March 2009

By Carol McCracken

Spring is here, so can the annual April Stools Day be far away?

Apparently not. It’s been scheduled for Saturday, April 4th between 8:00 am – 10 am and that is rain or shine! As always volunteers are needed to “scoop the poop” as well as to serve as team captains. Team captains are needed because the annual event is expanding this year to include the west end of Portland as well as Hinckley Park, South Portland. “Other parts of the city need help this year as well,” said Kathy Palmer, co-chair of the event with Diane Davison, both of the Hill.

Gloves and bags provided.

The event is seventeen years old. It was founded and run for ten years by Hill resident and dog-lover Diane Davison. In April of 2000 Kathy Palmer also of the Hill opened her pet store, “Fetch” at 102 Congress Street. In fact, she opened the progressive store to coincide with Stools Day on April 1 that year. Ever since the two dog lovers have been coordinating the event together. And in the meantime, the Congress Street “Fetch” on the Hill moved to a larger space on Commercial Street. Diane is the founder of Friends of the Eastern Promenade.

Prizes will be given out: Find the “Golden Turds” and win a 30 lb. bag of Nature’s Variety Prairie dog food from Fetch! Please register on site to be eligible to win the prizes.

Similar events are planned the same day in Belfast, Maine and Charlestown, Massachusetts.

“HELP US CLEAN UP A WINTER’S WORTH OF UNSCOOPED POOP!” Kathy Palmer and Diane Davison

Please contact: info@friendsofeasternpromenade.org or 774-2822 or kathy@fetchportland.com or 773-5450.

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By Carol McCracken

Lacey Goodrich, maker of pottery, will appear on WCHS-TV this Saturday evening, March 28th at 7:00 p.m. She will be on its (207) weekend show. The show was prefilmed in her Hill studio.

Lacey was the subject of a profile on MHN news back on December 18th last year. This will give you another chance to meet Lacey in her studio and actually see her work.

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By Carol McCracken

Yesterday afternoon Gail Donovan Kesich was the hostess at a book release party for her new book, “In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog”. At times the 2-hour party could have been mistaken for a child’s birthday party to someone uninformed. There were free goodie bags, prizes of all sorts and of course an opportunity to buy Gail’s just released first novel. The books were sold out within an hour and all the goodie bags were gone just as quickly. By all accounts, the party in a childrens’ library was a huge success.

“Frog” is the story of Josh who is fascinated by what he finds in his own backyard. This time it’s a five legged frog; it has three back legs. He never stops wondering how the frog developed that way. Josh doesn’t stop talking about it until he gets the interest of a scientist, “Dr. Donatelli.” The Dr. is from a nearby university and he agrees to study the frog and how he developed that way. Young Josh is a composite of her own family members; someone who is a chatter-box with an interest in nature and the world around him.

Before the book was published by Dutton, it was child-tested right here on Munjoy Hill. Six years ago Gail began reading it to Mr. Custeau’s third grade class at the former Adams School. She needed a young audience to give her feedback on the book, especially as her two own daughters got older and outgrew interest in the book. About the same time, Gail hired a Maine agent Edite Kroll to represent her with book publishers. Overall, the experience was very satisfying for Gail.

Because she signed a two book deal with Dutton, Gail is hard at work on the second one. It also has a scientific foundation – it’s about a girl who deals with head lice. Following her first satisfying experience, she’s also occasionally reading it to Mr. Custeau’s third grade class. However, since Adams School closed, Mr. Custeau’s class is now located at the East End Community School on North Street. In fact, the childrens’ library at the EECS is where the book release party took place yesterday afternoon.

Keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings from one end of the library at the EECS was Greg Kesich, Gail’s husband. The couple lives on the Hill. He’s also an editorial page writer for the “Portland Press Herald.” “She’s a much better writer than I am. She helps me,” he says laughing. “She’s worked really hard on this for a long time,” he added.

The book is available from Books, Etc. in Falmouth on Route 1. The phone number is 781-3784. Please call first to be sure copies are in stock.

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Anonymously Contributed
Edited by Carol McCracken

that the Portland Company, located at 58 Fore Street, was founded in 1846? At one time it was the manufacturing headquarters for Portland’s heavy equipment. In that role, it was a vital industrial employer of many families on the Hill. The company was founded in 1846 and remained in business until 1976. The company was started by John Alfred Poor to serve the Grand Trunk Railroad. In its long and important history, the company produced 628 locomotives as well as gun boats, rail and marine equipment, munitions, heavy machinery, pulp-digesters, the first commercial nuclear reactor shell and the marine engine for the tugboat “Sequin.”

The site was originally Fort Burrough Battery during the War of 1812.

More recently, the wealthy Sprague Family from Cape Elizabeth purchased this valuable tract of land along the Portland waterfront. The complex is now home to Portland Yacht Services and the controversial Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum & Co. It also the site of the Portland Flower Show and the current Maine Boatbuilders Show.

As recently as last fall, the large tract of land was for sale to the right purchaser. That according to property manager, Phin Sprague, Jr., is a developer who will permit him to retain the management of Portland Yacht Services and restore the old buildings to something resembling their former glory days or better. So far apparently no purchaser has been located willing to make those accommodations to the Sprague family.

Portland Yacht Services was the site of the July 2003 launching of the luxury yacht “Lions Welp.” The 72 -foot schooner was largely built on the property. She was a year in the planning and took 4 l/2 years to build. The yacht built for the Sprague family to replicate the ship upon which their ancestors crossed the Atlantic Ocean was built as well for worldwide cruising. There are sleeping accommodations for 12 people – complete with sauna. Safety issues were addressed by the installation of the most sophisticated computer technology available at the time. In the past some part of each winter, the Spragues have spent cruising upon the “Lions Welp” in seas far south of Maine!

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