Down East December 1988

December 1988

The table of contents from the December 1988 issue of Down East.

Features

Tales of Christmas Past

“Santa’s Last Ride,” “The Great Christmas Tree Caper,” “Ribbon Candy at Derosier’s,” and other real-life sagas of yuletide Maine.

Homage to the Earmuff

Each December, citizens of Farmington turn out to honor Chester Greenwood, a local boy who made a large fortune out of a small invention. By Peter H. Spectre.

Bones, Books & Bits of History

Squirreled away in the Eliot home of Joseph Frost is the most remarkable private collection of rare books and documents in Maine. By Wayne Curtis.

The Shortest Day

Dawn to dusk in Damariscotta on the day of the winter solstice. Photographs by Joe Devenney.

The Beguiling World of Barbara Cooney

At her studio on the shore in Walpole, an award- winning artist mixes paint with homespun wisdom to create books children treasure. By Jeff Clark.

Aroostook Uber Alles!

During World War II, thousands of German POWs labored in Maine fields and forests to aid the Allied war effort. By Thomas A. Verde.

Yet Another Guinness Record

Three million cubic feet of Maine hot air lifted Super Maine, the world’s largest balloon. By Thomas A. Gaines.

Making It in Maine

Breadboxes, organs, and children’s books — three more success stories from the Pine Tree State.

Departments

Room With A View

The other day I started to clean out my boathouse, and I was suddenly struck by the fact that I was unknowingly maintaining a museum of Early American artifacts, although in my quaint way I was still regarding them as tools. By Caskie Stinnett.

The Talk of Sabbathday Lake

Shaker Mission to Portland

The Maine Viewpoint

Canadian Connection

Along the Waterfront

One Man, One Boat

Down East Bookshelf

What Became of Them by Denis Ledoux

Outdoor Maine

Wintry Weather Signs

Top of the Month

Nutcrackers North and South

North by East

Opinions, advisories, and musings from the length and breadth of Maine.

I Remember

A Hot Time in Hampden

Cover: Early evening, Damariscotta, on the shortest day of the year — harbinger of the holiday season. Photograph by Joe Devenney.