We arrive in Skowhegan, Maine, just in time to hunker down for Hurricane Irene. In preparation, we stow all outdoor awnings, lawn chairs and the grill. Then we fill up all of the holding tanks for ballast. I'm of the opinion that we should head further inland, to the northwest, but Mike assures me we will be fine. Irene arrives all tuckered out and Vermont gets the worst of it. Glad we stayed put, Mike was right-e-o on this call!
It is my 64th birthday, and we decide to spend a leisurely afternoon in nearby Skowhegan, the county seat of Somerset County, Maine, with a population of around 10,000.
The Old Mill Pub is our choice for lunch, with its spectacular views of Skowhegan Island and Falls.
The Skowhegan Falls (which have since been replaced by the Weston Dam) descend 28 feet over a half mile on the Kennebec River, which is raging and up at least five feet due to Irene.
This was once territory of the Norridgewock tribe of Abenaki Indians, whose village was located in Madison until 1724, when it was sacked during Dummer's War. From spring until fall the tribe fished here, where abundant salmon and other species could be caught by wading. Consequently, they named the area Skowhegan, meaning "watching place [for fish]." Colonel Benedict Arnold and his troops passed through the village in 1775 on their way to the ill-fated Battle of Quebec.
Skowhegan Falls provided water power for industry, and as a result, Skowhegan developed into a mill town. Numerous mills were built on Skowhegan Island, which separates the river into north and south channels. In the 19th-century, the town had a paper mill, sawmill, two sash and blind factories, two flour mills, a wood pulp mill, three planing mills, a woolen mill, an oil cloth factory, two axe factories, a scythe factory, two harness and saddlery factories, a shoe factory and a foundry.
Skowhegan boasts that they once had a factory that made most of the world's popsicle sticks. Like so many other companies, the business went to China. A few years later, after many complaints about splintering, (ouch!), defective Chinese popsicle sticks, there was an effort to bring the business back to Skowhegan. To date, that has not happened, but we can hope! In 1986, the S. D. Warren Company, a division of Scott Paper Company, opened a plant in Skowhegan. In 1997, the S. D. Warren mill was sold to Sappi Fine Paper.
The New Balance Athletic Shoe Company operates a factory in the community, employeeing around 700. We both buy new sneakers at the New Balance Factory Store housed in an old Catholic school which was built in 1880. Lovely old building!
The Swinging Bridge is a suspension footbridge first constructed in 1883 to connect Skowhegan Island with the south side of the Kennebec River. We have fun bouncing up and down on it as we walk back and forth across it.
Just over the bridge we come upon an ice cream shop so we decide to have a birthday treat, in honor of MY day! I opt for Kahlua cappuccino & coconut, while Mike partakes of pure coffee all the way, such a purist! The ice cream shop will be closing in a few days for the winter, and will reopen next spring, so good timing on our part!
On the north side of the municipal parking lot stands a 62-foot-tall sculpture depicting an Abenaki Indian, carved by Bernard Langlais.
In 2003, Skowhegan was a major filming location for an HBO movie based on the 2001 book, 'Empire Falls', by Richard Russo and starring Ed Harris and Paul Newman.
In nearby Madison, located amongst stately pines and white birch on the western shore of Wesserunsett Lake, we find Lakewood, the State Theater of Maine and one of America's oldest and most famous summer theaters. It is a short drive from Skowhegan, so in celebration of my Birthday Month, we decide that dinner and the theater are just the ticket.
First we decide to have dinner at the Lakewood Inn Restaurant. We are seated at a table with a lovely view of Lake Wesserunsett. The building had fallen into disrepair in the 80's & 90's, but is now restored to a kind of 40's splendor and serving fine dinner offerings before the curtain goes up in the theater across the road.
'Now in its 111th Season, Lakewood offers exceptional performances of comedies, dramas, musicals, and children's shows from late-May through mid-September.'
'In its glory days, Lakewood Theater saw the likes of Gloria Swanson, Vincent Price, Lynn Redgrave, Milton Berle, Lana Turner, Robert Preston, Phyllis Diller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Imogene Coca and more. Dressing room walls, which sport some of their fading signatures, notably John Travolta's and Myrna Loy's have been preserved. Actors would stay in cottages by the lake for a week as that's how long each show ran. On their last night at Lakewood, they'd be treated to a lobster feed.'
Tonight's play is 'The Red Velvet Cake War', a laugh-out loud comedy featuring the Verdeen family cousins in Sweetgum, Texas, as they prepare for a family reunion. Nervous breakdowns, romance, and hilarity....It is an 'uproarious Southern-fried comedy by Tarheel comic dramatists Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, is a real knee-slapper.' The cast is superb! Don't miss this play if you ever have a chance to see it!
Bangor is a short drive to the east, so we decide to go see 'The Help' one afternoon, you guessed it, for my Birthday Month! I read the book last year and loved it! Turns out the movie was fabulous with Mike approving heartily of it!
On the way to the theater, we swing by #47 West Broadway to take a gander at Steven King's house!
Its gothic turrets and wrought iron fence replete with spiders and spider webs, bats and 2-headed dragons do not disappoint us. Unfortunately, Mr. King is nowhere in sight!
The Birthday Month winds down to a glorious end...it was a good one!
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