon into 1-inch cubes.

1/2 pound slab bacon2 pounds dried Great Northern beans, soaked in water overnight and drained1 carrot, peeled3 yellow onions, peeled4 cloves10 cloves garlic, peeled2 bouquets garnis1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste1 gallon chicken broth

1/4 c duck fat (from confit de canard)1 pound lamb stewing meat, cut into 2-inch chunks1 pound pork stewing meat, cut into 2-inch chunksFreshly ground pepper to taste3 tomatoes, peeled and seeded1/2 pound garlic sausage4 duck confit legs1 c bread crumbs

In a large stewing pot over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp of the duck fat. Add the lamb and pork, season lightly with salt and pepper and sear over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Discard all but 1 tbsp of the remaining fat, return the pork and lamb to the pot. Chop the remaining onions and add. Mince the remaining garlic and add, along with a bouquet garni and the tomatoes. Add 1 quart broth and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Add the beans, bacon and garlic sausage to the pot and simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove the garlic sausage and, when cool, slice in 1/2-inch slices. In a large, ovenproof pot, ladle in half the bean-and-meat mixture. Add a layer of sausage and the duck confit. Top with remaining beans and remaining quart of broth. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Three hours before serving, remove the cassoulet from the refrigerator. Remove the top layer of fat and discard. Preheat oven to 325˚. Sprinkle cassoulet with bread crumbs. Bake for 2 hours. If it begins to dry, moisten with reserved bean broth. Serve immediately. Twelve servings.


The ‘30sThe earliest skiers on Pleasant

Mountain enjoyed the hill in its natural state—a cow pasture. It looked like good terrain, so they simply sought permission from the land owner to take the fences down for the winter and began skiing there. By 1935, there was talk of a ski trail on Pleasant Mountain and the town purchased the Douglass pasture

on the northwestern slope for that purpose.

In ‘36, citizens from the town joined forces with Bridgton Acad-emy and cut the first trails. The following year adventurous locals and Bridgton Academy students built a 16’ x 32’ shelter. In 1937, the Civilian Conservation Corps cut the top-to-bottom Wayshego Trail, which has developed into the present-day Jack Spratt Trail.

The ski area’s official opening was staged on January 23, 1938, with the start of a 1,100’ rope tow. Over 500 winter enthusiasts showed up for the party that included skiing, tobogganing, ski jumping and ice skating. Hot lunches were served from the shelter.The ‘40s

In 1943, the Pleasant Moun-tain Ski Club formed and oper-ated under the leadership of a small group of ski enthusiasts, including Russ Haggett, Ray Ri-ley, Luke Evans, Jack Spratt, Wes Marco and Sid Russell.

The next significant expan-sion occurred in 1946, when Russ Haggett was named general manager. Russ would stay on at the ski area for more than 30 years. Two more rope tows were

installed and additional land was secured. The ‘50s

In 1953, Maine’s first T-bar was installed at Pleasant. In addition, a new two-story base lodge was built with facilities that included a cafeteria, ski shop, gift shop, deck and rest rooms. This was followed by the installation of the ski area’s, and Maine’s, first chairlift in 1955, carrying skiers 4,300’ to the summit.The ‘60s

By 1960, a typical weekend at Pleasant Mountain hosted 1,500 to 2,000 skiers from throughout New England. The ‘60s brought the installation of a variety of lifts, including the Rabbit Run T-bar (1960), East double T-bar (1962), and the Pine chairlift (1969). Former European racing

Shawnee Peak

Turns 75

This season, Shawnee Peak, formerly Pleasant Mountain, will celebrate 75 years, making it a pioneer of New Eng-land and, arguably, the oldest existing ski area in Maine.


champ, Hans Jenni, headed the ski school during this decade.The ‘70s

One of the mountain’s most enchanting spots, the East Area, was developed in 1972 with the installation of the 4,400’ East Chair lift and East lodge.

The mid-seventies meant the retirement of Russ Haggett, and the heyday of the freestyle movement at Pleasant Mountain. Ruedi Wyrsch, ski school director from ‘69-’74 and former member of the Swiss National Ski Team, brought a bag of on-snow tricks to the ski area, including ski-ing on stilts and performing tip stands. These techniques were the foundation for what was to become known as “ballet skiing.”

Following Ruedi’s lead, lo-cal Bruce Cole built a freestyle program that produced notable talents, including Greg and Geoff Stump, Frank Howell, Peter Young, Doug Rand and LeeLee Morrison, a mogul competitor at the 1988 Olympics.The ‘80s

In 1980, the entire state of Maine experienced a “green January.” With a total lack of natural snow, Pleasant did not open at all that season. Following another snowless winter in 1981, Ed Rock came to Pleasant Moun-tain from Okemo in Ludlow, Vermont, to serve as manager and snowmaking was installed.

A pre-dawn fire in September 1983 destroyed a good portion of the base lodge.

In 1984, Peter Dromeshauser, along with partner David Lu-brano, took ownership of the

ski area, and after 30 years of service, the “old blue” chairlift was dismantled and replaced with the new Triple Chair.

In 1988, Shawnee Group Companies of Pennsylvania pur-chased the ski area, renaming it Shawnee Peak. While the name change understandably met with some resistance, the over $2 mil-lion investment they made was appreciated by all. Most notable was the installation of state-of-the-art hydrogen lights on 70% of the ski slopes. This created a niche for them to provide after-school programs and adult racing leagues. The ‘90s

Ownership of the ski area came home to Maine in 1994, when Chet Homer, a Kennebunk-port businessman, purchased it. Homer immediately focused his efforts on fine tuning the product—snow. He doubled the power of the existing snowmak-ing system and purchased a new fleet of Piston Bully groomers. In addition, more than 40 new tower guns were purchased for snowmaking and a new glade terrain was created.The ‘00s

The ski area continues to grow under Homer’s ownership, including an enlarged base lodge, upgraded lifts, expanded trail sys-tems and enhanced snowmaking capacity to nearly 4,000 gpm.

Recently added slopeside condos provide on-mountain lodging, and nearby Shawnee Peak House offers dorm-style ac-commodations. This past season saw the addition of The Pleasant

Mountain Cabins on top of the mountain. A wilderness lodging alternative to Shawnee’s slopeside condos, North Ridge Yurt and Tuckerman’s Cabin offer rustic, year round accommodations with breathtaking views from the summit.

Some of Homer’s greatest ac-complishments include his green initiatives and charitable contri-butions. The Moonlight Charity Challenge has raised $500,000 for charity, and regularly sched-uled annual events benefit Camp Sunshine and Hear ME Now! programs.

Last season marked Ed Rock’s thirtieth anniversary as general manager and Mike Harmon’s as head of mountain operations. They and many other longterm employees have helped Shawnee Peak evolve to where it is today.

The resort now encompasses 240 acres, has 40 ski runs and serves over 135,000 skiers a year. Among its claims to fame, Shaw-nee Peak is the oldest continually-running ski and snowboard area in Maine and New England’s largest night skiing facility. Hap-py Birthday, Shawnee Peak, and many happy returns. a

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Enter The Market at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester and until you see the layout of the original campus

as illustrated by the large diorama, you might not realize that you are standing in the former laundry room of what was once known as “The Maine School for the Feeble-Minded.” Established in 1908, it ultimately was called Pineland Center and served as a home for mentally challenged residents. The farmland was cultivated to sustain the needs of the residents and staff. After officially closing in 1996, Pineland’s 28-building campus and 1,600-plus acres were purchased through the Libra Founda-tion of Portland. Additional land purchases and building renovation and construction have brought both the campus and the farm back to life. Today, the Pineland Farms property encompasses a 19-build-ing campus surrounded by 5,000 acres of farmland and clearly illustrates creative

to market, to market, to buy a fat pig, home again, home again, jiggety-jig. mother goose

reuse as it now houses offices, a confer-ence center, athletic center, educational and outdoor programs, farms and shops.

It’s nearly impossible to describe The Market at Pineland Farms with one set definition. What began as a produce stand down the road, has evolved into a deli, bakery, specialty food store and catering company. They also sell Maine-made gift products, custom-made gift baskets, and have an online store.

A stop at The Market transforms grocery shopping from a ho-hum chore into an ex-citing excursion into the new and delicious. The emphasis is on quality food offered in an engaging retail atmosphere. Just entering the historic space is eye candy—exposed red bricks and beams, tall windows, honey-colored wooden display cases, rich brown leather chairs, wood and tile floors, ambient lighting.

In The Market, devout foodies and even non-foodies can find fresh, organic produce, raw honey, cheese, yogurt, meats and other foodstuff on a year round basis. Some of the beef is supplied from a herd of Angus cattle raised at Valley Farm on the Pineland Farms campus. The meat cuts include tenderloin filets, New York strip, top sirloin, rib eye, ground beef and beef patties. They also sell Boar’s Head products.

Award-winning cheeses, curds, spreads and yogurt are made at the Pineland Farms Creamery. Not sure which cheese to pur-chase? A sample table allows you to taste test.

Fruits and vegetables are grown on the farm or sourced locally when available. In the freezer case, you’ll find Naturally Po-tatoes, a Pineland Farms food group that includes diced, shredded and mashed pota-toes. “It’s not the stuff you’ll find in the cor-ner store,” says Tim Anketell, the assistant manager, referring to everything in the shop.

In one corner, a large and varied se-lection of wine and beer leans local, but includes bottles from national wineries and breweries as well, thus providing a broader audience to work with. “We have a good wine clientele,” says Brian Mailhot, man-ager of The Market, who likes to encourage

to market, to market at pineland farms

text&photosbyleigh macmillen hayes


patrons to try something different. Each month they offer wine and beer tastings. To learn the dates and times, check their Facebook page.

Soaps, cleaning supplies, balsam pillows, jewelry, wooden toys, books, cookbooks—these are just a few of the other items you can purchase at The Market.

Though many items are local, some are “from away” as they say. “When I started, The Market had only been open for three months. It was really just local items. By mixing in non-local items, we tend to sell more local,” says Brian, “They [shoppers] might buy a bunch of bananas, but also Pineland Farms cheese.”

Last summer the store doubled in size and now includes a bakery and deli. The items inside the bakery cases are a feast for the eyes—lemon scones, Italian Ricotta cookies, homemade bagels and gourmet cupcakes with mile high frosting. Tables are situated throughout the store, welcoming customers to take a break and enjoy a cup of coffee or a meal.

The deli sandwich ingredients include egg salad made from Pineland Farms organic free-range eggs, Basil Pesto from Olivia’s Garden located on the Pineland Farms campus, aged cheddar, Monterey Jack, Baby Swiss cheeses and horseradish cheddar cheese spread from the creamery and Pineland Farms’ strawberry and blue-berry jams. The latter are for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, of course. Soups and salads are also available. Homemade ice cream sold by the scoop or pint comes from Toots in North Yarmouth. The deli is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. On weekends, it opens at 8 a.m.

“People like knowing where their food comes from,” says Laura Lavigne, who first started working at the farm stand down the road seven years ago. Connecting “farming, food and family fun” is the mission of this working farm. Visitor passes are available at The Market/Welcome Center for self-guided tours of the farm and creamery. The tour includes the former smokehouse, which now serves as an information area and classroom, chicken barn, transition barn for young heifers, seasonal farmyard petting area, milk room, dairy barn where the Holstein cows are milked twice a day, hay barn, calf barn, vegetable and cut-flower garden, heifer barn and creamery, where you can see cheese being made. At a

time when we no longer know our butcher/grocer or the farmers/ranchers, a visit to the Pineland Farms gets us closer to the source of our food. And it’s fun.

As part of the Get Real/Get Maine pro-gram, the farm and creamery participate in Open Farm and Open Creamery Days. Family programs held throughout the year range from opportunities for children to feed and care for the farmyard animals, collect eggs and milk cows to apple cider, butter and salsa making workshops.

During the winter months, The Market takes on a lodge-like feeling. Since it doubles as the Welcome Center, this is the place for Nordic skiers and snowshoers to purchase tickets. Eighteen kilometers of trails me-ander and loop across the rolling hills and along the Royal River, offering extensive views of the farm and surrounding forest. And when the outdoor enthusiasts need a break, it’s back to The Market that they head for a cup of hot cocoa or a bite to eat.

Brian points out that he tries to keep the prices competitive. “We have more unique items,” he says. “We’re more of a specialty market, but we have a lot of staples, milk and eggs . . . We’re not afraid to try new things out.”

Ever changing, The Market at Pineland Farms has fun and excitement awaiting you every day. To pick up something special for your next meal or picnic, find specialty food items, boutique wines, beer and unique gifts, discover The Market at Pineland Farms. And then head home again, home again, jiggity-jig. a

“People like know-ing where their food comes from,” says Laura Lavigne. Connecting

“farming, food and family fun” is the mission of this working farm.


juSTin’S liST

The other day a customer asked me about the book reviews we write for Lake Living. She was concerned

people would read our reviews and then download or buy the books online instead of purchasing them at Bridgton Books. I replied that of course this happens. This summer we even watched a few people take pictures of our “Picks table” with their cell phones. But regardless of where people purchase their books or pixels, we will continue to support and promote our favorites because we have a love for books and want to share them with others. Sure, times are tight, especially in our line of work, but thankfully we have an amazing local community who still support us and understand the value of buying local. As we approach our 20th year in business, we once again thank all the great people who go out of their way to shop with us and welcome others to join. You do make a difference.

I took a year-long hiatus from World War II fiction, but City of Women by David Gill-ham has brought me back with a vengeance that must be shared. The title refers to Berlin in 1943, when most of the able-bodied men are away fighting, and food rationing and nightly bombings are the norm. Sigrid Schröder, the heroine of this story, goes to work each day like a good German. She lives with her “wicked witch” mother-in-law, a Nazi party member, while her husband Caspar fights at the Eastern Front. Never having really been in love with Caspar, Sig-rid becomes romantically entangled with a Jew, complicating everything at a time when one bad word from a neighbor can have the Gestapo breaking down your door. When Ericha, a member of the underground, asks her for help, Sigrid begins to realize what is really happening to the Jews and other political prisoners. Thus begins her transformation from passive, law-abiding German to protector of the innocent in this suspenseful novel.

Gone Girl, our summer bestseller, takes top billing in the mystery genre. Just when you think every possible angle and scenario has been used up, author Gillian Flynn

comes up with a new idea catching you totally off guard multiple times. At the be-ginning, Nick Dunne returns from work to find his wife missing and signs of a struggle. While the premise sounds a little hackneyed as far as mysteries go, Flynn’s many plot twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat in this clever, psychological thriller.

Speaking of plot twists, The Snowman by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo also fits this criterion. A police procedural with many unexpected surprises, this is well worth reading. It must be the lack of sunlight that produces a seemingly higher percentage of dark, imaginative crime writers from the Scandinavian climes.

As he did with The Orientalist, biog-rapher Tom Reiss has written another masterpiece about a fascinating individual virtually unknown in the United States. Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was The Black Count, born in Haiti in 1762 to a French nobleman and black slave. He eventually moved to France, which had a very progres-sive view on slavery, affording him all the rights of his titled father. Well schooled and trained as a soldier, he was an incredible fighter and swordsman, rising to the rank of general during an explosively, interesting period of French history. With the French Revolution and Napoleon’s rise to power as a backdrop, you should experience this wonderful biography about the father of writer Alexander Dumas.

Long before The Hunger Games, post-apocalyptic fiction had, and continues to have, a devoted following among adults. With so many offerings published these days, a reader has to be selective. Dog Stars by Peter Heller is a literary work heads and tails above the rest of the pack and

should not be missed. Hig, a pilot, and his survivalist friend Bangley, have managed to get by, all things considered, after a blood-borne virus devastates the population. They have plenty to eat and drink, and live in a defensible airfield, in case any marauders come around. Hig is restless, though, and sets off to investigate a radio transmission he heard from a long distance—in search of something better.

In Far North, by Marcel Theroux, Sheriff Makepeace also sets off in search of human companionship in a harsh landscape of hos-tile villages, work camps and radiation. This is another diamond in the rough of pulp dystopian futuristic novels and National Book Award finalist. The heroes of both these works are memorable, and will reso-nate long after you’ve finished reading them.

Sue’S piCk

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is an enjoyable, emotion-filled novel. A young, childless couple leave the comforts of their home to homestead in the wilds of Alaska during the 1920s. With the first snowfall, they venture outside and build a child out of snow. The next morning their snow child is gone. They see a young girl, however, at the edge of the woods. The couple, who are longing for a child of their own, struggle to bring the girl into their lives, but she won’t accept their offer of shelter from the harsh winter. You’ll begin to wonder if this young girl is real or just an image conjured up out of their longing for a child of their own. Inspired by the Russian folk tale The Snow Maiden, this story weaves just a little fantasy into the harsh real-ity of wilderness homesteading in Alaska.

Once Upon a WinterBook ReVieWS fRoM The oWneRS & STAff of BRiDGTon BookS


pAM’S piCkS foR kiDS & younG ADulTS

This Is Not My HatBy Jon KlassenAges 1+One big fish, one little fish and one small blue hat is all that is needed to bring this story with a strong moral to life.

One little fish steals the too small hat from the large fish who is sleeping … or so one little fish thinks. One little fish’s lists of reasons why the hat should be his grows with each page as he easily justifies the fact he should be the rightful owner. Follow little fish on his quest to escape and discover the consequences for his lack of judgment.

Earth-tone illustrations and subtle fish expressions are sure to delight readers of all ages.

WonderBy R.J. PalacioAges 10+R.J. Palacio’s first book is a refreshing break from a sea of fantasy and dystopian books flooding the market. This rare and endear-ing story will warm your heart and change the way you look at people who don’t fit the “norm.”

August, born with a severe congenital facial deformation, is used to the stares and unsolicited comments from strangers. Even after enduring years of reconstructive sur-gery, doctors haven’t been able to relocate his eyes and ears to their rightful and fully functioning positions.

With all major surgeries behind him, Auggie now faces his biggest challenge and fear; enrolling in public middle school. Fol-low Auggie, his family and fellow classmates on a heartwarming journey as he transitions from being out of the public eye and into mainstream society.

The RaftS.A.BodeenAges 12+An unexpected turn of events send Robie packing for the next G-1 cargo flight from Honolulu to her homeland Pacific island, Medway Atoll. In the midst of rushing to assure a spot on the plane, she recklessly forgets to weigh and sign in so there is no travel log of her being on the flight. Once en route, Robie converses with the captain, a long-time family friend. The co-pilot Max, young and handsome, remains calm and quiet as the plane enters a potentially dangerous storm. Fate changes as the plane unexpectedly loses an engine. Horror turns to panic when Max swiftly releases the life raft and flotation devices and tosses them toward Robie.

The shock of the frigid ocean stuns her as she desperately searches for the surface. Pulled onto the raft by Max, reality hits home as both realize they are alone on a small raft in the Pacific Ocean with only a small bag of provisions.

BetweenBy Jessica WarmanAges 16+Fiercely suspenseful and packed with a twisting and turning plot, Warman’s unpre-dictable tale will keep you guessing right up to the last page.

A steady, thumping against the hull awakens Liz from a deep slumber. Annoyed and unable to fall back to sleep, she decides to investigate. The night before, Liz and sev-eral close friends celebrated her sweet 16th birthday on her parents’ yacht. Unable to arouse her sleeping and probably still intoxi-cated friends, Liz goes outside in the brisk late summer air to release the object trapped between the yacht and dock.Terror and dis-belief surge through her veins as she strug-gles to unravel the truth of the disturbance.

Accorded several prestigious awards, this is a must-read for those who enjoyed Elsewhere and If I Stay.

Between the LinesBy Jodi Picoult & Samantha van LeerAges 13+Reviewed by Lily Mackenzie—8th GradeAs a young student in love with literature, I was very interested in one of my favorite author’s collaboration with her high-school aged daughter. Until I got through the first couple of chapters though, I was not ex-pecting the whirlwind romance mixed with fantasy and science fiction, mixed again with realistic fiction, to come.

Between the Lines is based on another book within it, in which the characters are real people, and are just actors in a world of that specific story. Normally they would not be able to interact with the outside

world, but for some strange reason, Delilah is different and falls in love with one of the characters, Oliver. The book is also about their experience in trying to bring Oliver into Delilah’s world.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Deli-lah was totally relatable, and in a way, so was Oliver. Unlike her usual, more intense writ-ing style, Picoult and her daughter stayed along a bright and cheery path for this novel.

The Book ThiefBy Marcus ZusakAges 13+Reviewed by Georgina Johnston

This book is very unusual as it is narrated by Death. The year is 1939 in Nazi Ger-many, and Death tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old girl who has just been fostered by Rosa and Hans Huber-mann. As Liesel struggles to settle into her new home on Himmel Street in Molching, she discovers the inhabitants of the street and forms relationships with them. When her family is faced with a difficult task of helping a friend who is in great need of their assistance, they are put in grave danger. Liesel develops as a character and learns to read and write, but most importantly she learns to love and be loved, an important thing that she will use in order to survive the effects of World War II. As the bombs start to drop over Molching, tensions rise and the people on Himmel Street try to protect themselves and their loved ones.

This book has the amazing ability to make you cry, laugh and be on the edge of your seat. This book motivated me to think about the effects of the war on normal people in Germany and how many inno-cent people suffered afterwards. The fact that this book was based on a girl around my age definitely helped me relate to her. I would recommend this book because it is one that you will always remember and it is a story that will change you. a


Pick up any published book—fiction,

non-fiction, bestseller or backlist—

by any author, in any language

(original or translated). What you hold

in your hands is the product of not only

the author’s research or imagination, but

also the efforts of a host of largely unac-

knowledged others, including proofreaders,

printers, designers, typographers and, most

importantly, editors and translators.

Of course, the author and his/her writ-ing and ideas make up the greatest part of the equation, and they also receive the overwhelming share of the glory (or igno-miny). Authors win Nobel prizes and other national and international literary acco-lades; the “behind the scenes” contributors are generally celebrated among their peers with lesser known awards, much like the technical Oscars that are held separately and, at best, get only a brief mention dur-ing the main red carpet event. On the flip side, most editors, translators, etc. usually do not have to take the heat if the book is a flop (I’m thinking of the upheaval caused by the publication of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, which is detailed in his latest book, Joseph Anton: A Memoir).

I have been making my ersatz living in Vietnam as an English language editor for most of the past five years. I am also fairly adept at translating “Vinglish” to English, which has taken years of frustrat-ing, headache-inducing practice, but also provided many laughs. (I am still perplexed by the “haemorrhoid dance” that appeared in a translated manuscript about an ancient culture in Vietnam.)

From my own experience, and through almost five decades of reading, I have learned to appreciate the enormous value of editors and translators. I believe they are truly the “unsung heroes” of the literary world and without them, the books we love would not exist. In a worse case scenario, if a translator chooses the wrong words, or if an editor allows an inappropriate or inaccu-rate phrase to slip through, it can completely change the tone and meaning of a book. Extrapolate that to the global political stage and your appreciation for translators (and interpreters) should multiply exponentially.

Translating and editing are old-fash-ioned, time consuming jobs that involve specific refined skills and knowledge not generally valued in today’s high speed, multi-tasking, attention deficit culture of instant gratification. As Betsy Lerner says in her excellent book about editing, The Forest for the Trees, such work requires a “…deep immersion, a total concentration… it’s slow, painstaking work” for which “one needs to create the mental space.” The same can be said about writing, of course, but authors are at least acknowledged and remembered for their successes, even though such suc-

In Praise of Unsung Literary Heroesby perri black

cesses are due in great part to the hard work of anonymous others.

A good translator must be fluent in at least two languages in order to produce a decent final product. He or she must also be able to convey tone, style and meaning from one language to another, and know how to express phrases or ideas that may not be verbally translatable. This is almost impos-sible if the two languages concerned are very different, say English and Chinese. For an example of a literal translation (or translit-eration), just try using Google Translate to obtain an English version of a Chinese text!

An editor’s job is to make suggestions for improvements to a text, or in some cases, actually rewrite parts of it to make it coherent, cohesive and readable. Any published book is actually a collaboration between the writer and his or her editor (and translator, if necessary). Translators usually have their name on the book’s title page, but editors are rarely mentioned up front. It is worth noting, however, that authors almost always thank their editors in the acknowledgements.

Unfortunately, I do not read (or speak) any language besides English so I rely on good translators for many of the books I read, including my very favorite, Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Over the years I have also recommended countless books and authors in translation, including Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto and Yoko Ogawa, as well as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Emmanuel Dongala, and Alessandro Baric-co, not to mention classics such as The Iliad and The Odyssey, Don Quixote, Dante’s Divine Comedy and all those famous Rus-sians. I am also a particular fan of poetry from around the world, which is perhaps the most difficult thing to translate and edit, but also offers unique views into different cultures and transcends the many barriers that ostensibly separate us from each other.

This winter reading season I encour-age you to read something that has been translated from another language and think about the effort that went into making the book available to you. Perhaps it will give you a new appreciation of literary endeavors and open your mind to a different culture. And don’t forget to read the acknowledge-ments to discover some of the “unsung heroes” who participated in bringing the book to life. a


In 2008, the people of Bethel broke their 1999 record for the world’s largest snowman. From 13,000,000

pounds of snow, they built a great snow woman with a candy red cap that poked 122’1” into the sky. They made eyelashes from old skis and used tires for lips. It was the year of my first Christmas in Maine.Noël

I have known thirty Christmases. That’s a month of Christmas. In my lifetime, there have been thirty trees trimmed, thirty outings of the clay crèche, thirty vintages of giftwrap, and three decades of Eves marked by in-digenous family custom. Even in years where birthdays slipped by without so much as a candle to wish on, Christmas proved a reliable comrade.

Heralded by clove oranges, cowpat-ties turned to ice in the fields, ubiquitous mincemeat, and the party ideas supple-ment in my mother’s Good Housekeep-ing, Christmas back home was a loud and busy affair. And, of course, there was the snow: a genteel trim that revealed grass when crushed.

Christmas began with a fight over who got to hoop the tin snowman around the best branch. The ornament had been purchased in a garden center sometime in the ‘90s: his body was hol-low like a bell, with legs for a clapper. Festivities were truly underway when G., an old family friend, shucked the customary three-dozen oysters. My father whisked lemon juice into oyster juice, and splattered brine everywhere. We children shrieked as we swallowed oysters whole, sure we felt them travel around our insides. Adults argued loudly over the abominations done to the capon and the goose. At some point, a pudding was set on fire. We left out Calvados for Santa and quick oats for the reindeer. On Christmas day we woke up in darkness and were sent back to bed “for God’s sake.” Often, it had snowed in the night.Maine, 2008

In December 2008, I was waiting for my Green Card, and US immigration had me on a short leash. I would not be going home for Christmas this year. It was time for new seasonal rites. My

The Way Snow Should Be

sarah françoise

“But that was not the same snow, I say.”dylanthomas

family envied and pitied me in equal measure. My mother sent reinforce-ments of chestnut purée, glacé chestnuts, something else with chestnuts, and those little marzipan balls with Mozart’s face on them that I’d never particularly liked.

One thing no one worried about was snow. The food might be a shambles, since it wasn’t prepared in a French kitchen, but at least I could expect to be nice and cold and respectably snowed in. I know about snow, I thought, I’m from the Alps. Trapped inside a China-town bus that skidded up to Maine on December 23rd, mammoth snowflakes pelting the windows, I realized some-thing: our snow was a backdrop, yours an Act of God.

That Christmas, as surely as Bethel piled snow up toward the heavens, we dug down into the drifts like children. Snow had been falling for days and was packed halfway up the barn wall. With it came a tremendous silence that bounced about the fields, hushing even the wind. Deep in the snow cave we made, it was quieter still.

It was Christmas Eve, and the tun-nels of our cave were so large you could have fit all the kids we once were inside it. Sitting on trash bags to keep dry, we read old comics and had a tea party. Still it snowed.

Silence encouraged silence. Back inside the warmth of the kitchen, a de-

bate over whether or not to brown the sausage for the stuffing was conducted in hushed tones. In the afternoon, we put on snowshoes and traipsed through the woods to the old quarry. The rocks were bursting with ice. Later that day we ate hoagies and salted peanuts in polystyrene cups. I suffered the lack of mollusks quite happily. That night we watched the news and walked up to the Ledges to drink whisky in the dark.

The silence got heavier as the night went on. Snow packed us into the farm, and the forest wrapped around us like a black rib-bon. In Bethel, the snow woman lost an eyelash but no one heard it fall. Christmas had been muffled, and I could hear myself think: about new countries, new lives, new families, and a new snow. a

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• Road Building• Excavation and Sitework

Western Maine Timberlands is a full service sustainable timber harvesting and forest management company ser-vicing Maine and New Hampshire landowners. We pride ourselves in working closely with landowners to ensure your goals are met. Working with us eliminates multiple contracts and high commissions—generating a higher re-turn to you the landowner.

Our staff includes a licensed professional Forester as well as a Maine Master Logger. Why choose anyone else? Call us today for your Free Timberland Assessment and find out what your land holds for you. Reach us by phone at 207-925-1138 or e-mail us from the link at our Web site:

ANDY BUCKBuilding Custom House and Barn Frames Since 1987

Providing High Quality Timberframes for General Contractors and for the Owner/Builder

Life Member of the Timber Framers Guild

97 Kimball Corner RoadNaples, Maine 04055

(207) 935-1123

CustomTimberFramer.com


Because not feeling great happens, even on the weekend.

Bridgton Urgent Care for minor emergencies.

Bridgton Urgent Care for walk-in medical care.

Including: Colds, flu-like symptoms, hay fever, minor allergies, bruises, bumps, skin lumps, bronchitis, coughs, cuts and lacerations, earache or ear pain, muscle aches, blisters, sinusitis, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, insect bites and stings, muscle aches, sore throat, sports injuries, sunburn, eye irritation, joint pain.

It’s always best to call your doctor when you need medical care, but when your doctor isn’t available Bridgton Urgent Care is for walk in care today. Our team of healthcare professionals will care for you as quickly as possibly and follow up with a record to your regular provider.

For Major Emergencies please use the Bridgton Hospital Emergency Department. Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Open Monday through Friday 5PM-9PMSaturday 8AM to 1PM207-647-6166Located in the Specialty Clinic Wing of Bridgton Hospital, 10 Hospital Drive(off South HIgh Street)

Learn more about our new

Urgent Care at www.bridgtonhospital.org

Bridgton

Urgent Care

Now Open6 Daysa Week!

CLOSEDDec. 25 & Jan. 1

Lake Living Winter 2012

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Transcript of Lake Living Winter 2012