Bear mystery meat?

The Press Herald reported this morning about an unusual occurrence in Portland, in which a bear was spotted "acting strangely" (WMTW) in the East Deering area, and was consequently shot by game wardens. WMTW also reported on the incident: http://www.wmtw.com/r/29276769/detail.html. Both sources declined to show photos of the dead bear, improving my morning immensely.

Black bear killed in Portland
The bear is initially spotted in a tree on Oregon Street early this morning.
From staff reports

PORTLAND — Officers of the Maine Warden Service shot and killed a black bear today around 7 a.m. in the woods off Veranda Street in the East Deering neighborhood.

Portland police reported the treed bear to the Wardens Service around 4:30 a.m. Wardens initially tried to tranquilize the bear, but were unable to, according to Portland police Lt. Jim Sweatt.

"It was getting to be 7 o'clock and you don't want school buses and firearms on the scene," Sweatt said.

The bear initially was spotted in a tree on Oregon Street, a residential area, before climbing down and running off, Sweatt said.

The wardens service said the bear weighed around 120 pounds. The hide is being sent to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife so researchers can determine the bear's sex and age and other factors.

The meat will be distributed to soup kitchens.

Source: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Black-bear-killed-in-Portland.html

Not so sure about the decision to send the meat to the soup kitchens, unless the bear wasn't really "acting strangely," and was just a normal-acting bear that it was safer and more convenient to shoot.

St. Barnabas and its legends

I was recently sent a note from a reader who as a child had played in and around some foundation ruins at the corner of Norwood and Woodford Streets in Portland. Among his friends, legend had it that the foundation was the remains of the old St Barnabas Hospital or possibly an animal infirmary, and the 3- to 4- foot steel chute that transected it was used to dump bodies to the morgue. There were plenty of rumors that there were "forgotten" basements and sub-basements in the area with all types of hospital oddities in them.

While there is not a whole lot of info about St. Barnabas available upon a cursory search, between the web and the Portland Public Library I did find a few things.

The hospital, known alternately as "Saint Barnabas" and "Dr. Cousins' Private Hospital," was founded by Dr. William Lewis Cousins in 1904, opening its doors at 231 Woodfords Street to patients on July 21, 1905. Photos of the reception rooms and grounds bespeak a gracious impression, though no photos of patient facilities are shown. The hospital boasted a terraced lawn, a broad, glass-enclosed sun parlor, an elevator, and refrigerator ice gleaned exclusively from Sebago Lake.

To give you an idea of what type of hospital it was, here is a description of St. Barnabas' from an ad in the Journal of the Maine Medical Association, Vol X, No. 1, Aug. 1919, pg ii. The facility's expertise focused on ailments that required surgery, attended to in their state-of-the-art operating rooms on the 3rd floor, but cases with purely medical treatment options were accepted as well. 30 student nurses resided in a dormitory adjacent to the hospital.

DR. COUSINS' PRIVATE HOSPITAL
SAINT BARNABAS

A private institution for the care and treatment of all Surgical Diseases

Thoroughly modern in every respect, steam heating, vacuum cleaning, electric lighting and electric elevator, most modern fire protection including private alarm box, extinguishers in each room, corridors fitted with hose and water mains, and fire escapes surrounding the building. Abundance of private baths, latest and most approved operating room and laboratory facilities.

Complete X-Ray Outfit. Special attention given to diseases of the gastro-intestinal tract.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR FIFTY -- Rates given upon application.

EXTRAS—Patients' private laundry, drugs, laboratory fees, operating room and special nurse. This latter is $2.50 per day.

SAINT BARNABAS HOSPITAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NURSES

Course of training extends over a period of three years, embracing instruction in both medical and surgical nursing including special branches. A maternity department offers valuable training in this important line of work. Nursing in private cases which forms such a very large portion of the work will be found of especial value as representing the class of practice encountered after graduation. Applicants must present satisfactory evidence of good health, morals and a degree of education equivalent to a four years' high school course or certificates from normal schools, academies and institutions of like standing.

SAINT BARNABAS HOSPITAL REGISTRY for GRADUATE NURSES
is run in connection with the Training School for the assistance of physicians employing graduate nurses.

For information, write or telephone

Supt. Saint Barnabas Hospital

231 Woodford St., - Portland, Me.

TELEPHONE NUMBER 82440

So far as the foundation remembered by the reader goes, "The heating plant and boiler room is in a separate building a short distance from the Hospital. The garage, laundry, and engineer's rooms are also in this building, in addition to accommodations for the help." This location matched with his recollections of the location of the foundation.

[Source: Report of Work Done at Saint Barnabas Hospital from July 21, 1905 to January 1, 1914 (George D. Loring, Printer, 1914)]

Based on that information, we are guessing that the chute was for coal or other heating fuel. The stories of forgotten basements with hospital oddities in them is entirely likely-- according to the same report, "In the basement, which can be entered from a side street [Norwood???], is a well-equipped laboratory, and the storerooms."

Since the hospital seems to have specialized in surgical procedures, who knows...?

Among the available St. Barnabas info, I found a listing of the hospital rules. Some of them (especially #3!) seem so common sense you'd hope they wouldn't need to be told to folks, but I guess then as now people don't think clearly about how their actions affect those around them!

1. Do not deface walls or furniture, sit on sides of beds, talk in loud tones in wards or halls.

2. Relatives are allowed to see patients daily when the patients are convalescent.

3. Refuse of any kind must not be thrown into bath tubs or water closets, nor out of the windows, but will be placed in a proper receptacle and removed by a nurse.

4. Patients are not allowed access to the wards or private rooms unless by special permission, nor are they allowed to leave the premises without permission of the physician in charge.

5. Patients are required to bring sufficient clothing in order to make frequent changes. All laundry work must be done outside of hospital at the expense of patient.

6. Patients should not question nurses regarding ailments of other patients. Nurses are cautioned against answering such questions.

Missing Member at UNE gallery

The West End News reported on a striking attack of vandalism at a local art exhibit:

Penis Hacker Loose in Portland
An unknown person went into the sculpture garden of the Art Gallery at the University of New England on the night of June 17th and hacked off the penis of a
two-foot high clay sculpture that was on exhibit.

The sculptor, Munjoy Hill artist Nancy Nevergole, had been asked the previous day to remove the sculpture. Nevergole discovered the vandalism when she arrived to remove the sculpture. The statue was part of the annual Sculpture Garden Invitational held at the UNE gallery. The missing piece has not been found.

See photos on WEN site: [Source]

Evergreen Cemetery death needs ID

UPDATE (5/11/09):
For those who were touched by this story and wish to pay their respects, the obituary was published on the Portland Press Herald website on Sunday. Click here to read.

You are NOT in a video game.

Well, this seemed almost like a straightforward minor crime spree until got to the quote about the reason Goding gave for his actions.

"I Thought I Was in a Video Game"
Vanessa Cutter, Assignment Editor

A Westbrook man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly stole a car, crashed it and then tried to break into an 80-year-old woman's apartment.

Police say around 9 o'clock, 22-year-old Kyle Goding stole a car from 28 Stevens Avenue then crashed it a few minutes later on the same street. Police say he then fled on foot and tried to break into an elderly woman's apartment at 308 Brown Street.

The woman was able to call police and keep the door locked, preventing Goding from busting in. Officers say a neighbor pushed Goding out of the way when he saw him kicking at the door. When police arrived, they allegedly wrestled Goding to the ground and arrested him just before 11 p.m. Authorities say Goding told them he "thought he was in a video game."
[...]
Read the full article at WGME's website here: [Source]

Ethereal Company in Portland

Back in January, we posted about Josh Fisher's search for a spirit's history here in Portland's Evergreen Cemetery. We are pleased to note that the article led to an interview with the Portland Phoenix, which brought Josh right into their print issue with his story. Hooray!

Finding company in Evergreen Cemetery: Ghost buster
By DEIRDRE FULTON
January 23, 2008 3:01:12 PM

In October 2007, Portlander Joshua Fisher, 33, was walking through Evergreen Cemetery when he felt a “swirling energy sensation, like a bird flapping around my head.” Most of us would dismiss it as a weird hangover, or some otherwise-explained dizzy spell. But not Josh Fisher.

The following day, the amateur ghost-hunter — he’d been involved in paranormal investigations in his previous hometown of Philadelphia — went back to the cemetery to try to identify the source of the strange feeling. “I ended up at this one stone,” he recalls, “and I can’t explain why.”

That headstone marked the grave of Sarah Haskell, who was born in New Gloucester in 1822, and died in 1848 at the young age of 26.
...
And so began Fisher’s relationship with this spirit. He’s discovered a lot about her past through municipal records, old newspaper articles, and communication with Haskell’s distant relatives (her husband’s name was Alfred Woodard, and her descendents looked like regular 19th-century stiffs), but one fact remains elusive: how Haskell died. It could have been during childbirth, but there’s no mention of a baby. It could have been the result of one of the many diseases of the day, but that’s not noted either. Or it could be something juicier — “we may never know,” Fisher admits.

He employs several tools and techniques to help solve the mystery, including digital voice recordings that can capture faint, unidentifiable voices, and an infrared camera. (The best of these are posted on Fisher’s blog.) The untrained ear or eye may remain skeptical, but these electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) and images are just what trained ghost-hunters hope for when they start an investigation.

Fisher — a married graphic designer who otherwise comes off as totally ordinary — has been into the paranormal for years.

... “It’s the kind of thing I always thought I’d be scared of — but the fascination kind of overrides the fear.”
...
The Sarah Haskell case is Fisher’s first since moving back to Maine about a year ago; he hopes to continue his paranormal research in the Old Port, and wants to eventually launch a ghost-hunting team of his own. One of the most intriguing potential investigation sites? Bull Feeney’s. We knew there was something eerie about that place.
Read full article here: [Source]