Clownbox disappears in Lewiston

A guest post from Loren Coleman:

The ringmaster, Peter Sturgis, of the Kora Shriners Circus called the International Cryptozoology Museum today to follow up on some books he was obtaining from our giftshop. During out conversation, he mentioned that the circus's visit to Maine this year was one of the strangest they have experienced in years, due to the fact someone stole their "shrinker" from the parking lot of the Temple in Lewiston.

I looked up the news account via Bangor Daily News, and thought Strange Maine readers might be interested.

Clown prop stolen from truck in Lewiston
By Mark LaFlamme, Sun Journal
Posted April 22, 2011, at 9:36 a.m.

Sun Journal photo courtesy of the Lewiston Police Department
The Kora Clowns Weight Loss Machine in action at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
LEWISTON, Maine — The tension is thick.

A large clown named Kracker has crawled into a bright yellow box. Bulbs are flashing, blue, green, red. A buzzer sounds. Smoke pours from the magical box. Confetti flies into the air and moments later, the clown emerges, half the size he was moments before.

It’s called Kora Clowns Weight Loss Machine and it dazzles audiences wherever it goes. Only now, the machine is missing, the target of thieves who swiped it from the back of Kracker’s truck.

The theft was a trick in itself — at 400 pounds, the bulky box could not have been an easy thing to carry away.

“The machine is very large and heavy,” Lewiston police Lt. Michael McGonagle said, “and would need more than one person to move.”

Detectives are on the case. Real police, not the Krazy Kops. And they are not clowning around. Leads have already been developed. Police and the Shriners who use the box to entertain crowds at the circus are hoping the thieves will bring it back.

“It’s not a high-value item,” Shriner Michael Morin said. “But it means a lot to us and to the kids.”

On Thursday afternoon, there was a report that the Weight Loss Machine fell off the back of a truck on Interstate 295 in Freeport. Police were checking into that report while chasing local leads.

“If anyone has information,” McGonagle said, “or knows of someone who has lost a lot of weight in the past day, have them contact Detective Roland Godbout.”

Cue rim shot.

It’s hard not to joke about a device used by a bunch of clowns. But the Shriners are serious about getting it back.

The prop was taken from the back of a pickup parked on South Lisbon Road the night of April 12-13. Its absence leaves Shriners without one of their more popular gags with which to wow audiences.

“The guys are scrambling now to put something together for the Augusta circus shows on Friday and Saturday,” said Jim Bennett, also known as Ginjo the clown. The box was constructed by — no, really — the Shriners Klown Unit. It’s a simple box with attachments for the bulbs, smoke and confetti. It’s Kracker who goes into the machine but a slimmer clown named Stumpy who comes out.

Which Rob Farrington, of the Klown Unit, feels is fairly important to note. Who knows if the thieves are crawling in and out of the box, waiting for the pounds to magically disappear?

“It’s a pretty cool little skit,” Farrington said. “But it doesn’t really work.”

Source: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/04/22/news/clown-prop-stolen-from-truck-in-lewiston/

UPDATE:
Thanks to Brian for pointing out a follow-up article in the Sun Journal, in which it was determined that the box fell out of Krackers' truck, and was not in fact stolen.

Clown prop recovered. Sort of.
By Mark LaFlamme, Staff Writer
Apr 23, 2011 12:00 am

LEWISTON — The Kora Clowns Weight Loss Machine, reported stolen earlier in the week, more likely fell off a clown's truck in Freeport, police said Friday.

Police said it appears the 400-pound wooden box was not stolen after all. Indications are that the gizmo may have fallen off of a pickup driven Richard Nadeau, aka Kracker the clown, after the Shrine Circus show in Portland on Tuesday night.

Highway officials apparently found the box along Interstate 295 in Freeport late Tuesday or early Wednesday. It was in less than prime condition, police said, and the Weight Loss Machine was disposed of.

Nadeau had been hauling the box and told police he did not notice the item missing from his truck parked on South Lisbon Road until Wednesday morning. When he discovered it was gone, he told police he assumed it had been stolen, police said.

It was not reported to police until Thursday. They began looking into the matter and by the end of the day, they discovered that the box had been found on the interstate in Freeport.

The Weight Loss Machine featured flashing bulbs, ominous smoke and a buzzer that heralded the seeming transformation of a big clown into a little one.

"It was a pretty popular skit," Shriner Mike Morin said.

It had been constructed by the Shriners and was valued at about $500. With more circus appearances on the schedule, Morin expects the Shriners will waste little time in constructing a new and improved Weight Loss Machine to continue the business of shrinking clowns and wowing crowds.

"I'd be really surprised," he said, "if they don't build another one right away."

Source: http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/1019444

Sunday: LIVE on Maine Ghost Hunters radio!

Yep, that's right, I'll be on the Maine Ghost Hunters' radio show this Sunday evening, 5/22/11, from 8:00-10:00pm, Eastern Standard Time!

FMI: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/maineghosthunters/2011/05/23/mgh-presents-zerolux-radio-maine-author-michelle-souliere

Giving ghosthunters a bad name

When I first heard about this story, I was going to post it as a reminder to folks who are interested in "ghost hunting" to be careful about trespassing on abandoned sites in Maine. However, when I went to read the full article on the Bangor Daily News site, I discovered that not only were the people involved in this incident trespassing at an old mill site, but also they were dense enough to drag their infant (yes, I said infant) along with them.

Yep, the best place for a 15-month-old is wandering around a potentially hazardous abandoned site. Good job, guys. Good team effort, there.

Ghost hunters summoned for trespassing in Orono
By Dawn Gagnon
Posted May 18, 2011, at 11:28 p.m.

ORONO, Maine — Four area adults were summoned on trespassing charges shortly after midnight Tuesday after they reportedly scaled a barbed-wire-topped gate leading to Ayers Island with a baby in tow.

“They said they were looking for ghosts,” Orono police Officer Wilfred King said Wednesday evening. King said one of the ghost hunters brought along a camera in hopes of documenting paranormal activity on the island, which is privately owned and off-limits to the public. Several large signs there make that point.

King also said that the ghost hunters picked late Tuesday night because they said there was a full moon.

Sgt. Scott LaJoie said the group didn’t quite make it onto the island, however. King, who was patrolling the area that night, spotted their vehicle shortly after they arrived.

Charged with trespassing, but not arrested, were: Eric Roy, 23, of Bangor; Kimberly Patten, 19, of Orono; and Chauncey Hulbert, 27, of Bradley, and Hulbert’s 25-year-old wife, Suzanne Hulbert, King said.

King said that the Hulberts had brought along their 15-month-old child and that Chauncey Hulbert was taken to a Bangor hospital for treatment of leg injuries he suffered while climbing over the gate, which King said is about 8 feet tall and topped with barbed wire.

According to published reports, Ayers Island is home to the former Striar Textile Mill, which was built in 1890 and last operated in October 1996, as well as the former Orono Pulp & Paper Co. Most of the buildings that remain there were built around 1907, according to local histories.

It has been, among other things, the focus of redevelopment efforts and an environmental cleanup.

It also has a reputation for being haunted. In the summer of 2006, the cable network VH1 filmed two episodes of “Celebrity Paranormal Project” on the 62-acre island titled “Tanner’s Ghost” and “Wooden Lucy.” (Video here: Tanner's Ghost -- http://www.hulu.com/watch/120375/celebrity-paranormal-project-tanners-ghost Wooden Lucy -- http://www.hulu.com/watch/120374/celebrity-paranormal-project-wooden-lucy)

According to local legend, the island in the Penobscot River, located two miles from the University of Maine campus, is haunted by the ghost of a foreman killed in a mysterious accident who is said to haunt the mill seeking revenge, and the ghost of a young girl whose father accidentally killed her after being tricked by a 300-year-old American Indian curse.

Roy and Chauncey Hulbert were among three men arrested in 2008 in connection with the theft of $6,000 in electrical wiring from a Bradley contractor. (Story here: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2008/08/01/sports/3-men-arrested-in-theft-of-wire-worth-6000/?ref=relatedBox)

Roy later was indicted by the Penobscot County grand jury and sentenced the next year to 30 days in jail and $500 restitution. He also has a theft conviction from March of this year and convictions for possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a license.

Hulbert has been convicted of criminal mischief in 2010 and 2009, and assault in 2009.

Source: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/18/news/bangor/ghost-hunters-summoned-for-trespassing-in-orono/

Photo of Ayers Island from http://www.scicloid.com/, home of Ayers Island LLC.

Toilet fire? Yep, toilet fire.

I can't make this stuff up.

The Bangor Daily News made up the title for it, though.

Toilet fire reported in Rockport
By Abigail Curtis, BDN Staff
Posted May 01, 2011, at 4:03 p.m.

ROCKPORT, Maine — A would-be arsonist used a dollar bill and alder branches Saturday night in an attempt to set a fire in a portable toilet outside a Route 90 convenience store.

“That is odd. That is very bizarre,” said Traci Cultrera, a cashier at the Tolman Pond Market. “I’m blown away that they used their own money.”

She said that staff had discovered Sunday morning that there were a bunch of “brambled sticks” in the urinal, along with the dollar bill. Not much damage was caused by the fire in the toilet, which is adjacent to the store.

“Just a little charring on the Porta-Potty,” she said. “Good thing it didn’t manage to catch. If it did, we would have lost the whole store.”

Patrolman Dana Smith of the Rockport Police Department said that he had been called to the scene to investigate.

“It started to burn, but either somebody showed up, or they got sick of waiting for the green branches to burn,” he said. “The dollar bill was pretty much gone.”

He said that he encouraged the store’s staff to get better security cameras. Smith said that he thinks he has a suspect in the matter.

“You just never know what you’re going to get,” he said.

Source:
http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/01/news/toilet-fire-reported-in-rockport/

TONIGHT! Strange Maine on WMPG

WHEN: Monday, May 16th from around 10:00pm to 11:00pm
WHERE: WMPG, 90.9 FM and 104.1 FM in the Greater Portland area, or listen online here to their streaming broadcast.
WHAT: DanK of the Random Thought Crime Generator show interviews me about the world of Strange Maine and the latest issue of the Gazette

Who knows what will surface? The show customarily features a mix of soundtracks, novelties, spoken word, experimental, and instrumentals from all genres, especially jazz, surf, and r&b, but the Strange Maine interview show creates a neat hybrid of these elements with extensive interview segments interspersed. Nifty dandy!!!

Tune in and check it out!

More Maine UFOs?

MUFON listed a new report from a Mainer this week, which occurred on May 7th, 2011. Unfortunately no area or location is mentioned, beyond a rural setting, so it could be anywhere:

I saw two bright lights out the window. The lights came from the east and headed west. It appeared to look like a jet headed for a landing in my driveway.

When I went outside, it changed direction towards my property which is in a rural area. I then noticed there were two sets of lights. As it got closer I could see two triangular shaped vessels. They were very close to each other. There was the sound of machinery, engine. But it was not like the sound of a jet engine, helicopter, prop plane or automobile. The air was still underneath it. It was not a very loud sound.

I called for my friend in the house to come out and see it. There were many white lights underneath. There were bright lights at each corner of the isosoles triangle. When looking up you could see inside the vessel. It appeared to be about 20 ft across. As you looked up into it seemed to be constructed like a pyramid. Inside the lights you could see geometric patterns.

Lights like search beams eminated from it. The light was very bright but not blinding. At one point the light fixated on me for a few seconds and the vessel continued on like what seemed to be a walking speed. As I stared up at the vessel I knew it was other worldly. It came in from the east and then proceeded south southwest.

(I have corrected a few minor and obvious single-letter typos for readability.)

Source: http://mufon.com/mufonreports.html

Back on April 22nd, another sighting was reported via MUFON, this time near Lewiston:

I took my dog out for some business about 12:10 this morning. I went out on my stoop and I always look at the sky. Having moved here a little over a year ago, I enjoyed the night sky because it had so many more stars than where I lived before.

I noticed what appeared to be a plane above and to my right. It had a couple of lights on, flashing but not going on and off. They seemed to twinkle more than flash. I assumed it was a plane and continued to watch the dog as she sniffed around. After a few seconds, I looked up again and there was one steady light. I thought I must have been mistaken about the additional lights and thought maybe it was a star. Then they came on again. It wasn't moving but it was hovering, and I realized after a minute or two that this was something unusual.

The lights flickered, and then it started moving extremely slowly toward me, with no sound at all. That freaked me out a little and I went inside. I looked out the window of the door, and I saw it moving side to side, slowly. Then it stopped and continued to flicker.

At first I thought it looked like it was a boomerang shape. But it could have been a disc. It definitely had an angle to it. It reminded me of a wedding band that had diamonds all around it. Like I said, they were white and flickered, sometimes all of them, sometimes a couple and sometimes just one.

It was hovering out towards Lewiston, ME and it was about the height and size of a plane. I watched for about 15 minutes, but because of it moving toward me, I decided to stop watching. It definitely gave me an eerie feeling. I've seen UFOs in the past (many years ago) and they didn't evoke that feeling in me. This just seemed different, maybe because I was by myself and it was so dark out. I watched the news hoping to hear of other reports, but so far there haven't been any. I thought I should mention it to someone. Thanks.

Maine Ghost Hunters cemetery series!

What: Sunday Cemetery Series Kick-Off - Eastern Cemetery in Portland, ME
When: Sunday, June 12, 2011 1:00 PM
Price: $3.00 per person
Where: Eastern Cemetery, 224 Congress Street, Portland, Maine (between Mountfort and Federal Streets)
FMI: http://www.meetup.com/MaineGhostHunters/

The kick-off to the 2011 Sunday Cemetery Series is here! Plan to attend the first location of the series right in beautiful Portland, ME. This Maine Ghost Hunters Series was a huge success in 2010, and promises to be even more impressive this season. Unlike some of our investigation meetups, this series is family friendly. Well behaved children 12 and over are invited to attend with their parents.

Any serious cemetery enthusiast would agree, Eastern has to be at the top of the list when it comes to "must see" locations. For many reasons, it is easy to argue that this is one of the most significant colonial cemeteries in the country. It was added to the registry of historical places in 1974. Speaking of history, a theme of this year's series is a remembrance of the 150 year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. At each location on the tour we will be explaining that particular cemeteries tie to the American conflict that put brother against brother. Eastern has an impressive connection.

Also, for this tour, the Maine Ghost Hunters Team is proud to announce that a member of Spirits Alive will be our very special guest! Spirits Alive is a group dedicated to the preservation of Eastern Cemetery. Their work has kept this national treasure from falling into the hands of neglect, time and vandalism. Their knowledge of the cemetery and all that can be found in it, is unrivaled. Check them out at www.SpiritsAlive.org

So make sure you wear your Maine Ghost Hunters T-shirt (if you have one) and join us for an unforgettable day of cemetery exploration.

Swarm of earthquakes hits state

Earlier this week NPR's All Things Considered program looked into the micro-quake swarm that percolated along the coast of Maine during the first week of May. On their site they have an audio version of the interview that Melissa Blocks did with Robert Marvinney, director of the Maine Geological Survey. For those who prefer the written word, a transcription of the interview is also available.

While most folks don't consider Maine prime earthquake territory, those of us who have been here for a long time know that they do happen now and again, though not usually in such quantities.

Blocks quizzed Marvinney about why such a series of quakes would occur in Maine, to which he responded, "There was a swarm like this in 2006 around Bar Harbor, another one in 1967 around the Augusta area. And because they're so rare and they're so small, we really don't have a good answer for why a spate of earthquakes will occur like this in one location."

Visit NPR's site to hear the whole interview for yourself:
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/10/136181941/maine-hit-by-tiny-earthquakes
Very interesting stuff!

Atlas Obscura: 8 Maine sites

The Atlas Obscura, a guide to interesting sites to visit all over the world, has eight Maine locations listed on its site at http://atlasobscura.com/globe/north-america/united-states/maine. Ranging from the Eagle Lake Tramway to Eartha, the giant DeLorme globe, each location has a thorough write-up and photos. Great inspiration for anyone ready for a spring fieldtrip!!

Got a report of your own to file? Go ahead! Atlas Obscura depends on curiosity-seeking travelers to add to its information.

1978 UFO report from Strong, ME

A report was filed April 12th on the MUFON website (http://mufon.com/) relating a 1978 sighting (reproduced verbatim below):

Three of us, July 1978, teenagers at the time, were night fishing for eel on the shore of the Sandy River in Strong Maine. We heard a whooshing sound, like the wind, directly overhead, we looked up, and said at the same time, "Wow look at that", and there was a black triangle, with rounded points. Each point had a fixed colored light, (not blinking)red, blue, and green. The round lights were at least 10 feet in diameter, much bigger than any man made aircraft lights i've seen otherwise. The triangle was an estimated 300 feet each side. The craft was approximately 300 to 400 feet above us and made no noise except the sound of the craft cutting the air. The speed of the craft was about 20 miles per hour, too slow to be a conventional aircraft. It was below stall speed and should have crashed, but it kept slowly flying west, up river until it went out of sight. Time span was about 30 seconds. my brother still thinks to this day that it was an experimental military aircraft. In my opinion, it was a technology out of our reach and beyond our capabilities at the time. This is the only flying triangle I have seen. I have had 9 other experiences that I will share at another time, 4 of which were during my childhood in the 1970s. Keep looking skyward my friends. Phil62.

Source:
http://mufoncms.com/cgi-bin/manage_sighting_reports.pl?mode=view_long_desc&id=28639&rnd=378201303516069

Just one more example of the high-strangeness era of the 1970s! Even Maine wasn't immune to a rash of UFO sightings. In the September 7, 1976, issue of the Biddeford Journal, mixed in with all the other classified ads for lost wallets and "Hairdressing in your home" by Mr. Andre, the following ad was run:

PLEASE report UFO sightings or encounters in your area to:
Shirley C. Fickett, 797-2664, International UFO Bureau, East Coast Headquarters, 482 Auburn St., Portland Me. 04103.
We are serious about UFO's and need information. They are also being seen in other areas. We will be confidential, we are not with the government.

Maine Talks... but how?

One fascination that folks seem to have with Maine is the so-called "Maine accent," which is liberally abused by actors from all over the place.

Mainer Tara Taylor did a bunch of research on the topic for her thesis project, which can be seen online at http://mainetalks.com/, and is called "Hahd Tellin' Not Knowin'"

The project itself takes the form of a massive Flash file, which will take some time to load and watch. But the end result is pretty neat. The page that loads gives you several options. You can listen and read about "The Dialect," "The Words" (there's a great vocabulary list), and "The People" who use them. For another melange of words and images, you can click on "The Place." All in all, it's a fun way to focus on the rhythm of speech that most of us here in Maine take for granted.

I realized when listening to her recorded interviews that I run across the Maine accent all the time, but being from here I don't think about it, my brain just fills in the blanks and accepts certain turns of phrase and pronunciations as normal. For me, they are normal. There's almost a tidal push and pull in the way Mainers talk that grows on you, and while it drives some folks from away nuts trying to decipher it, there are those of us that delight in it as a simple element of who everyone here is.

Review: Umbrella Cover Museum guide!

What can I say about Uncovered and Exposed! A Guide to the World’s Only Umbrella Cover Museum? Once again, Nancy 3. Hoffman has outdone herself.

As director and curator of the Umbrella Cover Museum on Peaks Island, Nancy has long done her darnedest to remind the rest of us about the magic and delight that can be found in the most mundane objects. Now, as the author of this book, she is spreading the word even further than the shores of Peaks.

Like the narrated tour she gives to guests of the museum, her guide is peppered with inimitable Nancy-isms and keen observations about umbrella covers and their reflection of our culture. From statistical facts about the mysterious little tabs (a.k.a. doo-hickeys) that appear on many umbrella covers to the battle with her word processor over whether or not “doo-hickey” should be one word or two, the guide sets out to entertain and educate us in fine fettle.

The book is self-published in a sturdy square-bound format, and is packed with full-color photos of museum treasures and events. Like any good museum guide, it walks armchair visitors through the museum piece by piece, pointing out the items that might be missed in the midst of their normally distracting surroundings. Not only do you get to see the covers as documented by Nancy’s camera, but also you find out each piece’s provenance, which in some cases can be far more intriguing than their plain appearance would indicate to an uninformed spectator.

Are you curious yet? The book is available at local bookshops or through the museum’s website at http://www.umbrellacovermuseum.org/ The museum reopens for the season in May, and can be reached by calling (207)766-4496. The best way to get there (unless you have your own boat) is to take the Casco Bay Lines ferry to Peaks Island, a pleasant 20-minute ride out of Portland Harbor.

New Issue of the Gazette!

Hello everyone! Just a note to let you know that issues of the Strange Maine Gazette's first issue of 2011 are on their way out into the world. I just updated the list of places you can get copies of it (see righthand side of blog page), and added a bunch of new spots. If you know a place that would like to carry issues of the quarterly publication, drop me a line with the address to send them to and I'll add them to the list.

Most of the Portland locations have the new issue, and other towns' issues will be in the mail on Monday, so check with those fine establishments later next week! Subscribers will have their new issues within the next few days. Hooray!

Image from http://doversociety.homestead.com/CHARACTERS.html depicting Mr C. BECKER, Dover Town Crier (PHOTO of him) “celebrates 80th Birthday on February 27th. Town Crier for 48 years (Dover Express 6.2.1914 p.2)

Ragged Isle! Episodes 1-3 online

Fans of Dark Shadows and other gothic Down East fare will be really thrilled to find that three episodes of locally-produced show "Ragged Isle" are now available online. If you really want a treat, click through to their YouTube page and watch them in HD. It's well worth it.



Bangor Daily News does a great interview with filmmaker Barry Dodd:

There’s something in the water. Something dark, mysterious and possibly hostile. Everybody on the small, insular Maine island knows about it, but nobody much wants to talk about it directly — except one newcomer, who appears determined to figure out what exactly is going on.

That’s the basic premise of “Ragged Isle,” a 10-part Web series that launched online at raggedisle.com on March 9, with a new 10-15 minute episode premiering each Wednesday through May 11. The series was written, produced and directed by a group of Portland-based filmmakers and writers called the Entertainment Experiment, led by the husband-and-wife team of Barry and Karen Dodd, both natives of Waldo County and graduates of Belfast Area High School.

Read full article here: http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/03/21/lifestyle/maine-island-of-mysteries-featured-in-web-episodes-of-the-new-%E2%80%98ragged-isle%E2%80%99/?ref=latest

For those who want to dig further, there is a blog with lots of behind-the-scenes material here:
http://www.raggedisle.blogspot.com/

EVENT: Fort Knox Ghost Hunters premiere

SyFy Channel’s "Ghost Hunter" TV program will air the results of its February investigation of Fort Knox, in Prospect, Maine, on Wednesday, April 6 at 9 p.m.! Shown here is Leon Seymore, of the Friends of Fort Knox, sitting with Amy Bruni and Grant Wilson of TAPS, ready for the "reveal" segment of the episode.

A live public screening of the "Ghost Hunters" Fort Knox episode, which is titled “Residual Haunts,” will take place Wednesday, April 6 from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. at the Bucksport Golf Club on Route 46.

The special event fundraiser, sponsored by the Friends of Fort Knox, will provide viewers an opportunity to meet people who have reported paranormal experiences at the fort and watch the show on a big-screen TV.

Advanced tickets for the Bucksport event are $7 in advance, $10 night of the event, and may be purchased by calling (207)469-6553 or stopping by the Friends’ office at Fort Knox. Attendees will receive snacks, and a cash bar will be available.

Source: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/ae/story/fort-knox-ghost-hunters-to-air-april-6/388049

Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180247668687843&ref=ts

EVENT: Orono UFO interest group

WHAT: Meeting of UFO Interest Group (held 3rd Sunday of each month)
WHEN: 4:00-5:00PM, March 20, 2011
WHERE: Fire Sign, 50 Main Street, Orono, ME 04473
FMI: call (207)866-3626 or email firesign@myfairpoint.net

Join other locals for a monthly UFO interest group. Open discussion about past, present and & future UFO activity in a safe and anonymous environment. To register, call (207)866-3626 or email firesign@myfairpoint.net

http://home.myfairpoint.net/~firesign/products.html

About Fire Sign:
Fire Sign is a shop which features items for metaphysical and New Age interests, including books, incense, crystals, jewelry, candles, magazines, cards, Tarot & more. Check their calendar of events for more classes and interest groups, and information about tarot, rune, and psychic reading availability.

EVENT: Death & Civil War lecture

WHAT: Death and Survival in the Civil War, lecture
WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 2011, 10:00 - 11:00am
WHERE: Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME
COST: Free, Donations Appreciated
FMI: http://www.spiritsalive.org/events/lectures.htm

The last lecture in the series, "Death and Survival in the Civil War," will take place on March 26. “Dead Men’s Pockets: Gettysburg Bodies and Other Stories” will be presented by Margaret Creighton, Professor at Bates College. Creighton wrote Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History which considers the legendary battle of Gettysburg from the perspectives of white women civilians, African American civilians, and immigrant soldiers. This book was a runner-up for the Lincoln Prize and named as one of the five best books on Gettysburg by the Wall Street Journal.

The theme of this year's Spirits Alive 3-lecture series was chosen in support of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War (2011–2015). The lectures offer insight into this country's greatest national crisis in relation to death and dying. It is estimated that up to 700,000 people, or 2% of the population died in the War Between the States.

About Spirits Alive
Spirits Alive is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Portland's historic Eastern Cemetery through a range of activities including promotion and education. Founded in 2007, the group carries out an active program of seasonal tours of the cemetery, a winter lecture series, and is conducting a stone-by-stone inventory of the nearly 4,000 grave markers still existing in the 340-year-old cemetery. http://www.spiritsalive.org

Maine Ghost Hunters on WCSH6

Back at the beginning of March, the Maine Ghost Hunters visited the studios of WCSH-6 here in Portland to answer some questions on their morning show. Check it out!


Source: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=150576

Maine's sister-state in Japan

Hirosaki Castle in Aomori Prefecture

Bill Nemitz did a great piece in today's Portland Press Herald about Aomori, Maine's sister state in Japan. I was not surprised to find out we have a sister state there, knowing already about Shinegawa's sister city relationship with Portland, but apparently many Mainers were unaware of this relationship, and how it came about.

I've posted the article below, but for a quick link to Maine efforts to assist Aomori in its own hour of need, here are a few starting points:

-- Maine Japan Earthquake Relief Effort on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Maine-Japan-Earthquake-Relief-Effort/110509232363317

-- Maine + Aomori Partners Relief Efforts for the Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster in Japan https://sites.google.com/site/friendsofaomori/relief-efforts

-- Japan America Society of Maine http://www.maine-japan.org/

How the relationship started over 100 years ago is well worth learning. Let us remember that we have Japanese friends who are struggling through a very difficult time.

Linked by disasters, sister-states bond
March 16
By Bill Nemitz, Staff Writer

Late last week, as the horror of Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe was just beginning to unfold, Gov. Paul LePage issued a statement of condolence and prayer for the victims of that country's worst calamity since the end of World War II.

LePage also noted that Maine "has a sister-state relationship with the Prefecture of Aomori," about 150 miles north of the all-but-obliterated city of Sendai.

Sister state? When, some Mainers undoubtedly wondered, did that happen?

Well, it depends on how you look at it.

The formal relationship was struck by Gov. John McKernan in 1994.

But the story, as told in a 1997 speech in Aomori by a local resident, Kou Ootaka, goes back more than a century.

It was late October of 1889. The Chesebrough, a three-masted ship built by Arthur Sewall and Co. in Bath, had sailed from Maine to Japan with a shipment of case oil, refilled its hold with 2,300 tons of sulfur and was just getting under way on its long voyage back to the United States.

It had been a rough trip. A typhoon the previous month had heavily damaged the Chesebrough, forcing its 23-member crew to lay over in the port of Hokkaido for 34 days while the vessel was repaired.

Their luck would be no better as they finally set sail on Oct. 28. Another ferocious storm hit the Japan Sea the next day, toppling the ship's main mast and leaving Capt. Peter Erickson and his men helpless as the Chesebrough broke up and sank within sight of the Japanese village of Shariki.

Villagers came running to the shore and built bonfires. Fishermen boarded a rescue vessel and headed out to search for survivors.

They found only four.

"Are you Napoleon? Are you Bismarck? Are you Washington?" asked a policeman, trying to determine the sailors' nationality. At the mention of "Washington," they replied, "Yes! Yes!"

"They are Americans!" the policeman announced.

One of those pulled from the water, a man named Wilson, was unconscious and appeared to be near death. But something remarkable happened.

"At this time, one of the women who had brought food from the village, Mrs. Han Kudo, 45 years old and the wife of Mr. Yoshiemon Kudo, did not hesitate in public," Ootaka recalled. "She took off her clothes and hugged Mr. Wilson in the sleet to warm him up. People still say she looked like a heavenly maiden. Miraculously, Mr. Wilson was revived."

For days, even after the survivors recovered from their ordeal and departed for their long trip home, Japanese villagers found the bodies of other crew members washing up on their shore. All of them, including 40-year-old Capt. Erikson, received solemn burials.

And the Japanese never forgot.

At the top of a hill overlooking the village is a religious shrine. And near that is a stone commemorating the wreck of the ship from faraway Maine.

"Every year since the disaster, the people of Shariki hold a service for the sailors who lost their lives on that night in 1889," Ootaka said. And for 100 of those years, few if any Mainers even knew about it.

That changed in 1990, when the mayor of Shariki sent a letter to Bath City Hall to tell officials of the annual memorial service, and to lament the fact that in 100 years, no representative from Bath had visited the village.

That simple communication, and the visits between dignitaries from both communities that soon followed, led to the establishment of a vibrant sister-city relationship between Bath and Shariki in 1996. (The connection was expanded in 2006 to include the city of Tsugaru, which encompasses Shariki.)

It also spawned the sister-state connection between Maine and Aomori Prefecture, which in the past 17 years has included a variety of trade missions, cultural exchanges and business deals.

And now this.

Tuesday morning, representatives from four Maine organizations that have strong tethers to Japan – the Japan-America Society of Maine, the Maine-Aomori Sister State Advisory Council, Friends of Shinegawa (Portland's sister city) and the Maine International Trade Center – met in Portland to compare notes about the still-unfolding disaster and explore what might be done to help.

The news from Aomori could be much worse – the port of Hachinohe on the east coast sustained considerable damage from the post-earthquake tsunami, but nowhere near the widespread death and destruction that occurred to the south. (Shinegawa, near Tokyo, also escaped the brunt of the disaster.)

Still, Steve MacDougall, chairman of the Maine-Aomori Sister State Advisory Council, said the various groups feel a need to do something – starting with contacting their counterparts in Japan to ask how Maine can help.

They've also created a Facebook page – Maine Japan Earthquake Relief Effort – where they hope to provide firsthand reports and images from Japan and, just as important, links to various relief organizations that are collecting donations.

"We are so saddened by the tragic images coming out of Japan," MacDougall said. "We have no doubt that Mainers will want to come to the aid of one of our country's and Maine's closest friends."

One last thing about the wreck of the Chesebrough, as recalled in that speech by Kou Ootaka:

Not long after the Maine ship went down, a villager named Nakamura found a pear that had washed ashore from the Chesebrough's food stores. It was much better tasting than the smaller ones grown locally, so he planted one of the seeds in his backyard.

The tree – still there in 1997 – grew to 24 feet, Ootaka said. And every year as it bore its delicious fruit, Nakamura would pick 19 pears and lay one as an offering at each Maine sailor's grave.

Concluded Ootaka, "We have such wonderful history. We won't forget this."

Nor, in Japan's hour of need, should Maine.

Source:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/linked-by-disasters-sister-states-bond_2011-03-16.html

EVENT: Mechanic Falls ghost hunt

The Congregational Church, New Home to the Historical Society

WHAT: Mechanic Falls Historical Society ghost hunt demo
WHEN: Saturday, March 19 5:00 p.m. - 12:00
WHERE: 64 Elm Street, Mechanic Falls, Maine 04256
FMI: (207)345-3134
COST: $25.00

An authentic, hands-on ghost hunting experience is coming to Mechanic Falls on a full moon. The Mechanic Falls Historical Society in association with Everything Paranormal of New England will show how a paranormal investigation is done on Saturday, March 19 from 5 PM until midnight at the Mechanic Falls Historical Society, 64 Elm Street, Mechanic Falls (the former First Congregational Church).

Renee Alling and her troupe of investigators will guide, teach and show a paranormal investigation.
Source: http://wcsh6.planetdiscover.com/localevents/event/200/26088-Mechanic-Falls-Ghost-Hunt

Mechanic Falls Historical Society website: http://mechanicfalls.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={8F1AABA3-E2F0-410C-83B3-5B8381EB9991}