Did you know that Maine grows almost all of the nation’s wild blueberries and that Washington County grows most of Maine’s wild blueberries? Check my math but I think by the transitive property, that means Washington County rules. Harvesters went out in force last week so now we’re seeing these colorful truckloads of wild blueberry boxes driving to the freezers of Cherryfield Foods or Wyman’s. Wild blueberries are superior to cultivated blueberries in every way but must be frozen for travel. If you’re local, don’t miss your chance to find them fresh at a roadside stand. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon, from the passenger seat.

Yesterday I cleaned out our deep freeze which, semibeknownst to me had been malfunctioning for months, leaving us with some frozen foods in the middle, and a primordial ooze at the bottom. 

That’s what I get for going into freezer-frost denial.

And while I won’t be able to unsee that many colors of mold, the deep freeze is recovering, if in need of a new seal. Once it’s fully repaired, we’ll restock it with the things we can’t buy locally (mostly gluten-free specialty items), or which we buy locally, but don’t care to run for every week, or finally, the foods we grow ourselves.

We aren’t homesteaders, nor are we completely self-sufficient. Yet all around me are families who are. They “put up” a large portion of the meats and produce they need for winter, harvested from their farms, gardens, fishing trips, or hunting. Most of their preservation is done through canning, which is preferred because it reduces reliance on electricity. 

Power outages are rare in my neck of the woods, but they do happen, and most painfully when they happen in the summer months. But for about seven months out of the year, the Maine weather is quite capable of acting as a deep freeze with or without electricity, a fact I’m grateful for every winter when I make pots of soup too large for my refrigerator, or when I’m busy ignoring that layer of frost building up under my freezer lid.

Now is no time to be without a deep freeze, with the fruits of our gardens and wild blueberry barrens coming into high production.

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Fresh-cut hay stands in neat rows atop this picturesque field on the Machias/Machiasport town line, overlooking the waters of (correct me if I’m wrong) Little Kennebec Bay. This week I‘ll attend a workshop for people interested in how municipalities can support the preservation of local agriculture, and by extension, the survival of our local farmers. Important stuff. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Yesterday we drove several times along the picturesque East Kennebec Road, first to spend the morning at La Laiterie where we listened to the music of Lucy Zwigard and Gus LaCasse. When she’s not singing and playing guitar, Lucy can be found working in the field of local food security, supporting the work of the Washington County Food Council, and the Downeast Restorative Harvest Garden in Machias, where you are invited to volunteer (see graphic below).

Then in the evening, we drove the East Kennebec again to hear the music of Gary Lamb and Isaac Atkinson, performing under the tent at West Branch Farms, which overlooks their organic gardens designed and planted by local gardener Mark McBrine, who has become quite well known in the larger world of gardening, and rightly so.

The music was splendid, and so were the drives to and from the music, affording us the sight of red tractors at work in the Kennebec Road’s scenic hay fields, which roll beautifully down to the water. 

One of the farmers who rely on those fields reached out last week and asked me to attend this workshop hosted by Maine Farmland Trust and the Sunrise Economic Council. 

The meeting promises to walk us through the ways municipalities can support local agriculture and preserve local farmland. 

I will attend as the newest member of the Machiasport Select Board. But I will also be there as someone who, despite her failings as a freezer owner, values self-sufficiency—not just for its practical and economic benefits, but also for the helpful way it intertwines our very survival with the farmland, woods, and waters around us, drawing us closer to the place where we live, and the care of it.

There’s really nothing like it.

Three years ago I put in 25 raspberry canes, of which about 22 survived, which means today I have 4,673,252 in the garden. My first “job” as a child was picking raspberries to sell from our old home’s quarter-acre patch. This fall, some subset of my canes will be moved to a part of our field, the better to recreate my childhood raspberry patch, and share the abundance with friends and the community. Given my lack of current freezer space, most of these are going into jam. 17 half-pints and counting…

Gene Nichols seen leading last year’s Machias Wild Blueberry Festival Musical Comedy. Click the photo to see this year’s schedule and to buy tickets online. Photo by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A cry of delight went up last week when Machias Memorial High School announced that local music maker, maestro, and all-around virtuoso Gene Nichols will this fall join the school’s music faculty.

For decades, Gene taught music at the University of Maine at Machias. Since departing UMM he has continued to teach and inspire us all across the county, leading choral efforts, appearing in parades and other performances, and, right now, working tirelessly in his second year as the writer and director of the Machias Wild Blueberry Musical Comedy, which is possibly one of the best institutions (now with 40-plus years under its belt) in any small town, anywhere.

I said what I said.

I’m delighted to feature Gene as the first interview in a new series I’m calling 5 Questions, where I’ll profile the people in our great big neighborhood, Way Downeast.

Please enjoy learning more about Gene, who you can also hear on this episode of the Way Downeast podcast, released last year.

Tell me about your connection to Washington County. What brings you here, and what keeps you here?

I had never set foot in Maine before I interviewed for the music faculty position at UMM in 1985; I'd come close during my circus years, but no cigar. I like cooler weather, so Washington County is better for me than many other places.  I've found enough musical and personal friends to keep life enjoyable.

What aspects of Washington County's culture or community do you find most compelling or noteworthy? 

I love the Eastport Arts Center and the Thursday concerts at the Bad Little Falls Park in the summer in Machias. I've also been nourished by Les Trois Étoiles, the improvisation troupe I helped start in the 1980s.  My favorite local cultural ambassadors are: Duane Ingalls, Jenny Penny, and Bernie Vinzani. For both culture and community, I love the Cobscook Institute in Trescott.

Are there any local traditions, festivals, or events in Washington County that you look forward to each year? 

Of course, Centre Street Congregational Church's upcoming Wild Blueberry Festival is an annual treat.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the writing and directing of the local musical--taking over from the marvelous team of Chris and Doug Guy.  This year's offering, hitting the boards soon, is Jeoparody!  The Eastport Arts Center has plenty of fine annual offerings, including the Moose Island Follies, MermaidFest, and Quoddy Voices concerts (which I also direct).

In your opinion, what is the best way for visitors to experience the true essence of Washington County? 

I would drive around this vast county, and take some hikes--a trail was recently opened on my road--but be sure to check out the Downeast Institute on Beals Island, the fishing camps at Forest City, the Tides Institute in Eastport, and have some blueberry pie.

Is there a particular story or memory from your time in Washington County that you'd like to share? 

Favorite memories: our Ukulele Club's performances at 7th Biannual Ukulele Ceilidhs in Liverpool, Nova Scotia; our tour of improvised music a while back, which culminated in a performance at an Improvisation Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan; my representing UMM by delivering a paper/performance at a Poetics & Music conference in Liege, Belgium in 2001; touring Japan with the New York Ragtime Orchestra; and countless gigs (not technically memories, because there've been too many)!

Thank you, Gene!

Though I lack anything but anecdotal data, it seems that the rain in Downeast Maine falls Mainly on Thursdays. So far, two of the three Bad Little Falls concerts have been canceled because of weather. Fingers crossed for this week, which as of now appears to have, surprise surprise, rain in its forecast. If there’s no rain, it’s happening.

I’m not the only one who raves about the Bumblebee Farm Stand in Machias. Click here to read another big fan. And the good news is there are LOADS of farmers’ markets and farm stands Way Downeast. Check out this helpful graphic below.

Thank you to Robert, a reader in South Addison, for sharing his online calendar of local events. Make a bookmark and visit often! It includes many events from western and central Washington County. Covering the center and also the eastern edge, bookmark Artsipelago for another fantastic, often-updated listing of local events.

Upcoming Events continued below…

To this helpful graphic I would add the Sunday morning farmer’s markets at La Laiterie. Thank you to Healthy Acadia for putting this together!

The 54th season of the Machias Bay Chamber Concerts Summer Series continues at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30, at Centre Street Congregational Church in Machias. The next and final concert will happen on Tuesday, August 6. Details at link.

A public supper to benefit Jen Feeney will be held Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Rose M. Gaffney School in Machias. The event will feature a spaghetti supper and auction, with proceeds to benefit Jen Feeney in support of her upcoming cancer treatments.

The next Whitneyville Library Public Supper will be held Saturday, Aug. 3, and will have pork roast on the menu. Suppers begin at 5 p.m. and are held at the Hillgrove Community Center, Whitneyville.

This is a season I look forward to all year long — the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival! Make your plans to attend, and also plan to help me staff the information booth on Saturday and Sunday. Just respond to this email and let me know if you’re available!

Get your tickets now for the Blueberry Festival Musical Comedy, this year titled, Jeoparody! This year is the second year the comedy has been written and directed by local music legend Gene Nichols. The show runs Wednesday through Saturday (Wednesday being a sort of dress rehearsal), Aug. 14-17. It does sell out — buy your tickets now.

The return of table service to Pat’s Pizza was big news this week.

Two Things to Read

-I recently subscribed to the Nautilus newsletter and while poking around on their (excellent) website found this recent story about our own Stephen Sanfillipo, who can frequently be heard at local historic events, playing his well-researched sea chanties.

-This piece, by yours truly, about the extraordinary linear community that is the Down East Sunrise Trail, and the dozens of entities who support it, maintain it, and use it to our collective advantage. Apologies to Charlie Foster, whose interview I could not find a way to work in, which shared the important work Downeast Salmon Federation has done to study the hydrology of a marsh along the trail, which should inform future trail restoration efforts.

Fun fact I learned from Charlie — all of the bridges on the trail must be rebuilt to hold the weight of trains because technically, the DEST is only a temporary multi-use trail.

So no matter what you had for dinner last night, fear not - you’ll be perfectly safe walking a trestle on the sunrise trail.