Features
Ellsworth
Long considered just another town on the routes to Down East Maine and Acadia National Park, Ellsworth has recently donned a new identity as the commercial and cultural hub of Eastern Maine. This transformation has been wrought by a mix of enterprising newcomers and forward-looking members of the old guard, all of whom personify the claim that Ellsworth is “a city that works.” By Edgar Allen Beem.
Maine’s Busy Tower of Legal Learning
Small by national standards, Portland’s University of Maine School of Law exercises a profound impact on the state’s legal system. Among its alumni are judges, representatives, senators, and state administrators, including the governor. By Raymond J. Blair.
Transitions
The change of seasons can be a highly subjective matter. A portfolio of color photographs shows why.
An Uncommon Gift from an Uncommon Family
This year’s winner of Down East‘s annual Environmental Award is the St. John family, who have given some 750 acres of Maine coast wilderness, including the last unspoiled barrier beach in the state, to an environmental trust, thus ensuring that a spectacular corner of the state will remain forever wild. By Bob Cummings.
But Is It Arr?
The diverse handiwork of Maine’s foremost fabric artists vividly demonstrates that the distinction between the fine and decorative arts can be needle thin. By Sarah L. Fasoldt.
Maine’s Master Folklorist
Thirty years of collecting, preserving, and publishing the state’s abundant folklore legacy have made Sandy Ives, of the University of Maine, something of a legend himself. By Nicholas Dean.
The Amazing Brothers Cianchette
With “Go for it” as their motto, they have built a two wheelbarrow contracting outfit into a $100-million-a-year construction firm. Cianbro is its name. By James P. Brown.
Retiring to Maine
A growing trend confirms that the State of Maine is no longer a well-kept secret for those who seek an active retirement life. By Michael T. Kinnicutt.
Portland’s Island Suburb
Fishing community? Artists’ colony? Commuter bedroom? Tides of change are swirling around Peaks Island. By John N. Cole.
Maine at Work
A collection of on-the-job portraits pays eloquent tribute to Maine men and women in a variety of traditional and modern occupations. Photographs by Kip Brundage.
Environmental Watch
Topping the environmental news of 1983 was the passage of a landmark piece of rivers legislation. Michael T.P. Brown examines that success and other ecological highlights of the year just past.
Maine’s Champion Problem Solvers
For seventy years agents of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service have been an invaluable source of information for farmers. Now they are applying their wide-ranging expertise to an ever-broadening field of activities. By N.W. Deakin.
Cover: “Kindred Spirits” (24″ x 24″), painted and quilted fabric, by Fraas-Slade. The increasingly well known husband-and-wife team of Gayle Fraas and Duncan Slade (Down East, June, 1982) is in the vanguard of Maine’s flourishing fabric art movement.