Illustration by Molly Oburn Fedarko

SMART THINKING Keeping your mind active is a key to healthy living in Maine. By Joshua F. Moore

ALWAYS LEARNING Residents of an independent and assisted living community in Scarborough are making learning a lifelong affair. By Rachel Hurn

SUCCESS IN THE SECOND ACT A TV show by and for seniors proves that retiring in Maine is anything but a bore. By Kathleen Fleury

MAINE BY THE NUMBERS What better way to keep the mind sharp than with this brief tutorial about your new home state?

Smart Thinking

Keeping your mind active is a key to healthy living in Maine.

By Joshua F. Moore

Once upon a time, school was for children. These days, though, you’re almost as likely to find a retired engineer and a former electrician sitting in front of a blackboard as you are a preteen. In recent years Maine classrooms have been filling up with older people — some 118,987 of them to be precise, according to statistics from the Maine Adult Education Association — as residents seek to challenge their minds long after their memories of grade school have faded. Whether they’re looking to brush up on their French before heading up to Quebec or learning the latest accounting software in order to take on a part-time job, retirees make up a sizeable portion of the adults taking classes in Maine. “There’s no question that one of the things that retirees check out when they’re looking where to plant themselves is if there is a reasonably well-established adult education program,” explains Cathy Newell, executive director of the Maine Adult Education Association. “The community education aspects of adult ed are a big draw.”

Those seeking the classes, which are offered through more than a hundred programs from Kittery to Fort Kent and range from single offerings to a full curriculum such as Senior College, are often pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive the classes are. Course fees average about thirty-five dollars, depending on the subject matter. Most programs advertise their courses through local mailings, but Newell says that as of January 1 people will be able to browse offerings statewide through the association’s Web site, www.maineadulted.org.

Beyond improving one’s own skills, taking adult education classes allows retirees to connect with other members of their community, Newell says. And whether you’re a member of a retirement community or just new in town, you may find yourself signing up for a class during one semester and teaching a different one the next. “The wonderful thing that happens is that the retirees who come into an area bring a willingness to teach or to tutor,” she remarks. “Some of us who live in these small towns get a little burned out, so it’s great to have new people.”

Always Learning

Residents of a community in Scarborough are making learning a lifelong affair.

By Rachel Hurn

Illustration by Molly Oburn Fedarko

Can anyone describe this painting?” asks Dr. Jean Baxter, former University of Southern Maine professor and now full-time resident at Piper Shores retirement community in Scarborough. Baxter is standing behind a slide projector, its light illuminating an image on the opposite wall. The students, also residents of Piper Shores, are in their seventies, eighties, and even nineties. Leaning back in their chairs and raising their faces to the wall, they ponder the image of a white Roman column standing against the evening sky, its bottom covered in creeping black moss.

“Thomas Cole’s The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1836,” Dr. Baxter says. “Desolation is cautionary because Cole had a cyclical view of history; empires rose and fell.” Baxter’s voice is strained, and she pauses to take a sip from her Poland Spring water. Her hand shakes heavily as she slowly brings the bottle to her mouth. “Cole may have thought the country was going to hell in a handbasket.”

“Which we think now,” remarks Ruth Pepper, smiling. Ruth is a petite eighty-four-year-old, who sits in the carved wooden chair with her legs crossed over her crisp pants.

The class laughs. A woman with a tight bun in her white hair, who sits next to Ruth, nods her head. “Cyclical,” she says under her breath.

Fourteen percent of Maine’s residents are over the age of sixty-five, and with people living longer and Baby Boomers getting older, more and more retirement communities are popping up along Maine’s craggy coastline. Ruth and her eighty-nine-year-old sister, Randy Henry, have lived at Piper Shores since its opening in August 2001. Randy worked on the board with her late husband, David, and together they helped start the community. That fall, both sisters moved into their independent corner apartments overlooking the ocean.

“One of the most amazing things about this place is it has attracted the most wonderful sorts of people,” Ruth says while sitting in her apartment after class. “We have a lot of retired college professors who run courses, which is wonderful.”

“When I’m in those classes, among all those truly intellectual people, I feel like I’m in college again,” Randy says, sitting across from her sister. “I also feel like a moron!”

At Piper Shores, there is no such thing as a required course, but the academic offerings illustrate the opportunities older people have once they are freed from earning a living and raising a family. “Piper Shores is not utterly unique in this sense,” says Dr. Bob Lynn, a resident and former professor. “But it encourages us to study and pick up the books we haven’t read for a long time. If — the big if — you are reasonably healthy, this is a marvelous time to study the world afresh.”

Dr. Lynn and his friend of sixty years, Dr. Ted Campbell, are very active in Piper Shores’ intellectual community. Dr. Lynn’s first job after divinity school was as a minister of adult education. Today he puts that experience to use, finding subjects that people are interested in and residents who are willing to lead groups. He also assembles the classes. Dr. Campbell, a professor of theology for thirty-five years, helped Dr. Lynn jump-start the first round of classes. Because Piper Shores opened less than a month before the September 11 terrorist attacks, Dr. Campbell chose to focus on the circumstances in Israel and Palestine. “Here we were in the face of a terrible tragedy, and we thought about what our relationship to one another was going to be,” Dr. Campbell says. “The circumstances instigated people’s interest in current events, and set us in motion to put up a program together — not pressure-filled, but involving. We wanted people to take part.”

Ruth and Randy are almost always among the list of students.

“When those two sign up for a class, a whole lot of other people fall in line,” Dr. Campbell says. “They’re coming out of academic situations, and I suppose that’s where a lot of the instigation for this comes from.”

Ruth and Randy’s father owned a textile business in New York City, but in his early fifties he decided to retire to a farm in Virginia. In 1938, with World War II looming, the family moved from their home in New Jersey, dropping Randy off at Hollins College on their way. “I did work for a while, after I got my degree, at Maine Medical Center with psychiatric patients,” Randy says, “but I didn’t do it for very long. It was just too hard to balance six children with a job.”

Following her sister’s lead, Ruth also attended Hollins. After college in 1945, a research company at MIT hired her to work in the lab. “I came up and interviewed in Cambridge, and took the job, and have been here ever since,” Ruth says. “One of my roommates was a friend of Randy’s and she worked at IBM. We all had good jobs. But I didn’t work after I had children. That’s how things were different then,” Ruth pauses, and smiles. “I don’t remember any of our friends working after they had children.”

In today’s world it can be a surprise for two bright women to give up their careers to settle down with a family, but neither Ruth or Randy feel they have given up anything. “Unless having a career was your main thing in life,” Randy clarifies, “but at that point, having a family was my main thing.”

Now that Ruth and Randy have raised their families, taken care of their husbands, and even had their careers — what’s next? For these two, time off is more than just bingo and bocce ball.

“This is leisure, but there are people willing to tackle the tough subjects,” says Dr. Campbell. “We’re not going to let our minds die.”

Success in the Second Act

A Maine TV show by and for seniors proves that retiring in the Pine Tree State is anything but a bore.

By Kathleen Fleury

Illustration by Molly Oburn Fedarko

It sounds like a cliché to say that retiring in Maine can be the adventure of a lifetime. But Second Act, a monthly Community Television Network show celebrating its third anniversary, proves there’s a kernel of truth in the old chestnut. Produced by retirees for retirees, Second Act is inspirational fodder for people in the second (or third, or fourth acts) of their lives. Hosted by Lesley MacVane and Bill Gregory out of Portland, each thirty minute show, which airs sixteen to twenty times a month on various public access television stations across the state, features profiles of all kinds of Mainers doing all kinds of things — they just all happen to be over fifty.

Take Ruth Grauert, a eighty-nine-year-old dance teacher in Mount Vernon, or Candice Thornton Lee, a former interior decorator-turned French Culinary Institute graduate-turned children’s book author. Bob Nason, a Portland painter in his early eighties, provided some insight into his introspective, abstract paintings, for which he uses acrylics, oils, and sometimes tea bags. Muriel Havenstein graced the show with her jazz piano (which she has been perfecting for her more than eighty years). And nonagenarian Emily McMann, cookbook author, cooking show host, and chef from West Bath, threw together some of her favorite chicken salad. While the guests come from different backgrounds, pursue different interests, and all have very distinct personalities, they share a common stage of a “second act” set in Maine.

“Maine is so supportive,” explains MacVane. “The community, the state in general, is supportive of people being innovative. I grew up here, moved away, and came back, and it’s something I haven’t really seen anywhere else — and I’ve lived in a lot of places. It’s that Maine ethic that you work hard and you think of innovative ways to do things. So that translates well when you’re going into your second act.”

The low-key format and local nature of the show do not mask its lofty goals. Gregory, a former minister who also writes a column in the “Religion & Values” section of the Portland Press Herald, describes the mission of the show in a poetic way (appropriate since he often reads poetry in the show’s shorter segments): the purpose of Second Act is “to highlight the gifts of wisdom, experience, and humility . . . There is gold in these hills,” continues Gregory “and we hope you recognize that we’re trying to find it.”

Maine by the Numbers

Keeping the mind sharp means learning something new every day. What better place to begin than with information about your new home? As behooves a state large enough to swallow the rest of New England, Maine is a more diverse place than it often gets credit for — the clashes northern and southern counties sometimes experience politically have their roots in deep demographic differences. In the interest of broadening your understanding of Maine’s similarities and dissimilarities, we present this brief tutorial, sure to provoke a thought or two.

Androscoggin County
Population in 2007: 106,815, an increase of 15,536 from 1970. Largest communities: Lewiston (35,234), Auburn (23,203), Lisbon (9,328), Turner (5,555), Poland (5,324), and Sabattus (4,628). In 2007, 84.3 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 18.4 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2007 was $46,400. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 11.1 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 29.2 in January to a low of 60.7 and a high of 80.7 in July.

Aroostook County
Population in 2007: 72,047, an increase of 22,031 from 1970. Largest communities: Presque Isle (9,104), Caribou (8,154), Houlton (6,169), Madawaska (4,362), Fort Kent (4,192), and Fort Fairfield (3,468). In 2000, 82.7 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 15.52 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2006 was $32,642. Average daily temperatures range from a low of -1.6 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 19.4 in January to a low of 54.5 and a high of 76.5 in July.

Cumberland County
Population in 2007: 275,374, an increase of 82,846 from 1970. Largest communities: Portland (62,825), South Portland (23,748), Brunswick (21,806), Scarborough (18,983), Windham (16,614), and Westbrook (16,291). In 2007, 93 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 40.4 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2007 was $55,278. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 11.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 30.3 in January to a low of 58.3 and a high of 78.8 in July.

Franklin County
Population in 2007: 29,927, an increase of 7,483 from 1970. Largest communities: Farmington (7,557), Jay (4,816), Wilton (4,181), New Sharon (1,415), Strong (1,215), and Kingfield (1,142). In 2000, 85.2 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 20.9 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $31,459. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 25.8 in January to a low of 53.4 and a high of 79 in July.

Hancock County
Population in 2007: 53,278, an increase of 18,778 from 1970. Largest communities: Ellsworth (7,070), Bar Harbor (5,128), Bucksport (4,912), Blue Hill (2,243), Orland (2,015), and Southwest Harbor (1,955). In 2000, 87.8 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 27.1 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $35,811. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 30.1 in January to a low of 57 and a high of 77.9 in July.

Kennebec County
Population in 2007: 120,839, an increase of 25,533 from 1970. Largest communities: Waterville (15,923), Augusta (8,367), Winslow (7,879), Winthrop (6,441), Oakland (6,177), and Gardiner (2,830). In 2007, 90 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 25.2 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2007 was $44,113. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 27.6 in January to a low of 60.1 and a high of 79 in July.

Knox County
Population in 2007: 40,781, an increase of 11,768 from 1970. Largest communities: Rockland (7,480), Camden (5,235), Warren (4,205), Thomaston (3,675), Rockport (3,513), and Saint George (2,692). In 2000, 87.5 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 26.2 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $36,774. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.2 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 32 in January to a low of 57.1 and a high of 79.9 in July.

Lincoln County
Population in 2007: 34,800, an increase of 14,263 from 1970. Largest communities: Waldoboro (5,034), Wiscasset (3,793), Boothbay (3,223), Bristol (2,781), Jefferson (2,542), and Boothbay Harbor (2,279). In 2000, 87.9 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 26.6 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $38,686. Average daily temperatures range from a
low of 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high
of 30.1 in January to a low of 59.3 and a high of 77.9 in July.

Oxford County
Population in 2007: 56,734, an increase of 13,277 from 1970. Largest communities: Rumford (6,350), Paris (4,969), Norway (4,765), Oxford (3,922), Fryeburg (3,327), Mexico (2,881). In 2000, 82.4 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 15.7 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $33,435. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 5.8 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 27.2 in January to a low of 56.4 and a high of 79.6 in July.

Penobscot County
Population in 2007: 148,784, an increase of 23,391 from 1970. Largest communities: Bangor (31,853), Orono (9,704), Brewer (9,079), Old Town (7,742), Hampden (6,849), and Lincoln (5,257). In 2007, 88.7 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 22.8 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2007 was $41,333. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 8.2 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 26.7 in January to a low of 58.3 and a high of 78.1 in July.

Piscataquis County
Population in 2007: 17,180, an increase of 895 from 1970. Largest communities: Dover-Foxcroft (4,269), Milo (2,354), Greenville (1,718), Guilford (1,467), Brownville (1,292), and Sangerville (1,216). In 2000 80.3 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 13.3 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $28,250. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 2.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 24.2 in January to a low of 54.5 and a high of 78.6 in July.

Sagadahoc County
Population in 2007: 36,387, an increase of 12,935 from 1970. Largest communities: Topsham (9,873), Bath (8,959), Richmond (3,407), Bowdoin (2,934), Woolwich (2,911), and Bowdoinham (2,748). In 2000 88 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 25 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $41,908. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 30.1 in January to a low of 59.3 and a high of 77.9 in July.

Somerset County
Population in 2007: 51,658, an increase of 11,061 from 1970. Largest communities: Skowhegan (8,758), Fairfield (6,734), Madison (4,592), Pittsfield (4,243), Norridgewock (3,277), and Anson (2,565). In 2000 80.8 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 11.8 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $30,731. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 26.8 in January to a low of 55.6 and a high of 79.1 in July.

Waldo County
Population in 2007: 38,511, an increase of 15,183 from 1970. Largest communities: Belfast (6,754), Winterport (3,555), Searsport (2,610), Lincolnville (2,179), Unity (2,135), and Stockton Springs (1,617). In 2000 84.6 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 22.3 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $33,986. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.7 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 32 in January to a low of 57.1 and a high of 79.9 in July.

Washington County
Population in 2007: 32,751, an increase of 3,892 from 1970. Largest communities: Calais (3,215), Machias (2,155), Baileyville (1,573), Eastport (1,556), Lubec (1,551), and Jonesport (1,437). In 2000 79.9 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 14.7 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2000 was $25,869. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 13.9 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 29.7 in January to a low of 53 and a high of 72.9 in July.

York County
Population in 2007: 201,341, an increase of 89,765 from 1970. Largest communities: Biddeford (21,594), Sanford (21,252), Saco (18,164), York (13,737), Kennebunk (11,382), and Kittery (10,225). In 2007 89.4 percent of residents had high school diplomas, and 26.4 percent had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Median household income in 2007 was $52,365. Average daily temperatures range from a low of 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit and a high of 32.5 in January to a low of 57.1 and a high of 83.2 in July.