Has there ever been a more November photograph? Leaves down, mists rising, we’ve now entered the final stage of autumn. I love this forlorn stretch between Halloween and Thanksgiving, before the snows and holidays. Tiger the red labrador, affectionately nicknamed The Road Commissioner, is seen here on patrol, and clearly agrees with me. Photo by Michael Hoyt

The wood and natural light of Cobscook Institute’s classrooms, one lined with twinkling white lights, made a calming setting for my first experience of a writer’s conference. Last month I attended the Iota Short Forms Conference in Trescott, now, I believe, in its 12th year.

It’s a local treasure, as is the Cobscook Institute.  

In class, local author Penny Guisinger took us through the poem Traveling through the Dark by William E. Stafford, published in 1962. Its subject is distressing, and the emotional punch is all the more effective for its use of rich details.

Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.

“Do any of us know where the Wilson River road is?” asked Penny. No one raised their hand. “Does it matter?”

Home again, Penny’s teaching was still ringing in my ears as I listened to One Man’s Meat by E.B. White and jumped to hear a familiar name.

“Over in the next county the Methodists have a camp ground in a clump of woods near East Machias,” wrote White, essayist and Maine-based author of Charlotte’s Web, and Stuart Little. 

When White published the essay Camp Meeting, how many Harper’s Magazine readers had even heard of East Machias?

White wrote Camp Meeting in August 1939, presumably after traveling to the annual July meeting of the Jacksonville Campground, officially known as the East Machias Campmeeting Association.

For 159 years and counting, they’ve held their summer meeting in East Machias.

White wasn’t the only famous person in East Machias that day. He was there to hear a speech given by Dr. Francis E. Townsend, at that time 72 years old and traveling to build support for his old-age pension program. The idea was for the government to send $200 a month to every person over 60 and maybe, in so doing, alleviate the Great Depression.

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The Townsend Plan was a household phrase in the years leading up to WWII. Dr. Townsend traveled to East Machias to inspire support for his ideas. Though it didn’t succeed in its initial objective, it provided pressure that contributed to the creation of Social Security. Photo courtesy SSA.gov

“I have come nearly four thousand miles to see you,” said Dr. Townsend, which happens to be the exact words my out-of-state family and friends say when they visit, from New Hampshire.

In total, more than six hundred people came to hear Dr. Townsend in East Machias, from all over Maine and Washington County including, White reports, “Townsendites” from the Townsend Club Number One of East Machias.  

Was there also a Club Number Two?

I’m sure it’s no spoiler to say the Townsend Plan didn’t end the Great Depression, but it may have annoyed President Roosevelt into proposing his own old-age pension solution, Social Security. And who knows? Maybe Franklin Delano thought about it while passing through East Machias, riding the Calais Branch Railroad, on his way to Campobello Island.

It wasn’t the result Townsend wanted, but by any yardstick, I call that quite a lot of impact.

Hunting Season is On

The official start of deer season happened this weekend, following last weekend’s Youth Deer Hunting weekend, in which loads of local youth successfully “bagged” their deer, directly contributing to their family’s prosperity by filling the freezer with meat.

So many youth, in fact, that one of our local papers ran four pages of photos last week, showcasing children with their deer.

It happened recently that the publisher of another local paper and I spent 40 minutes in conversation while we waited for the Machias Select Board to come out of executive session. Bob Berta told me that Machias is the only town in Maine with two newspapers — his, and the Machias Valley News Observer, for which I used to serve as editor.

We need all the good news we can get, and by that, I don’t only mean happy but also well-reported news. Sometimes I get my information from Kelly Hinkle, seen above, known online as The Downeast Cowboy. He travels all over Washington County and Maine showcasing fascinating history and stories.

Click the photo above to watch Kelly explain the Purple Paint Law, and what it has to do with hunting season.

And the Award for Best Group Costume goes to…

…the Machias Ambulance Service, seen above, dressed as the Wizard of Oz gang, complete with Tin Man on the stretcher! Trick or Treat Main Street in Machias was a huge success, again! Thank you to the local businesses who invested hundreds of dollars (each!) to make such a spirit-lifting event for the whole community, and thank you to the Machias Bay Chamber of Commerce for organizing it. You can see Drones Eye View’s video of the event here, and click the photo above to see other photos of the fun! I was delighted to stand with the rest of the Town of Machias — fire department, ambulance, and police department, to hand out thousands of pieces of candy alongside Carole Porcher of the Machias Select Board. Click the photo above to see other pics from the day.

Late last month I began working in the Machias Town Office as the interim Machias Operations Manager. It’s a position the Machias Select Board developed during this year’s budget season and was created to add additional support for the far-reaching work of former Machias Town Manager Bill Kitchen, my dear friend (and everyone’s!) who died September 9th. Now it will support the next Machias Town Manager. Applications are open now.

I’m enjoying myself. I’m also busier than usual, so for now, the Postcards will be coming bi-weekly, instead of weekly.

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The Washington Academy Boys Varsity Soccer Team will advance to the semifinals after defeating the undefeated Mount View yesterday!

Friday night is Helen’s night for the Dedmon family and being regulars means you often bump into other Friday night regulars. This week we bumped into David Whitney and I asked him how he was going to be spending Election Night, knowing he would be keenly tuned in as the head of the Washington County Republican Committee.

“Well, it depends,” he said.

It depended on the outcome of Washington Academy’s Boys Varsity Soccer quarterfinals game against Mount View, played yesterday, because David is their coach. If they were to win, they’d be practicing on election day.

And so they did, two to one against an undefeated team! They advance to the semifinals against George Stevens Academy on Wednesday, Nov. 6, in Hermon.

It was a banner week all around in local sports. The Machias Memorial High School Girls Volleyball team came home from Hampton Academy not winners of that game, but Class C Runners Up which is still tremendous! Of course, the community honked them home in style.

And the Washington Academy Girls Volleyball team came home Class B State Champs yesterday after defeating York. Congratulations!

Veterans Day is a big one in Washington County, with local groups and schools rolling out the red carpet to honor those who have served. Three big opportunities to honor Vets are below in graphics. I’ve attended so many of these over the years, and I always leave with a warm heart. If you know a vet who needs a ride, I encourage you to make a date and take them to one of these luncheons. You’ll be glad you did.

A Harvest Craft Fair hosted by the Jonesboro Union Church Auxiliary will happen from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The church is located at 24 Looks Point Road, Jonesboro.

Not strictly speaking a craft fair but Christmasy so I’m putting it here. The Jonesboro Grange #357 is hosting a Christmas Wreath Fundraiser. Order your wreath anytime before Nov. 13. Wreaths are $20. All the details are here.

The Lubec Christmas Craft Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Lubec Elementary School

A Christmas Craft Fair will be hosted at West Branch Farms, Machias, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The Perry P.T.C. Craft Fair will be held at Perry Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23. The school is located at 1587 Route 1, Perry.

A Craft Fair and Festival of Trees will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Beals Elementary School, located at 24 Mill Pond Road, Beals.

The Down East Community Hospital Auxiliary Craft Fair is the fair without which my holidays are not complete. This year, they will bring it back for the 51st time from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School in Machias. So. Much. Fun. This is also the weekend when the Wesley Foundation will host its popular annual Tree Festival, and Machias hosts its Community Christmas weekend, including a parade. Details on the parade not yet available.

The Princeton Rod and Gun Club will host its annual Hunter’s Supper at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. Turkey with all the fixings and pie are on the menu. Adults $20, Children 10 and under eat for free. All the details here.

Sign up now for Cobscook Institute Pottery Classes running in November and December. There’s a whole raft of options across the week. Find them all here.

We enjoy sharing our love of Washington County, Maine, so much that we’d honestly do it for free. In fact, we do! But if you wanted to buy us an oat milk cortado for our troubles, we wouldn’t say no. You can send support by check to our PO Box below, by PayPal, or by credit card.

Thanks!