Thursday, October 15, 2009

Why Meandering Maine?

Meandering Maine may be the new kid on the block but our roots go deep in Maine.  I grew up in the Mid-Coast and parts of my family are original settlers.

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My (Rachael Umstead) grandmother Charlotte Hunt Pease of Union – originally from Iona Farm in Lincolnville handling her calf Mistro at the Fryeburg  fair.

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My grandfather Nathan Pease of Union  holding a piglet on his childhood’s Hill Top Farmstead in Hope. 

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My great-great-great Uncle Oscar Howe of Howe Hill in Camden working Oxen at the Howe Farmstead.

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My great-great-great Uncle Walter Howe, brother to my grandmother Alice Howe Hunt and Oscar (above),  from the Maine book Frost You Say and some what of a local legendWalter lived at the Howe Farmstead in Camden until the late 1980’s.  His and my ancestors the Woster family were some of the original settlers of North Haven.

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My late brother Vinny, my brother Zac, and I on the farm.

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The Old Woolen Mill in Warren was just down the hill from one of my childhood homes.

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My husband David, my infant son Henry and I this summer at Marshall Point Lighthouse.

I am one of the many people who left Maine right out of high school.  And one of the fortunate to have returned.  I have been to different parts of the world, barring none, nothing compares to the majestic draw of Maine.  I believe that’s why so many choose to call this place home – whether they live in Florida and return for one week out of the year, they come back after years of exile or they never left – Maine is home.  It’s the spirit of the people who call Maine home that draws others to visit our rugged, scenic shoreline drives, funky, inland villages or our enchanting local inns year after year.  That’s the Maine we love and that’s Maine everyone’s looking for – that’s Meandering Maine.  Love Maine!

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