Orono Maine Hotel and Conference Center

 

Forest Hart bronze Black Bear

The Black Bear Inn & Conference Center, an Orono Maine Hotel, is conveniently located off Interstate 95 in central Maine near the University of Maine, the Collins Center for the Arts, and the Bangor Mall. This is the perfect stop for UMaine Bangor Lodging Hotel and Conference Center guests.

With 7,560 square feet of modern meeting space, the Black Bear Inn & Conference Center is the perfect location for corporate meetings, conventions and receptions, and our professional meeting planners look forward to working with you to make your next function a success. Our attractive rooms feature king or queen beds, cable television, and an array of in-room amenities. All guests enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast each morning in the Black Bear Cafe.

This UMaine Bangor Lodging Hotel and Conference Center is the perfect headquarters for day trips to Camden, Acadia National Park and the beautiful Bar Harbor region. For outstanding accommodations in the heart of the University of Maine’s Black Bear Territory, come experience the hospitality of the Black Bear Inn & Conference Center!

Commemorating 100 Years

Commemorating 100 Years

The 100th anniversary limited edition UM Bear is by renowned wildlife sculptor, Forest Hart. The solid bronze Maine black bear is 4 1/4″ high and 6″ long standing on a bronze white pine stump. The base is solid black cherry milled from the black cherry trees that until recently stood in the Nutting Hall Courtyard.

The cost of the sculpture is $600. Forty percent of the sale of the sculpture will go towards the purchase of the nine-foot “Cub Scouts” sculpture by Forest Hart and is tax deductible. The “Cub Scouts” will be the centerpiece of the relandscaped courtyard at Nutting Hall, another 100th anniversary project.

To purchase this sculpture, send check payable to The University of Maine, attention: Judy Round, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, 5782 Winslow Hall, The University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5782.

If you wish to pay by credit card, please go to the Alumni Association page. Under donation amount type $600.00. Check off designated gift to an area of campus. Then, under “Please specify area” type in UM Bear Forestry. This is a secure website and you can safely make a credit card purchase on this Alumni Association site.

Day 1 – Skowhegan to Pittsfield

Day 1 – Skowhegan to Pittsfield

Skowhegan

BikeMaine 2017 begins in Skowhegan, a town settled along the Kennebec River in 1771, but inhabited for thousands of years before that by Native Americans. Situated halfway between the river’s headwaters at Moosehead Lake and the head of the tide below Augusta, the island located in the middle of the river served as an east/west crossroads during Native Americans’ annual migrations from northern hunting grounds in winter to coastal Maine in summer. The valley surrounding the river was a rich source of furs and fish, timber and cropland, and in 1691, was claimed as part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of England, Scotland and Ireland. Pilgrims from the Massachusetts Colony began setting up trading posts with Native Americans in the region, providing the Pilgrims with an opportunity to secure a settlement and establish property rights.

The first English settlers of the region around Skowhegan were a small group of pioneers from southern Massachusetts, who arrived in 1771 and settled on the nine-acre island two miles south of the Great Eddy of the Kennebec. The island, cleared of trees by Native Americans over many centuries, proved to be fertile for growing crops, and the Weston and Heyward families quickly began expanding their settlement of the region.

On October 4, 1775, Colonel Benedict Arnold and 1200 troops of the Colonial Army arrived in Skowhegan on their way to capture the British fort in Quebec City and, if things went well, win the province from Britain for the colonial cause. Joseph Weston and his sons volunteered to help the army move upriver over the waterfalls. Following the crossing, Joseph Weston came down with a fever and died, making him one of the first American patriots to give his life for the new nation. Skowhegan offers many opportunities to explore history, and more information can be found at the Skowhegan History House, located at 66 Elm Street.

Skowhegan-born Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to serve in both houses of the United States Congress and to be placed in nomination for the presidency, is best remembered for standing up to the tactics of McCarthyism in 1950. The Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan houses the political papers, documents, honors, photographs and memorabilia stemming from Senator Smith’s 32-year congressional career.

Manufacturing has been the major economic driver for Skowhegan, with products including paper, wool, wood, and shoes. Today, the major employers in Skowhegan include Sappi Fine Paper, New Balance, Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream, Skowhegan Savings Bank, and Redington-Fairview General Hospital. Skowhegan also has become an agricultural hub and is home to a year-round farmers’ market, two craft breweries, an orchard, farms, a CSA, and restaurants that serve local harvest.

Fueling Skowhegan’s agricultural rebirth are locally sourced grains. Where Maine was once the breadbasket of New England and supplied the Union Army with all of the grain needed during the Civil War, by the start of the 21st century, Maine’s grain production had declined to less than 1% of its own population’s grain needs. A decade ago, a group of Skowhegan residents interested in the local food movement decided to reverse that trend. In 2007, they organized the first Annual Kneading Conference, a conference that brings together “the diverse stakeholders who collectively can rebuild lost infrastructure and create demand for local and regional grain systems – farmers, millers, bakers, chefs, wheat researchers…” The Kneading Conference was the impetus for start-ups amongst a growing cluster of grain-related businesses: including Maine Grains, Somerset Grist Mill, Bigelow Brewing, The Bankery, and The Maine Barkery. What started as a group of people talking about local grain production has morphed into the Maine Grain Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve and promote grain traditions from earth to hearth. The Alliance runs the annual Kneading Conference and the Maine Artisan Bread Fair, a free fair dedicated solely to “Real Bread” that features 65 vendors and attracts more than 2500 attendees.

Skowhegan also has a burgeoning arts scene, with 20-plus artworks by renowned Maine artist Bernard Langlais, several additional pieces of public art, and an art gallery. Skowhegan is home to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, a nine-week intensive summer artists’ residency that was started in 1946 by New England portrait painter Willard C. Cummings on his family farm. Ten minutes away is Lakewood Theater, one of America’s oldest and most famous summer theaters.

September 10 – Day 1 – Skowhegan to Pittsfield
Miles: 57.2
Elevation Gain: 2034

After saddling up and heading out of fairgrounds, we travel the back streets of Skowhegan and take a quick spin on busy Route 2, before settling into a steady cadence on quiet roads. Today’s route is the flattest of the week, giving us a chance to settle in and enjoy the scenery. We cross Wesserunsett Stream on a bridge, near a popular pull out for those traveling the stream by kayak or canoe from Athens, a town located 18 miles upstream. A right turn onto East River Road heads us south along the Kennebec River for the next 10 miles. The Kennebec River rises from Moosehead Lake and flows south 150 miles to the Atlantic Ocean. “Kennebec” is Algonquian for “long, quiet water” and describes the stretch of river below Augusta. Samuel de Champlain explored the river in 1604 and 1605.

At one time, the Kennebec River and Edwards Dam, built on the river in 1837, combined to furnish hydropower at Bingham, Skowhegan, Waterville, and Gardiner. The dam was demolished in 1999, reopening an upstream stretch of the river to spawning ground for Atlantic salmon and short-nosed sturgeon. The Kennebec River was once the major method of transporting wood to the mills. Because so many owners moved their lumber on the river, each owner branded his logs for identification.

The large paper plant across the river from us in Skowhegan is Somerset Mill, owned by Sappi North America. With its 750 employees, the Somerset Mill is an integrated pulp and papermaking operation that manufactures coated free sheet papers (made from pulp that is “cooked” and chemically treated to eliminate impurities), greaseproof packaging papers and bleached chemical pulp. Earlier this year, the company undertook a $165 million capital improvement to one of its 3 paper machines in order to increase the annual production capacity at this mill to one million tons of graphic paper. The project is to be completed in early 2018.

At approximately mile 10 on today’s route, we come to the village of Pishon’s Ferry in Clinton. The village was named for Charles Pishon, who came to Maine from France in the late 1700’s and established a ferry crossing at the spot where there now stands a bridge into Hinckley. In 1870, Pishon’s Ferry was the site of a massive log jam.

Clinton is the dairy capital of Maine, due to its 7 dairy farms that are responsible for producing about 15% of Maine’s milk. The first dairy farm we pass on River Road is the 1000-acre Caverly Farm. Started in the 1940s, Caverly Farm began as a small 4-H project for the family. They now have 400 milking cows and 550 young stock comprise primarily of Holstein and Ayrshires. The Caverlys grow their own corn and hay to feed the herd in their free stall barn. The family is very receptive to visitors, always willing to give a tour showing how the cows are milked.

As we turn onto Tardiff Road, we pass through the Flood Brothers’ 4600-acre farm. The Flood family has been farming these fields for more than 200 years. This is the largest dairy farm in the state, producing about a third of the milk coming out of Clinton. Milking 1,700 head of mostly Holstein (there’s a total of 3,900 cows on the farm), the farm sends out 15,000 gallons of milk daily. The farm has a milking parlor with a 100-cow milking rotary. Averaging 5 to 6 turns per hour, the rotary is able to milk the entire herd in three and a half hours. Cows on the farm are collared with ID tags that are read by scanners. The scanner tags allow workers to keep track of every cow. If a cow’s behavior is off, another scanner will locate her as she walks through the chutes back to the barn, a gate will close, and the cow will be separated from the herd so that she can be checked.

After passing under Maine’s major interstate highway, Route 95, we enter Clinton’s downtown. Clinton is home to approximately 3,500 people. The town was originally incorporated under the name of Maine in 1848. Because the address “Maine, Maine” was confusing, however, the name was changed the following year to Clinton, in honor of New York Governor DeWitt Clinton.

Leaving town, we encounter gentle climbs through farm country, then hook a right onto Johnson Flat Road. Although there is some intermittent broken pavement, most of this aptly named road is in good shape and slightly downhill. Passing under Route 95 and over the Sebasticook River, we enter Burnham.

Burnham was first settled in 1795, when the land was still a part of Massachusetts. Incorporated in 1824 as the 256th Maine town, it was named for Dr. Rufus Burnham, who lived in nearby Unity and was the local physician. In the early days, the town was divided into districts and each district had its own school, serving children in grades 1-8, with one teacher per school. At one time Burnham had 10 school districts. In the 1800s, agriculture and lumbering were the main source of income for residents in the area. The town had several factories to make a variety of products, including pants, butter, cheese, barrel hoops and medicines. Frank Mitchell built the Maine Chair Company in 1922. It employed twenty people. It had several different names throughout the years, last of all Ethan Allen Inc. It closed its doors in November 1990, leaving over one hundred people unemployed.

In 2001, Pride Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of wooden golf tees, purchased the chair factory building, and began making golf tees there. The company’s annual revenues top $115 million, and the Burnham plant now employs 120 people.

We cross Twenty-Five Mile Stream on our way into Unity. When originally settled by Quakers, the town was known as Twenty-Five Mile Pond Plantation, because it was adjacent to a pond located 25 miles from Fort Halifax in Winslow. The name was changed to Unity upon its incorporation in 1804. The town sits at the edge of Unity Pond, known originally as Lake Winnecook. Today, Unity is best known for being the home to Unity College and Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association who hold the annual Common Ground Fair. Unity also is home to one of Maine’s three Amish communities (the other two being in Smyrna and Fort Fairfield).

We ride along the southwest side of Unity Pond, stopping in town for lunch at Unity Community Center for a lunch prepared by the Unity Barn Raisers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting downtown vitality, rural vitality, and community health and wellness.

After lunch, we immediately pass the Unity Historical Society, with its 3 fine examples of Forest Hart bronze sculptures in the yard. Forest Hart is a Maine native living in Monroe. From his earliest years, Forest was drawn to nature and wildlife. He trained with Howard Casey at the Carnegie Museum of Pennsylvania, learning advanced taxidermy, mold making, and sculpture. After an initial career as a taxidermist, Hart turned to making life-size sculptures from bronze. His works can be found throughout the country and around the world. Sculptures of moose, deer and bear were donated to the Unity Historical Society and can be seen on the right as we pass through the town. On the layover day, riders will have the opportunity to see two other Hart sculptures, Three Little Rascals and Deer Alert, located in front of the Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Oquossoc Village.

As we leave town, we pass “Field of Dreams,” a former hayfield developed in the 1990s by local philanthropists Bert and Coral Clifford for the local children and later gifted to Unity College to maintain. We continue with the circumnavigation of Unity Pond, then head northeast through Troy. We cross the Sebasticook River from Detroit into Pittsfield on the Peltoma Bridge, once the source of great controversy. According to records in the Pittsfield Historical Society, the bridge was constructed in 1888. After completion, the costs were to be shared proportionally by the two towns but then Detroit opposed its assessment:

The argument became very bitter and came to a head when an act of seizure was instigated by the town of Pittsfield in an effort to bring Detroit to terms. Certain pieces of property were taken from individuals in lieu of the assessment, including some cattle belonging to William Young, a well-to-do farmer of that village. The property was eventually returned, but only after threats and counter threats had been hotly made. When it was over, feelings still ran high and the town of Detroit held a special town meeting at which it was voted to never trade in Pittsfield again.

We traverse Big Meadow Bog, an extensive wetland complex that includes exemplary peatland communities, Atlantic salmon and waterfowl habitat, and bald eagle nests. The bog area also has Swamp White Oak, a rare plant species that is a member of the white oak subgenus, but with several distinguishing characteristics: ovate leaves, widest above the middle, with 6-10 pairs of low but fairly even lobes (like rounded teeth); hairless buds; and acorns on stalks that are more than 3 cm long.

We pass the Pittsfield Municipal Airport and Maine Central Institute, an independent high school for approximately 500 students, founded in 1866, before turning into Manson Park, where the BikeMaine Village awaits.

Forest Hart sculptures grace OSHM

Forest Hart sculptures grace OSHM

Three Little Rascals OQUOSSOC — Labor Day, the grounds of the popular Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Rangeley received a considerable upgrade thanks to the long-term loan of two impressive bronze sculptures by nationally known artist Forest Hart.

Hart has numerous bronze sculptures in various locations around the country and the sculptor and his wife, Susan, recently visited the museum at the invitation of Executive Director, Bill Pierce. Hart quickly decided that the museum was an excellent place to feature his artwork and has loaned two impressive sculptures.

The largest work, titled “Three Little Rascals,” captures a female black bear with three cubs frolicking about her.

The other is aptly called “Deer Alert” and features a large whitetail buck and doe standing as though they have just heard a noise from the rear and are poised to bound off across the museum’s lawn.

Deer Alert “We are so fortunate to have such high-quality works of art that fit so well with the theme of our museum and this dynamic region now gracing our grounds, shared OSHM’s Pierce. The two sculptures will be featured at the museum through the 2017 season.

“The Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society wishes to thank Scott Milbury from M&H Logging, Pat Smith, Mike Koob, Jim Quimby and Bob Mahoney for all their help in making this project happen today and of course, to Forest Hart for the generous loan of these two amazing sculptures,” added a very pleased, Pierce.

Class of 1966 Gift

Class of 1966 Gift

Russ Kniehl ’66 presents “The Midshipman Looking Out To Sea” sculpture to President William Brennan, Maine Maritime Academy and the Town of Castine at an unveiling ceremony during their recent 50th Reunion July 25 – 27. The class gift was a five-year project stemming from discussions the class had at their 45th reunion. Sculptor Forest Hart from Monroe, ME was commissioned to create the statue that represents “looking out to the sea which will be (the) future and looking to welcome home to MMA all who have gone before.”  Forty-one classmates and their spouses, friends, and family, attended the event. The weather was beautiful, conversations were lively and memories were shared. We look forward to welcoming the class back at their 55th reunion!

If your class is interested in class gifts, contact Chris Haley, V.P. for Institutional Advancement at 207-326-2232.

Summer on the Coast of Maine

Summer on the Coast of Maine

When It’s Hot in the South, Consider a Sojurn to a Place Where the Mountains Meet the Sea

By Jack Macaleavy

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Officially, Maine has nearly 230 miles of coastline. But because of all of its bays, inlets and islands, the tidal coastline measures 3,500 miles

When the weather warms up, the hamlets and villages of coastal Maine come alive, and a summertime visit here should be on everyone’s bucket list. I’ve discovered the perfect home base to enjoy all of the “Mid-coast” pleasures to be found in and around the beautiful Penobscot Bay.

Point Lookout, located in the small town of Northport, started out in the mid-’90s as a mountain top corporate retreat and training facility for the credit card company MBNA. Today, it operates as a resort and conference center, and includes some amenities one might not expect to find — like an eight-lane bowling alley — in a woodland retreat.

Guests are housed in 106 one-, two-, and three-bedroom cabins, spaced around the resort’s 397 acres to afford quiet, privacy and a great opportunity to stretch out on an Adirondack chair and enjoy starry nights unimpeded by light pollution.

While the cabins look rustic, all have modern amenities including kitchen facilities, screened porches, air conditioning and Wi-Fi — for very reasonable rates, starting at $125 per night.

There are six miles of scenic trails available for taking a walk in the woods that so enchanted Henry David Thoreau. You might see some deer or wild turkey, or perhaps you’ll be looking at life-sized and amazingly lifelike bronze sculptures of moose and bear by Forest Hart.

There’s also a sandy beach, a rarity along Maine’s rocky coast. But be forewarned: Even in the warmest months, the Atlantic water here still has temperatures in the 60s. If you can scare up a team, the resort also includes soccer and softball fields.

Some of Point Lookout’s most impressive amenities are its world-class athletic facilities. Within a 36,000-square-foot luxury sports and fitness complex are full-sized basketball, squash, racquetball and tennis courts, a walking track, a virtual golf and Wii room, an aerobic and spinning studio, a stretching room, a comprehensive weight training and cardiovascular conditioning center and more.

A spectacular entertainment and office facility called The Summit is perched atop the mountain with a breathtaking view of the bay and surrounding countryside.

The historic towns of Belfast and Camden are about six miles away in either direction. Both offer a fine selection of diverse restaurants. Of course, fresh lobster is the main staple of most, and having the opportunity to feast on a crustacean that may have been caught the previous day (the fresh lobster does have a distinct texture and flavor) is as special as eating fresh oysters in Apalachicola. Family owned and operated, Anglers Seafood Restaurant in Searsport is where you’ll find locals eating the catch of the day.

There’s an abundance of shopping, including several stores with a particular connection to the region, such as BlueJacket Shipcrafters, also in Searsport, which features more than 100 models of ships as well as model kits, tools and books. You’ll find handcrafted furniture at Windsor Chairmakers, the work of 25 local artisans in one stop at Mainely Pottery and Maine’s version of our New Leaf Market at the Belfast Co-op Store.

Rockland is home to the Maine Lighthouse Museum, showcasing 150 years of history including a close-up look at the huge Fresnel lenses that shine brightly through the night and fog. Maine is home to more than 60 lighthouses which function today much like they did in the past, guiding ships along the 230 miles of Maine’s coastline. One of several in the area, the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse in Port Clyde is at the end of a nearly mile-long breakwater built in the late 1800s to protect the harbor from Nor’easters. The only way to the lighthouse is to take this hike atop the flat granite block walkway, which is undergoing restoration to return it to its 1950s state when it was manned by the lighthouse keeper. The 100-year-old building is in remarkable condition and is just waiting for some more fresh paint and period furniture to be returned to its heyday condition.

For a more complete history of the seafaring region, visit the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. There are 13 buildings, eight on the National Register of Historic places, including a restored home of a sea captain and the city’s first town hall. You will also see a fleet of antique boats, a library of maritime history, marine art and a trove of souvenirs and household goods brought here from around the globe.

Fort Knox (named after Major General Henry Knox, the same guy as the more famous fort in Kentucky) was built to protect the Penobscot River Valley after British attacks during the American Revolution and War of 1812. Built out of granite mined just a few miles upriver, it never did see combat, but is beautifully preserved. Nearby is the Penobscot Narrows Observatory, where one can take an elevator ride up a 420-foot-tall obelisk and be treated to a 360-degree view of the river, bay and Maine countryside.

In most of the coastal towns, for a modest fee, one can board a three-masted schooner and motor out to Penobscot Bay. Raise the sails and experience this primitive form of transportation in its purest form. Gliding among the many islands with nothing more than the sound of wind and water will surround you with a sense of calmness and tranquility. The ship’s captain and mate provide many historical perspectives of the sailing and the rich history of northern Maine people and folklore.

Lewiston-Auburn College Atrium Art Gallery

Maine's Woods

 

Maine’s Woods: Observations by Bert Lincoln Call and Henry David Thoreau

Observations in Bronze by Forest Hart

September 5 – October 20, 2012

(above image: Bert Lincoln Call, Making Camp, 1926)

The Atrium Art Gallery at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College presents an exhibition of large-format photographs by Bert Lincoln Call and a selection of bronze sculptures by acclaimed artist Forest Hart.

The exhibition features 35 large-format black and white photographs taken by Bert Lincoln Call during the early 1900s accompanied by quotes from Henry David Thoreau’s The Maine Woods. The images reveal an exploration of Maine’s natural and human landscape that was then, and continues to be, in rapid transition. The exhibit is touring under the auspices of the Dexter Historical Society.

Early in its existence, the Dexter Historical Society received a donation of negatives and photos from Bert Lincoln Call, a photographer in Dexter, Maine, from 1886 until the early 1940s. Call’s stock-in-trade was portraiture of local citizens, but his passion was for the woods, lakes, and rivers of northern Maine, which he visited annually. By age 70, Call had traveled to the peak of Mount Katahdin no less than 16 times, lugging the heavy photographic equipment common at the time. His photographic excursions often lasted for many weeks.

Bert Call’s images provide an extraordinary photographic record of the North Woods, often of specific places Thoreau described in his book. Though begun by Call 120 years ago, most of his work has remained unseen. In order to bring this collection to the public, Frank Spizuoco, exhibition curator, contacted photographer Todd Watts in 2007 with the idea of restoring Bert Call’s original negatives and then producing the large scale prints that comprise this exhibition. Watts is in internationally recognized photographer also known for his restoration work including all of Berenice Abbott’s photographs.

The website for the exhibit is www.callthoreauexhibit.com

The exhibit installation includes bronze sculpture by Forest Hart, of Monroe, Maine, who specializes in realistic bronzes of wildlife. His work is included in museums, educational institutions, public gardens, parks, zoos and private collections around the country.

From a childhood interest in drawing animals to an early career in advanced taxidermy, Hart eventually settled on exploring cast bronze as a more expressive medium. He has produced an impressive list of animals from moose, deer, and bear, to otters, chipmunks, and birds  – often in dramatic action. Though his work includes exotic animals from around the world, the exhibition will include those that are indigenous to the Maine woods.

Forest Hart’s website is www.foresthart.com

 The “Maine’s Woods” exhibition is supported in part by L.L. Bean.