Once a year, tiny Paris Hill comes alive for its Founders Day celebration, when Bob Bahre shares his private car collection with the public. More than 50 prized vehicles—including one of the world’s best collections of Packards (including Dietrich and LeBaron V-windshield body styles), along with Duesenbergs, Stutz Bearcats, a Tucker, a Thomas Flyer, vintage race cars, and more—are on view. Also exhibited is an antique doll and toy collection, horse-drawn carriages, and other vintage treasures.
This special annual event happenson th third Saturday in July. Admission to the classic car exhibit is $15 for adults and $2 for children 12 and younger, with proceeds benefiting the Hamlin Memorial Library & Museum.
While the car show is the biggest draw, it’s not the only reason to stop by this Oxford Hills village, just off Route 26 north of South Paris. Live music, food, craft vendors, raffles, and more are part of the celebration. As with the car exhibit, much of the proceeds support the library.
That library is a cool story in itself, as it was built in1822 as the original Oxford County Jail. It also doubles as a museum offering artifacts that will intrigue history buffs. And do take time to walk around the village on a self-guided walking tour.
Paris Hill’s biggest claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Hannibal Hamlin, vice president during Abraham Lincoln’s first term. The village, home to a National Historic District of elegant 18th- and 19th-century homes, is well worth a detour off Route 26 anytime, but especially for this event or during fall foliage season; the views over the mountains and lakes are spectacular.
Visiting Campobello Island, New Brunswick, home to Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, is a must whenever I’m in way down east Maine.
If Down East Maine is remote, then Franklin D. Roosevelt’s beloved Canadian island is one step removed from remote. This sparsely populated, 9-mile-long New Brunswick orphan seduces me with its quiet disposition, soaring cliffs plummeting to churning seas, calming vistas of lobster and fishing boats chugging around nearby islands, and gentle network of hiking trails and carriage roads. Being here is like being of the world, but not in the world.
Tethered to Lubec, Maine, by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, the island is only accessible from its motherland by seasonal ferry. Tide and weather govern life on Campobello Island. It lies in Passamaquoddy Bay, sited at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, home to some of the world’s biggest tides. At low tide, the ocean bottom reveals its secrets; at high tide, whales can be spied from the shore.
NOTE: Updated May 26, 2022
Roosevelt-Campobello International Park
Touring the Roosevelt Cottage, in Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, is a must when on Campbello Island. Hilary Nangle
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Campobello Island, like Newport, R.I., and Bar Harbor, Maine, was a summer colony for well-to-do families who came for fresh air and clear water. The island is perhaps best known for its long association with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He summered here during his boyhood and later with his wife, Eleanor, and their children. And he was stricken with polio here in 1921.
The 34-room Roosevelt Cottage, built in 1897 and located about 1.5 miles from the bridge, is part of 2,800-acre Roosevelt-Campobello International Park. Also within the boundaries are four other restored cottages and a visitor center. The park, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, is administered jointly by the United States and Canada. The park’s visitor center’s exhibits and film (yes, it’s dated, but plans for a new one are in place) provide an excellent overview of the island and the Roosevelts.
A guided tour through the adjacent Roosevelt cottage offers a window into the family’s life. It appears as if they’ve just stepped out, perhaps for a picnic or a sail. A hand of cards is face down on the table; a hat rests on a bench; a knitting basket is topped with an unfinished project; toys scatter the playroom.
Tea with Eleanor
Roosevelt-Campobello International Park interpreters regale visitors with stories about Eleanor during the park’s Tea with Eleanor program.
To scratch beneath the surface and to become less like voyeurs and more like invited family guests, sign up for the Tea with Eleanor experience.
Offered in two historical cottages, Tea with Eleanor is a treat — I think it’s a must-do Campobello experience. Enthusiastic park interpreters, many with family memories of the Roosevelts, share anecdotes and stories of Eleanor’s trials and triumphs in an engaging, well-researched presentation, while guests sip tea and nibble cookies. No two presentations are the same, as the interpreters bring their own experiences and histories and audience questions often take the conversation in different directions.
Two free teas are offered daily: The morning tea is first-come/first-served. You can make reservations for the afternoon tea.
The Fun Tour
This free, one-hour tour delivers a behind-the-scenes experience of the park. On this one, guides promise to reveal: “scandalous secrets, back stories, and the hidden nooks and crannies of the world’s only international park.” The family-oriented tours concentrate on the park, but you’ll learn about Campobello Island, too.
Beyond the Roosevelt cottage
It’s easy to feel as if you have Campobello island to yourself. @Hilary Nangle
The park’s Visitor Center stocks maps and nature checklists for visiting the park’s extensive grounds, split on both sides of the road.
Frankly, it would be easy to spend days exploring the park’s natural assets. These include hiking trails, boggy ponds and lush woodlands, rocky beaches and soaring headlands. Carriage roads (open to cars, foot, and bicycles) lace the park; and 11 picnic areas pepper it.
If time’s pressing, an easy 1.2-mile round-trip hike to Friar’s Head departs from near the visitor center and loops to the distinctive coastal land formation. An observation deck provides expansive views over scalloped shorelines and fir-trimmed islands.
A cliff-edging masterpiece linking Liberty Point with Raccoon Beach headlines the park’s 8 miles of hiking trails. Roughly midway along is the Sunsweep Sculpture.
Equally irresistible are the whispered promises of pitcher plants, scrub pines, sphagnum moss, and lichens on the boardwalk looping through Eagle Hill Bog.
Strategically placed observation decks throughout the park deliver views to West Quoddy Head and Grand Manan Island. Listen for whales spouting and seals singing, but bring binoculars to aid in spying either.
Mulholland Light, also owned by the park, is located just before the mainland bridge. A marine biology exhibit drawing from the New England Aquarium and Canadian Whale Institute is on view in the fishing shed. If the timing’s right and the tide is changing: Seals cavort in the boils, eddies, and whirlpools of the turning tide and eagles soar overhead.
Trails also connect the international park with the abutting 1,049-acre Herring Cove Provincial Park, an underutilized sleeper with four additional miles of trails. Also here: a mile-long sand beach, freshwater lake, restaurant (not opening in 2022), campground, and nine-hole golf course.
Head Harbor Light on Campobello Island
Getting to Head Harbor Light requires picking your way across the ocean floor. @Tom Nangle
You’ll find the international and provincial parks on Campobello’s southern end, but another treasure, Head Harbor Light, punctuates the northern tip. View the 51-foot-tall beacon, with its distinctive red cross, from the shoreline. But if you’re game for an adventure and the timing is right, it’s even better up close. It’s located on an islet and accessible only during a four-hour window around dead low tide. Take heed to the warning sign:
Extreme Hazard. Beach exposed only at low tide. Incoming tide rises 5 feet per hour and may leave you stranded for 8 hours. Wading or swimming are extremely dangerous due to swift currents and cold water. Proceed at your own risk.
Thank the Friends of Head Harbour Lightstation for restoring the keeper’s house and tower. Guide Deanna Baldwin explained the restoration’s challenges on a tour through the house and up to the lantern room. Volunteers lugged out almost all supplies and furnishings during those four-hour windows. Tides only allowed a full day’s work on a few occasions .
Accessing the lighthouse, constructed in 1830, is an adventure. It requires clambering up and down metal ladders, crossing wooden bridges, following paths across islet cliffs, and navigating the ocean floor through slippery, often rockweed-covered boulders.
“This is the most magical place in the world,” Baldwin said. “You can sit here and watch the whales, minke, finbacks, humpbacks, sometimes even right whales.”
From the lighthouse, it’s an easy detour to Head Harbor Wharf, a postcard cove where the island’s fishing fleet docks.
You can also arrange for a whale-watching tour or a guided island tour while on Campobello Island.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt International Bridge connects Lubec, Maine, with Campobello Island, N.B.
Details, details
• Campobello Island is on Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT), which is one hour ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), so if it’s 9 a.m. in Lubec, it’s 10 a.m. on the island.
• The only direct access from the U.S. mainland is via the Franklin D. Roosevelt International Bridge from Lubec, Maine. A two-stage car ferry connects Campobello with Deer Isle, N.B. A free ferry connects Deer Island with Black’s Harbor, N.B.
• If you’re traveling with a dog, you need proof of rabies vaccination to cross the border. Dogs must be leashed at all times in the park.
• The park staffs an information center on Campobello, just after the bridge; check here for tide information. Head Harbor Lighthouse (sometimes called East Quoddy Head) can be accessed two hours before and two hours after dead low tide. The requested donation to hike to the lighthouse is $5 pp. Lighthouse and tower tours are available for $10 pp or $25 per family. Donations support restoration efforts.
LodgingThe Owen House is an oceanfront time warp, an early 19th-century bed & breakfast decorated with antiques and family treasures on 10 acres.
Pollock Cove Resort The word resort is a bit high falutin’ for this property. comprises one-and two-bedroom cottages with cooking facilities, all located on a grassy bluff with spectacular sea views. There’s a decent restaurant next door.
Campsites ($25-40) are tucked in the woods near the beach at Herring Cove Provincial Park.
And of course, there’s plenty of lodging in Lubec. My favorites include two masterful restorations:
The Inn on the Wharf is in a renovated cannery on a working wharf just steps from downtown Lubec. Rooms and apartments are on one level, and fish processing (lobster, periwinkles, etc.) continues below.
Quoddy Head Station offers studio to multi-bedroom apartments in a former Coast Guard lifesaving station on West Quoddy Head, near the lighthouse; some have ocean views.
It’s the end of an era: Fourth-generation owner Kathryn Weare has sold the Cliff House Resort & Spa, which tops the cliffs of Bald Head in Ogunquit. New owner Rockbridge, a hotel investment firm, purchased the property with Maine-based hoteliers Marc Dugas and Peter Anastos. A renovation is planned after the 2015 season.
Managing the property is New Castle Hotels, which recently reopened Portland’s former Eastland Hotel as the Westin Portland Harborview, after a complete restoration. Gerard Kiladjian, currently manager at the Portland Harbor Hotel, will manage The Cliff House.
Elsie Jane Weare opened The Cliff House in 1872; rates then were $6 per person/week and included breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hotel’s history includes the first private baths in the area, added with the Colonial Annex early in the 20th century; takeover by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II; addition of the area’s first swimming pool in 1960; and renovation as primarily a motel in the 1960s.
Elsie Jane’s great granddaughter Kathryn Weare took over in 1974 and began major updates, renovations, and additions, including the Cliff Spa in 2002.
I mourned when I learned that the Capostoto family had sold Biddeford’s Palace Diner, a classic 1926 Pollard towed to Maine, from Lowell, Mass., by horses in the same year that Lindberg flew over the Atlantic. Under their ownership, the 15-seat diner had been given a fresh & local twist, with healthful alternatives added to the usual diner fare.
At the same time, the new owners, chefs Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell, gave reason for optimism. Both have worked on organic farms in Maine, and Conley’s impressive resume includes positions at lauded restaurants in Portland and New York.
The official opening is March 12. The duo plan to serve classic breakfasts and lunches Wednesday through Sunday, but adding a finer-dining service and fare on Friday and Saturday evenings.I’m not going to be able to get there for a while, but I’m eager to hear your reports.
Despite the snow and frigid temps, my winter hibernation is over. I’m swinging back into Maine Travel Maven mode with a reminder about Maine Restaurant Week, March 1-10, 2014, an event guaranteed to brighten March, whether it comes in like a lamb or a lion, and no matter if it’s snow on the ground or mud in your eye.
Dozens of restaurants statewide (although the majority are along the coast and clustered in Greater Portland) are participating in this annual event. Participants offer fixed-price menus at $25, $35, $45, or $55 (book early to avoid being shut out of the most popular restaurants). You can search for vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menus as well as by price and location on the MRW site. There’s even an app for it now.
Adding to the fun are several major food-related events (details on all available on MRW site, which lists other specialty events, too):
• The Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off, Fri., Feb. 28, 2014, 7-9 a.m. at Sea Dog Brewing Company, South Portland; tix $20-22:50
• BOWL BIG Bowling Tournament, Sun., March 2, 2014, 2-5 p.m. at Bayside Bowl, Portland. Proceeds benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine. Team entry fee: $100,
• The Pancake Race, Tues., March 4, 2014, 6:30 p.m. at Maine Craft Distilling, Portland. Proceeds benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine. Team entry fee: $40,
• The Signature Cocktail and Dessert Event, Sun., March 9, 2014, 5:30-8 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz, Scarborough. Proceeds benefit Preble Street Resource Center. Tix $45-$50.
Finally, don’t miss the special rates offered by the Inn at Brunswick Station, Brunswick; Camden Harbour Inn and Hartstone Inn in Camden; Captain Jefferds Inn, Kennebunkport; Kennebunk Inn, Kennebunk; Portland Harbor Hotel and Portland Regency Hotel, Portland; and the Rangeley Inn & Tavern, Rangeley. And while it’s not listed on the MRW site, the Inn by the Sea, in Cape Elizabeth, has a great MRW room deal, too.
I can’t think of a better way to welcome the new year than a morning of skiing at the Camden Snow Bowl, followed by brunch at Rockland’s Home Kitchen Cafe. That’s especially true on a crisp bluebird day, when frigid temps and sunshine combine to make the ocean and sky blues pop against the whiteness of the snow.
For a few hours, I etched easy turns while gazing out to the island-salted Atlantic waters of Penobscot Bay. There aren’t many ski areas that deliver ocean views (Alyeska, Alaska, and Marble Mountain, Newfoundland, come to mind), but neither of those matches Camden Snow Bowl for in-your-face wows.
Town-owned Camden Snow Bowl is an old time, family centered ski hill that just happens to be in a seaside, summer resort community. That location is reflected in more than the views. Skiers and snowboarders cruise down just-wide-enough trails, with names like Spinnaker, Mussel Ridge, Windjammer, and Scrimshaw; trails that ebb and flow like the sea and follow the mountain’s contours (see trail map, below).
The base lodge is a simple A frame; the primary lifts are an ancient double chair that goes almost — but not quite — to the top, and a trusty T bar that runs base to summit. Add a toboggan run that shoots sledders out on to frozen Hosmer Pond, Nordic and snowshoe trails, and a tubing hill.
It’s small, it’s friendly, and it’s about to get bigger.
Not too much bigger, thank goodness. Voters recently overwhelmingly approved a plan to borrow $2 million to help fund $6.5 million in improvements, which include a new and much larger base lodge, a base-to-summit triple chair, moving the old chair to a new beginner area, removing the T-bars, and improving and expanding snowmaking to cover 80 percent of the mountain. Bravo! Those improvements will allow the ski area to continue to serve local families and visitors for generations to come, while preserving the hometown flavor.
Speaking of flavor, after a morning of skiing, we slid into Rockland’s Home Kitchen Cafe. The recent renovations and additions provide seating on two floors now — and in warmer seasons, on a deck with great harbor views. Breakfast is served all day, which means the renowned sticky buns and huervos rancheros, among other delights, are always available. Plus, there are great sandwiches and fish tacos and too many other choices on the two-sided menu. Breads and tortillas are made from scratch, as are those sticky buns and many of the other baked goods. Just one of the reasons this place earns raves. Add friendly efficient service, generous portions, and prices that don’t break the budget.
Given that we seem to be in a pattern of coastal snow storms — expecting another 4-6 or more tomorrow — do yourself a favor and make tracks to Camden. Not only will you be able to enjoy classic, old-style skiing, but you’ll also reap off-season rates at area accommodations.
Travis Ferland is working to restore the Rangeley Inn to its former grandeur. Already, the three-story historical hotel in downtown Rangeley is looking better, thanks to a coat of sky blue paint.
Before grandeur, however, there’s a lot of work to be done. For starters, he’s bringing the building up to code, installing a sprinkler system and updating the heating system. “We’re doing essential repairs and repainting,” he says.
He’s going through the hotel room by room, evaluating and replacing furnishing, fixtures, TVs, and carpeting as needed. “We’re all about guest comfort. And we’re adding free Wi-Fi, that’s a big thing for our guests,” he says. He’s also completing rooms in the adjacent motor lodge that were never finished. “No major work is needed on that building, it’s in pretty good condition,” he says.
The inn is open for business, and he’s aiming to reopen the pub by late December. “I’d like to serve more unique food than typical pub fare. I’d like to see upscale, quality, from-scratch cooking.”
Ferland, 32, grew up in the hotel industry. His parents ran the Pink Blossoms property in Ogunquit, purchasing it as motor inn and transforming it into a boutique property with a repeat clientele. “I grew up in the biz, it’s in my blood. It comes naturally to me,” Ferland says.
After graduating college in Boston, Ferland joined the Peace Corps in Senegal, returned to manage his parents business, and then went to New York to work for the Peace Corps International Rescue Committee. “I worked with displaced persons in refugee camps, it was fascinating work,” he says. As part of his support role, he organized conferences, so he says he understands people’s expectations, which should come in handy as he grows the corporate business.
He earned an MA in international affairs, but knew it would be difficult to find work. For about six months, he worked as the executive director of a small, nonprofit gay and lesbian travel association. But he knew he wanted to return to Maine.
His mother mentioned that the Rangeley Inn was coming up for auction. They researched the property, put info together, and bid, winning it for $800,000.
“It needs a lot of work, it’s an old building, but it has so much potential,” he says. He has information on past occupancy. “I want to bring it back.” He’s looking to the Bethel Inn, Mount Washington Hotel, and the former Balsams for inspiration, and he plans to market corporate retreats, weddings, reunions, and packages.
During his years in New York, he traveled often. “It got to the point where travel was not as fulfilling because I wasn’t rooted. Now I’m rooted.”
“It was a gut feeling, moving back to Maine,” he says. “I haven’t looked back .”
I’d like to share something with you that came to me from an innkeeper in Bar Harbor:
The government shutdown has closed the Park Loop Road and all concessions in Acadia National Park including Jordan Pond House. However, the hiking trails and carriage roads are still open to hike/walk and many of the trail heads are located on state roads or within easy walking distance of the gates. You can also bike the Park Loop Road free of traffic. There are also many miles of scenic driving and beaches located on the island that are not part of the Park Loop Road. Please don’t panic and come and support Bar Harbor and MDI. The boat tours and buses are all still open for business.
Key points:
• Hiking trails and carriage roads remain open
• Park Loop Road, although closed to cars, is accessible for bicyclists: What a glorious time of year to pedal the road without traffic
• Boat tours, departing from Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor, provide another way to view the park, see its highlights, and learn more about the history and heritage, flora and fauna.
• You can’t drive the Park Loop, but there are miles upon miles of scenic drives on Mount Desert Island.
• The park’s concession stands are closed, but the independently owned shops in the island towns remain open.
• The island’s many museums, including the Abbe in Bar Harbor, the Gilley in SW Harbor, and the Seal Cove Auto Museum, remain open on regularly scheduled days/hours as do local historical society museums.
Once north of Bangor, I temper my dining expectations. I know I’ll find plentiful farms with farm-made goodies, Mom-and-Pop restaurants serving huge portions of hearty comfort foods, and sporting camps with good home cookin’. I don’t expect dining rooms where the ambiance and service sets the stage for professionally prepared, innovative fare that captures the seasons and teases the tastebuds. But that’s exactly what’s on the menu at the Blair Hill Inn, in Greenville.
The inn, built as a private mansion in 1891, delivers mesmerizing views over Moosehead Lake from its hillside location. Enter into a refined hush of exquisite woodwork, fine architectural detailing, stained glass , and huge windows taking in those head-swiveling views. We settled first in the in the lounge, where a leather couch and chairs invite settling in by the fireplace. Over glasses of wine, we conversed with other guests as we shared tales of our day’s adventures and marveled at the views.
In the evening, the inn sets tables in the lounge, living room, main dining room, and enclosed porch, rooms that flow from one to another. All are decorated with refined flair that honors the inn’s Victorian roots but does so with a light and sophisticated style.
Lines are clean, accents are a well executed blend of contemporary pieces and antiques, woodwork shines, glasses sparkle, soft lighting prevails, and gentle music fills the background. Lighted candles filled the dining room fireplace, adding ambiance without overheating those seated next to it; a log fire burned in the living room fireplace, which was a comfortable distance from the window-side tables. And the views? Outstanding!
Executive Chef Amy Oliver’s set menu includes a choice of two appetizers, three entrées, and two desserts, as well as a soup and salad. Most of the vegetables and herbs are sourced from the inn’s greenhouse and gardens, but Oliver’s farm-to-fork cuisine reflects her experiences in the Bahamas, France, Cuba, and Morocco.
After ordering, our dinner began with an amuse bouche, a bite-sized decadence comprising a slice of apple topped with a seared scallop and blueberry chutney.
For my appetizer, I chose the autumn mushroom Napoleon, with caramelized onions, rainbow chard, and mushrooms in puff pastry with a warm Parmigian cream, while Tom opted for the Maine lobster, crab, and shrimp cakes pan-fried in crispy potato crumbs with smoky pepper aioli and lemon. Midway through, we grudgingly switched plates. Both appetizers were not only beautifully presented, but also well conceived and executed, delivering sublime flavors that complemented and enhanced each other along with a range of textures. Game on.
The soup, a puree of root vegetables and lentils with a mascarpone-pesto swirl, was served with a house-made focaccia, which was ideal for mopping up every rich and satisfying drop.
Next came a salad that, like the soup, celebrated autumn. Mixed local lettuces were paired with maple-roasted squash, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds, all lightly dressed with a pumpkin-seed oil vinaigrette. The flavors balanced and complemented each other, and the squash croutons were a delightful surprise.
Entrée choices were wood-fired grilled steak with herbs de Provence, parsley & garlic butter, confit tomato, potato gratin dauphinois, and baby carrots OR maple-chile-glazed duck breast, with sweet potato, quinoa pilaf, and dragon-tongue beans OR seared tuna with wasabi-cream sauce, stir-fried cabbage, crispy rice, and sweet soy. After much deliberation, we opted for the steak and the tuna. Both were expertly prepared, delivered a well conceived balance of flavors and textures, and, as with the previous courses, beautifully presented. While I would have preferred a more rare tuna, it wasn’t overcooked and remained moist. The crispy rice balls were addictive.
We split the two desserts: chocolate mousse cheesecake in chocolate ganache with exploding chocolate and raspberry purée and cornmeal and molasses pudding topped with baked apples and whipped sour cream. Although I’m a confirmed chocoholic, and this cheesecake was magnificent, I hogged the pudding, which truly delivered the flavors of the season.
Service throughout was among the best I’ve experienced in Maine. It was professional, without being stiff, friendly without hovering. Water glasses were kept full, silver wear replaced or provided for each course. Although I later learned the innkeepers, who are on the floor throughout dinner, had to deal with a housekeeping emergency, we never knew it. The dining room retained its decorum, service never missed a beat, and the kitchen delivered on its promise.
What I remember now, as much as the food and service, is the detailed, thoughtful presentation of each course. Plates were never uniform, with each chosen to serve as a perfect backdrop and to enhance the visual pleasure of each dish. I’m still smiling at the memory.
***
The Blair Hill Inn serves dinner Thursday-Saturday nights, by reservation, from early May through late October. The five-course meal is $59. House wines by the glass range $10-12; wine list bottles range $20-$195. Rooms at the inn begin at $325, including breakfast.
If you’re looking for a new way to experience leaf peeping, book a trip with Jeff Hinman’s Flagstaff Lake Scenic Boat Tours. On a brilliant September morning, with a hint of chill in the air, we met Jeff, a Maine Master Guide, at the boat landing in Stratton. After boarding his 12-passenger pontoon boat, we set off for a 2.5-hour cruise on Flagstaff Lake to see autumn’s annual peep show.
Unless you’re willing to bump along back woods roads, hike the rugged Bigelow Mountains, or trek into Maine Huts & Trails Flagstaff Lake Hut, a boat is the best way to see Flagstaff, Maine’s fourth-largest lake. And Jeff is the ideal landscape interpreter. He and his wife, Beth, previously owned the (now-gone) Porter House restaurant. The day they sold it, he purchased the boat to set into motion his dream of offering guided tours of Flagstaff.
As we cruised along, following the river’s deep channel in the shallow lake, Jeff shared the lake’s rich history, including these highlights:
• Benedict Arnold’s ill-fated march to Quebec along what was then the Dead River and Col. Bigelow’s attempt to spy Quebec City from the peak that now carries his name.
• The stories of the towns and villages in the Flagstaff-Dead River Valley that were flooded by Central Maine Power to create Flagstaff Lake. Most homes and businesses were relocated or razed, but the foundations remain. The graves were moved. The stained glass windows from the church were installed in a new church, built to resemble the original, in Eustis;. Roads were rerouted. He also talks about local landmarks, such as the old J.P. Morgan farm and Schoolhouse Hill. (Do yourself a favor and listen to “Below,” by Slaid Cleaves).
• The attempt to create a Vail-quality ski resort on Bigelow.
• The creation of the Bigelow Preserve.
We cruised by islands that once were hilltops under the shadow of the Bigelow range. We kept an eye out for moose, but settled for eagles and loons. Other than a few kayakers and canoeists, we saw no other boats until we were nearly back at the dock, and then only two small pontoon boats. It was quiet, magnificently quiet, the sun was warm, but the colors were just beginning to turn. Go now, and I’m sure you’ll see ma nature’s flash dance in its full autumn glory.
Once a year, tiny Paris Hill comes alive for its Founders Day celebration, when Bob Bahre shares his private car collection with the public. More than 50 prized vehicles—including one of the world’s best collections of Packards (including Dietrich and LeBaron V-windshield body styles), along with Duesenbergs, Stutz Bearcats, a Tucker, a Thomas Flyer, vintage race cars, and more—are on view. Also exhibited is an antique doll and toy collection, horse-drawn carriages, and other vintage treasures.
That library is a cool story in itself, as it was built in1822 as the original Oxford County Jail. It also doubles as a museum offering artifacts that will intrigue history buffs. And do take time to walk around the village on a self-guided walking tour.
