When Kids Go To Summer Camp

by Esther J. Perne

Children look at the sun through special safety glasses.

When kids go to summer camp, whether for a day, a week, a season or a class, magic happens. They learn new skills, make new friends, discover new worlds. They sing silly songs, tell stupid jokes and create interesting and sometimes awesome crafts. They feel more connected to the world around them, to the wonders of nature, to the state around us, to their own town, to peers, and to their own unique selves. They know that someone cares.

When kids go to summer camp they come home with memories and hopes, with something new to think about including a future with positive possibilities. They come home taller, stronger, with more character, and usually ready for more camp.

Maine is rich in youth camps from the traditional summer-long, century-plus-old camps, to the more recent, innovative one- or two-day, half-day sessions, from the general interest to the highly specialized, from the strictly roughing-it outdoors or the rugged sports training schedules to the finely tailored enrichment courses and well rounded community rec programs. In short, when it comes to summer camps in this region of the world there is probably something for everyone.

A girl holds up a specimen jar.

When kids don't go to summer camp, it's a long hot and often lonely view from the back steps, or the street, or the screen, especially when the resources of recreation, nature, creative expression and camaraderie that summer camps offer are so visible, so almost within reach.

In Maine, in this area there are many summer camp programs that accommodate working caregivers' schedules, that accommodate food challenges, that provide grants and scholarships and work opportunities. Some towns offer each of their children a free week or two of a community program, some associations provide similar opportunities. At the bottom of almost every brochure or application there is an offer of financial aid. There is money set aside.

July has just begun; August lies ahead. It is definitely not too late to find out about summer camp or class or rec openings and financial aid — for your kid…or for someone else's.

Oh, yes, and when it comes to summer camps, it's not all a small, small world. There are opportunities out there for adults to indulge. Specialty camps such as music, educational camps such as foreign language immersion, multi-generational camps — Take the grandkids! — and camps for veterans are just a few examples. Some are held on academic campuses but many are held at traditional youth camp settings.

Who says adults can't sleep on top bunks, walk through the woods to restrooms or take showers in sputtering coldish water — or apply for financial aid? They are, after all, kids at heart….

Both pictures in the article were provided by the L.C.Bates Museum.

A Decade of Classical Concerts: The Atlantic Music Festival Returns

by Gregor Smith

An opera singer, the woman in red, performs with an orchestra at a previous Atlantic Music Festival.

Now in its tenth year, the Atlantic Music Festival has brought nearly 200 classical musicians to Colby College's idyllic campus for four weeks in July to study, practice, rehearse, and perform. Starting on Saturday, July 7, they will present over 20 concerts, all of which are open to the public without charge.

The musicians are all students, faculty, and fellows in the AMF Institute, which, as the AMF website states, "offers programs for composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and singers. Those admitted to the AMF Institute receive lessons, coachings, master classes, and have opportunities to perform alongside world renowned artist-faculty members throughout the festival season."

The students, who pay tuition, and the fellows, who receive full scholarship, range in age from their late teens to their late thirties. Most are either attending a conservatory or have recently started their careers as professional musicians. They are guided by seasoned faculty from the finest orchestras and conservatories.

Three quarters of this year's students and fellows come from North America — almost all from the U.S. and a few from Canada — and another fifth come from Asia, mainly from China, but also from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The remainder hail from Sweden, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom.

A hallmark of the festival of the festival is new music. Thanks to its Composition Program, which nurtures up-and-coming and experience composers alike, the festival has presented over 300 world premières during its first nine years, and expects to present at least 40 more this year.

Thus, it is fitting that the festival's first concert this year will be of new music. That performance will take place this Saturday, July 7, at 1:00 p.m. in Colby's Lorimer Chapel. Subsequent new music performances will be held on Thursday, July 12, and Tuesday, July 17, both at 7:00 p.m. and also in the chapel.

The festival's second hallmark is its chamber music performances. Each of these concerts presents a varied selection of works, spanning the centuries. One might hear a 18^th-century work for string quartet, followed by a 21^st-century piece for brass quintet, and then a 19^th-century art song for piano and solo voice. This year, there will be seven chamber concerts; the first will be this Saturday at 7:00 in Lorimer Chapel. The other six, which will also be held at 7:00 in the chapel, will be on the next three Wednesdays, July 11, 18, & 25; on Fridays, July 20 & 27; and on Saturday, July 21.

After the two opening concerts, festival participants will take a break from performing until the chamber music recital on Wednesday, July 11. From that night on, however, there will be a concert nearly every night — at press time, July 15 & 16 were the only nights with no performances scheduled — until the festival closes on Saturday, July 28. Except where otherwise noted, these performances will take place in Lorimer Chapel and will start at 7:00.

Lovers of vocal music will be able to hear members of the AMF Opera Workshop present individual scenes from beloved operas on Friday, July 13, and a complete baroque opera, Dido and Aeneas, by Henry Purcell (1659 – 1695), on Thursday, July 26. This latter performance will include props, costumes, and some set pieces, and both performances will take place in Strider Theater in the Runnals Building. The singers will also present an evening of art songs, i.e. songs written or arranged to be performed by classically trained singers in a concert hall, in the chapel on Thursday, July 19.

Pianophiles will also get a triptych, with recitals on Saturday, July 14, at 3:00 and on Monday and Tuesday, July 23 & 24, at 7:00. The Saturday and Tuesday concerts will feature various students from the AMF Piano Institute and Seminar, while the Monday recital will be a solo performance by the winner of the AMF 2018 Piano Competition.

Those craving larger, symphonic works will get their due on Saturdays, July 14 & 28, when the AMF Orchestra performs. The first concert comprises "Jegichagi" a work by festival founder Solbong Kim that is named after a Korean street game, the Dances of Galanta by Zoltan Kodaly, and the Symphony No. 5 of Jean Sibelius.

The two remaining performances on the schedule are hard to classify: a "future music" concert, in which the performer mates a conventional instrument to a computer that alters and augments the sound in real time, and a "Salon @ The Bar," wherein the performers will play whatever they feel like playing and audience members may wander in and out and even order food. These performances will take place Tuesday, July 24, at 9:00 p.m. in Ostrove Auditorium in the Diamond Building and on Sunday, July 22, at 7:00 in Marchese Blue Light Pub in Cotter Union, respectively.

Rather than printing a forest of copies of each concert's program, festival organizers encourage audience members to view the program on their smartphones. (Please make sure that the ringer is silent!) For those with only "dumb" phones or none at all, a few paper copies will be available.

The concert schedule is subject to change and more performances may be added. For the latest information, check the AMF website or call the AMF office at 888-704-1311.

The Big Blow of 2017

by Rod Johnson

ROAR — BANG — CRASH! These noises not only awakened the people of Belgrade and other Maine communities, but were heard all across New England.

On October 28 and 29, the weather people were predicting that a low pressure system would enter our area during the evening of the 29^th and the wee morning hours of the 30^th. They said that heavy rains and near hurricane force winds were likely.

Here in Central Maine, by 5 a.m. on the 30^th no one could doubt their predictions. After nearly 4 inches of rain during the night, the winds roared through the pitch black darkness at levels that few of us had ever experienced. The steady screeching was ominous and left one with an eerie sense of uneasiness and even fear. The houses were being peppered with all sorts of debris, in our case pine cones and limbs that were being torn from trees as well as most everything else that was not nailed down. Windows and doors were being tested to their limits.

As the first glimpses of a grayish sky appeared, the tree tops were silhouetted against the slowly emerging light. With disbelief we all watched and listened as some trees could not withstand the battering and came crashing down. More had uprooted than snapped off due to the earth's recent soaking.

As the front moved through and the winds reversed direction on the backside of the storm, even more confusion and carnage went on. Fortunately that was short lived. By 7 a.m. the winds were subsiding, daylight was complete, and considerable damage was apparent. A few vehicles were crawling around obstacles on local roads while drivers assessed the damages with awe and shock. Trees of all sizes lay atop buildings, cars, wires from poles and more.

Some folks were more fortunate than others, as it became clear that some cottages and homes were severely damaged by large pines and oaks. Pictures were taken and sent to alert owners of their misfortune and phone calls were made to describe damage and console friends.

By 8 or 9 a.m. chainsaws could be heard from all directions, generators were being fired up and the clean-up had begun. Trucks with cherry pickers (log loaders) were rolling and huge trees were being surgically picked off from roofs and out of roadways. Local tree man Paul LaBonte's phone was ringing off the hook as were many others. Insurance companies were being called, repair people and contractors were being sought to give estimates — and get some temporary roof covers over severely damaged areas.

Central Maine Power company reported that over 400,000 customers were without power as of early morning. All available power company crews were in the process of locating and assessing downed wires, poles and blown transformers. Many out of state and Canadian power companies sent trucks and crews over the next several days to help put New England's power grids back together. Hats off to all the crews and to the management teams who worked with little sleep to make it all happen. Also, BIG thanks to all the emergency first responders for handling life threatening situations as well as road and tree crews who worked every possible hour to put our states, cities and towns back together.

As of this writing, now 6 days after the storm, much has been accomplished. Central Maine Power says that 67,000 remain without power. This has been a long siege for many, but we must look on the brighter side. We have the manpower and affiliations in place to get things back to normal quickly, especially compared to the devastation in Puerto Rico and other hurricane ravaged areas. Also, our weather remained enough above freezing so that homes were not freezing up and icy roads were not too much an issue.

Our people are resilient, creative and self-assisting when the chips are down. These conditions can bring out the best and the worst in people, but in this case it was the best with neighbors helping neighbors. A fifteen year old named Jackson Liberty stopped by our house and asked if we were okay!

THE END

A Waste Reduction Tip for Us All?

by Susan Littlefield

The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place.

Consider telephone directories. Each year, as regularly as a head cold or spring allergy, telephone directories land on my door step. I can't even read them even if "New Larger Print" is claimed on the cover. I used to keep them, stacked up in a corner,…just in case. And sometimes the photos of baby loons on the cover have made them just too precious to toss.

But think about it. How often do you consult a telephone directory? Personally, I store telephone numbers important to me on my cell phone, computer or a sticky, and those I'm looking for are almost always internet-accessible in places like whitepages.com and EZtoUse.com.

• Each year the telephone book industry uses up an estimated 4.68 million trees worth of wood fiber, or 14 football fields worth of forest, per day.
• Telephone directories are a burden on our local town governments, who pay nearly $60 million annually in recycling and disposal fees for unwanted phone books.
• Currently, tossed telephone directories…which belong in the newspaper recycling bin…are facing a buyer crisis due to the confluence of events over the past few years: The closing of all but one (Hutahmaki) paper mills in Maine, lower newspaper readership and stricter import policies in the country of China — they no longer want our soggy, dirty paper trash.

You can help put the brakes on this waste creation and cost by opting out of unnecessary telephone book deliveries at your home, business or work place.

How do you do this?

1. Visit yellowpagesoptout.com.
2. Enter your zip code and hit "Get Started" to register.
3. After registration, you will be shown images of the directories you are now receiving at your address.
4. You will then be asked if you want to opt out of receiving some of them or all of them.
5. Then, hit "Save Changes" and "Confirm." You will receive a summary of your changes by email.

The phone book opt-out opportunity may not be new to many of you since it began in the Northwest states nearly ten years ago. If it's good news to you, however, pass it on.

A Midwife's Tale

by Martha F. Barkley

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, makes a clear cover explanation of this very splendid Pulitzer Prize in history for 1991. You may have seen the fine American Experience adaptation of this biography in 1997.

Ballard was portrayed by film actress Kaiulani Sewell Lee, who also portrayed Rachel Carson in A Sense of Wonder, a documentary that debuted at the Waterville Opera House. We loved the Q&A with actress Lee and Roger Christy, Carson's nephew, following the showing of this DVD film with scenery (Maine and Maryland) and music. Lee has spent her career playing Rachel Carson in A Sense of Wonder, a one-woman play on which the documentary was based.

More than half a dozen other prizes (Bancroft, Kelly and Dunning Prizes, etc.) were earned by Ulrich in this local Hallowell story about a woman who delivered 816 babies over 27 years and recorded every event in her hand-sewn diary. Just like the hand-sewn books that Benjamin Franklin's sister recorded in her Book of Ages as author Jill Lepore explores in her unique history as well. Benjamin wrote more letters to his younger sister than anyone else! Read that story, too…

I hold my 1991 Vintage paperback about Ballard in my hand as I pull it off the shelf in our lakeside camp and recall in vivid detail my original reading about this extraordinary woman. My husband Frank and I drive the Augusta Road often passing the Ballard Horse Stables on the right, then we bear left at the light on the Old Belgrade Road where you can still find Ballard Road on the right.

The big Ballard barn is there on that short road and can be more easily seen from the Augusta Mall just above Sam's Club on the hill. Jonathan Ballard's home has a plaque near the front door commemorating his mother Martha where she lived her last years and died. It is along the Old Belgrade Road to the right just across from the bank. That triangle area was the third Ephraim Ballard Farm. Many maps in A Midwife's Tale will help you find their first and second farm locales, as well.

The historic cemetery was preserved when the Augusta Mall was built. You can find it easily as you go to the movie theatre and note the black fence around the high corner lot: many Ballard headstones are within, but no one knows where Martha is buried…

Her one trip to testify at the Pownalboro Courthouse gave my husband and me another short field trip from Belgrade. Days and days of testimony were required, so Ballard and her husband Ephraim were there for quite a spell. That well preserved courthouse is wonderful to visit. The winter ice cutting industry has a beautiful model to view. Also, John Adams, our second President, managed to trek to that courthouse via horseback one time. The long difficult trip by land was enough for his impatient lawyering practice according to David McCullough in his Pulitzer history of John Adams.

I understand that there was a Manchester Ballard meat business that I had not visited yet…always another historic connection.

Back to the detailed diary: "When it opened in 1785, she knew how to manufacture salves, syrups, pills, teas, and ointments, how to prepare an oil emulsion (she called it an 'oil a mulge'), how to poultice wounds, dress burns, treat dysentery, sore throat, frostbite, measles, colic, 'hooping Cough,' 'Chin cough,' 'St. Vitas dance,' …as well as deliver babies.". Her deep and thorough knowledge was probably gained from her physician uncle Abijah Moore, Yale graduate in 1726, and her younger brother Jonathan, Harvard graduate in 1761. "By Oxford standards, the Moores were well educated and ambitious." Martha persisted in a life long correspondence with her brother Jonathan.

The list of maps and the abundance of charts within the diary story will help the casual reader to grasp how astounding Martha Ballard's daily diary is. Her records of crossing the frozen Kennebec River to attend a healthy baby delivery are numerous.

Sounds like Topsy, doesn't it? The statistics of her 27 years are compared to London births and many other cities. She truly outdid the male physicians of the day. Read A Midwife's Tale and find out that I am not exaggerating her accomplishments one iota…also visit some of the local Martha Ballard sites. Old Fort Western even has a special Martha Ballard tour.

Fishing and Sailing

by Pete Kallin

Ava Franklin, Lauren Clark, and Helen Coon receive their award from Commodore Greenan of the Great Pond Yacht Club.

The week began with the annual meeting of the Maine Lakes Society, on whose board I have served for ten years. We held our meeting at University of Maine at Farmington and had some excellent presentations focused on protecting Maine's lakes and wildlife, especially loons. Meanwhile, my friend Dick Greenan, the Commodore of the Great Pond Yacht Club, assisted by the Franklin family, was hosting the 2018 Ashera Challenge that ended at the Jamaica Point Lodge. The GPYC gets a lot of avid sailors of all ages out on Great Pond every week. In partnership with 1-week sailing camps for youths aged 9-17 at the Center for All Seasons. Sailing is a great lifetime sport!

I did manage to get out fishing for a bit and caught quite a few large bass that were chasing schools of alewives. The excellent fishing in our lakes also attracts visitors to local sporting camps such as Bear Springs Camp (Great Pond), Whisperwood (Salmon Lake), Alden Camps (East Pond), and Castle Island Camps (Long Pond). Good water quality is important to these local businesses and they are all strong supporters of the local lake associations, and other conservation organizations such as the 7-LA, formerly the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance and the Maine Lakes Resource Center.

John Rice from Castle Island Camps organizes and judges the loon calling contest that takes place in Belgrade Lakes every year on the first Saturday in August. It is a unique and fun event and if you have never been, I highly recommend you add it to your "bucket list," especially if you have young kids or grandkids.

Alan Pouliot of Fairfield holds his 45″, 28.5 pike caught in Long Pond

I frequently meet visitors from these camps on our lakes and many of them eventually become permanent residents after years of visits. I recently met Kurt and Christie Dietland on the lake, who were spending the week at Castle Island Camps for at least the 12^th time. I know they were catching fish because they were anchored at one of my favorite spots.

In my first "Take it Outside" column of this year I published a picture of a 22″ salmon I caught below the dam in Belgrade Lakes that bore scars from being attacked by a large pike. For those who wonder what a pike that would attack a 22-inch salmon might look like, check out the pike caught by Alan Pouliot of Fairfield last weekend. Alan caught his 45″, 28.5 lb. monster within 50 yards of where I caught my pike-scarred salmon in April. Alan learned to fish as a toddler when his grandfather, Leo Lanteigne, an avid fisherman, "took Alan outside" fishing when he could barely walk. Now Alan makes all his own custom spoons and fishes all over Maine with his wife, Paulia.

This area offers some great outdoor recreation, whether you like to hike, bike, birdwatch, fish, sail, or paddle a canoe or kayak. Pick up a map of the local trails at Day's Store or from the 7 Lakes Alliance at the Maine Lakes Resource Center. Also, please check the 7-LA Facebook page for details on some interesting events scheduled this summer.