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During the 1890s, as part of a belief in “moral treatment” of psychiatric patients, patients were thought to derive to benefit from being outdoors and involved in farming activities. From 1835 to 1905, the State Hospital for the Insane (now the Augusta Mental Health Institute) purchased and consolidated several neighboring farms. For more than a century, the hospital farm provided crops and livestock as well as occupational therapy and exercise for hospital patients. The history of the old State Hospital Farm can be seen throughout the 224 acres which now make up the Viles Arboretum, currently composed of 224 acres of land with a long history of farming use. Formerly known as the Pine Tree State Arboretum, the botanical garden boasts of 224 acres of plants belonging to more than 300 different species of plants and trees. There are nature trails at the site, which can be used for pleasure strolls and biking and which lead to woodlands, forests, and ponds, as well as farmland which once served as a State Hospital farm. A visitor can still see the valve station used for controlling water flow from the earthern cistern (now the Pavillion) to the hospital. The granite quarry just beyond the Rock Garden is one of the areas where granite was cut from a quarry deposit and used for various projects including foundations of the hospital. There are also the remains of the animal stalls along the trail to the bridge at Viles Pond. The Maine Forest Service began development of the Arboretum in 1981.  During that year, 120 trees were planted and construction of fences, bridges, trails, and a boardwalk began.  A board of directors to manage the 224-acre preserve, then called the Pine Tree State Arboretum, was formed in 1981, and in 1992, a 99- year lease was signed with the Department of Conservation, administered by the Bureau of Parks and Lands. The Arboretum was renamed the Viles Arboretum in 1992 to honor William Payson Viles and his wife, who were instrumental in establishing the Arboretum. An education wing was built in 2003. The Arboretum is continuously adding to its collection of trees and plants, its educational activities, programs, events and its trail system. 0 0

I had a hard time finding a U until I remembered that faculty at the University of Maine had a small role in the second of the Rhe Brewster mysteries and the school is near the Orono Bog, which I toured for information for that second book. The University of Maine is the only Land Grant University in the U.S.located on an island – Marsh Island, between the Penobscot and Stillwater Rivers. It is the center of the small town of Orono, which has a population of around 8500 people. The University has about 11,000 students and occupies 660 acres. It was founded in 1862 as a function of the first Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln, that allowed for the creation of land grant colleges. The University was originally named the Maine College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts and opened its doors on September 21, 1868, changing its name to the University of Maine in 1897. The original campus plan was designed by renowned landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park in New York City and the White House grounds in Washington, D.C. Central to campus is the University of Maine Mall, an open grassy area bordered by Fogler Library, Memorial Gym, one residence and five academic halls. The University of Maine’s athletic teams are nicknamed the Black Bears, and sport blue and white uniforms. The University of Maine has another link to Lincoln, which we discovered when we toured the campus. Hannibal Hamlin (1809 –1891) was the 15th U.S. Vice President serving under Lincoln during the Civil War. Prior to his election in 1860, Hamlin served in the Senate, the House and and, briefly, as the Governor of Maine. Hamlin did not actually meet Lincoln until after the election. While serving as Vice President, Hamlin had little authority in the Lincoln Administration, although he was a strong proponent of the Emancipation Proclamation. Hamlin and Lincoln were not close personally, but had a good working relationship. In June 1864, Lincoln was renominated, but War Democrat Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was named to replace Hamlin as Lincoln’s running mate because Lincoln was seeking to broaden his base of support. Though Hamlin went along quietly with the decision, he was hurt by the chain of events, having left his Senate seat to take a position he didn’t want, only to be ultimately let go. Nonetheless, he helped with Lincoln’s campaign Hamlin was a member of the Company A of the Maine Coast Guard, a militia unit, and when the was called up in the summer of 1864, Hamlin opted to serve, even while he was Vice President, arguing that he could set an example by doing the duty expected of any citizen. 0 0

I’m pretty sure you’re all drawn to Vermont Maple Syrup, but did you know that Maine also produces excellent stuff? Pure Maine maple syrup has a hint of the great north woods in it and has been enhancing the flavors of fine, downeast food since long before the colonists arrived. Today, hundreds of years later, the quality is excellent, the degree of sweetness is fixed by law, and the uniquely delicious taste still varies as it always has. Sometimes the syrup is dark and rich, sometimes pale gold and delicate. It all depends on the soil and terrain, the wind and the weather, just like wine. There are three species of maple trees used to produce maple syrup: the sugar maple, the black maple and the red maple, because of the high sugar content (roughly two to five percent) in their sap. Maples are usually tapped when they reach 30 to 40 years of age. Each tree can support between one and three taps, depending on its trunk diameter, and on average will produce 9.2 to 13.2 gallons of sap per season; this is roughly 7% of its total sap. Seasons last for four to eight weeks, depending on the weather, and sap is not tapped at night because the temperature drop inhibits sap flow. Maples can continue to be tapped for sap until the trees are over 100 years old. The sugar in sap is stored as starch throughout the year. During the spring, the warm days and cold nights help change these starches to sugars and the flow of sweet sap begins. Sap can only be harvested while it’s moving through the tree trunk. Because of the long, cold winter, it was a late start for most sugarhouses in southern Maine this year, but as of Wednesday, March 4th, sap was running run for the first time. Central and Northern Maine had to wait because their seasons run a couple of weeks to almost a month behind the sugarhouses in the southern most part of the state. A sugarhouse, or sugar shack, is where the sap is boiled and is louvered at the top to vent the steam from the boiling sap. Native Americans of Northeast American Continent developed the art of making sugar and syrup from the sap of the maple tree. For them it was the all-purpose seasoning, much as salt. It was also one of their staple foods, so valuable and portable it was often used as money. European settlers quickly learned about maple syrup, and had something very important to trade for the knowledge of making syrup — iron kettles. The Indians boiled the syrup by dropping red-hot stones into thick wooden containers full of sap. Production methods have been streamlined since colonial days, yet remain basically unchanged.   A recipe for you:            Maple-Mustard Barbecue Sauce (from the Maine Maple Producers Association) 2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard or other strong mustard 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 garlic clove, crushed through a press 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed 1/3 cup Maine maple syrup 1/3 cup peanut oil or other bland oil 0 0

Concealment is quite a twisted mystery and unique in that it takes place in the arena of big business and finance. Amy, an executive in the company overseeing the financial aspects of a merger of a construction company with another, larger company, has risen through the ranks by dint of ambition and hard work. Another less determined person might not have achieved her position, given the fact she is the daughter of a pathological hoarder who made Amy’s childhood miserable and who is currently bringing misery to her life again. She survives by keeping her past a secret, a delicate balancing act. The story begins with the discovery by the tax division of Amy’s company of some irregularities in the financials of the smaller of the two companies, irregularities which are later found not to be the problem initially thought. The one problem I had with this book is that the financial and business information was over my head, and I did not understand exactly what was going on; nevertheless, I managed to get a general idea. Then Amy’s young colleague, a thorough investigator of the tax conundrum, is murdered, and Amy’s new boss Ed displays obnoxious behavior that she interprets as a desire to trash her career and boot her from the company. As the mystery of her colleague’s death unwinds under Amy’s reluctant but intelligent investigation, the pressure on her exerted by the smarmy Ed inexorably increases. He undermines her authority, gets friends to spy on her, and discredits her at every turn. Amy becomes convinced he is the killer and increasingly uses alcohol to calm her distress. Her tight control of herself and her life starts to crack, and as her paranoia increases, even the reader becomes worried that Amy is mentally unbalanced. Is there no one she can trust? Amy gradually discovers that various parties to the merger are pursuing illegal agendas, which leads to a suicide and attempts on her life. To top it off, a nosy and imperious neighbor manipulates her mother to apply even further pressure on Amy’s already precarious mental balance. The reader is kept guessing to the very end and I found myself reading as quickly as possible to discover who was at the bottom of everything. Most satisfying is how Amy exacts her revenge. A good read for just about everyone. About the author: Rose Edmunds lives in Brighton with her husband David. She has a degree in mathematics at the University of Sussex and a PhD from Cardiff University and worked for more than 20 years in several well-known accountancy firms, while steadfastly maintaining her literary aspirations. Iin 2007 she finally quit her day job now writes financial thrillers with a strong ethical theme. Her writing draws heavily on her considerable insight into the business world and in particular the uncomfortable conflict between individual and corporate objectives. Rose is also a trustee of Brightside, a charity helping young people to access career and education opportunities they might not have believed were available to them. Concealment can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Concealment-Rose-Edmunds/dp/1508630690/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428778123&sr=1-1&keywords=Concealment Rose Edmunds can be found On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseEdmundsAuthor On Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5759693.Rose_Edmunds Her homepage: www.roseedmunds.co.uk And on twitter: @RoseEdmunds 0 0

Although Saint Croix Island has no public access, it can be well seen from both the U.S. and Canadian mainlands. If you can’t visit it, why would I include this in my A-Z blog? To answer myself, because the proposed settlement for the island predates my hometown of Plymouth by sixteen years! This uninhabited island sits near the mouth of the Saint Croix River,which forms part of the U.S.-Canadian border and separates Maine from New Brunswick. It is only 6.5 acres – 200 yards long by 100 yards wide, and was called Muttoneguis by the Passamaquoddy Nation, who had used or lived on the island for numerous centuries before European discovery. Saint Croix Island is the site of the first French attempt to colonize the territory they called l’Acadie; members of a French expedition led by Pierre Dugua settled on the island in 1604. Seventy-nine members of the expedition, including Samuel Champlain, passed the severe winter of 1604-1605 on the island, iced in by freezing temperatures and cut off from fresh water and game. Thirty-five settlers died, apparently of scurvy, and were buried in a small cemetery on the island. In spring of 1605 the Passamaquoddy, previously befriended by the French, returned to the shores of Saint Croix Island and traded game for bread. The health of the remaining settlers improved, to the point where the group could move on by summer. Dugua made the decision to move the colony and founded the settlement of Port Royal, in today’s Nova Scotia. The Port Royal location was the first permanent European settlement in New France. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain and some of the settlers moved from Port-Royal to a settlement on the Saint Lawrence River that later became known at Quebec. St. Croix Island became known as Bone Island in the 18th century after many of the graves were exposed by erosion. Twenty three sets of remains were removed in 1969 and subsequently reburied in 2003. The island was designated Saint Croix Island National Monument by the United States Congress in 1949. It was given its current designation by Congress as an International Historic Site on September 25, 1984, a unique designation in the national park systems of the United States and Canada       0 0

Many times in my books, Rhe Brewster takes Route 1 to get to various places: Boston, Portland, Presque Isle. So it’s a natural for me to tell you about this scenic route. U.S. Route 1 starts in Key West, Florida, making it the longest north-south road in the United States, and it is a major north–south state highway which serves the eastern part of Maine . It parallels the Atlantic from New Hampshire to Portland, Belfast to Calais, and then to the St. Croix River, Houlton and Fort Kent. The portion along the ocean, known as the coastal route, provides scenic views of the rugged Maine coast and lighthouses. U.S. Route 1 has always been the premier tourist destination in the State of Maine. From Kittery, Route 1 follows the beautiful southern coastline all the way to Eastport, and then to Calais and then it turns and heads North through Danforth and an awesome million dollar view of East Grand Lake and heads through Presque Isle and on to the St. John Valley. All along the way, there are state parks, a national park, antique shops, historic forts and lighthouses, gift shops, and seafood restaurants, and so much more that I cannot list them all here. Initially, way back when, US 1 south of Calais was part of the Atlantic Highway and became Route 1 when the New England road marking system was established in 1922. The northward continuation from Calais was later designated as part of Route 24; in 1925 Maine transferred to US 1 to a better-quality inland route between Bangor and Houlton. This changed in 1926, when the inland shortcut — now generally followed by Interstate 95, became part of US 2. US 1 was then assigned to the Bangor Bypass and became the coastal route. It must have been a confusing time to be driving in Maine! Here’s just the tip of the iceberg of what you can see on US 1: Saco – has the largest amusement and water park in Maine. Kenneybunkport – Kennebunkport is best known for its popular summer residents… President and First Lady George and Barbara Bush. Both Kennebunk and Kennebunkport offer a wealth of history, arts, hospitality and five long and beautiful sandy beaches. Freeport – home of L.L. Bean and 120 upscale factory outlets. Bar Harbor – gateway to Acadia National Park (see A in this series) Boothbay Harbor – where we spend our vacations. Spectacular coast, kyacking, paddle boarding, sailing, 0 0

Quoddy Head State Park encompasses 541 acres located four miles off State Route 189 in Lubec. The land was purchased by the state in 1962 and is found on the easternmost point of land in the continental United States. In the park is the candy-striped West Quoddy Head Light, five miles of hiking trails, extensive forests, two bogs, and diverse habitat for rare plants. The bogs relate to something that happens to Rhe in Death in a Dacron Sail, and she and her husband might have winter-camped in the park. Thomas Jefferson commissioned the West Quoddy Head Light which was built in 1808. The present tower and house date to 1858 and was manned by resident light house keepers until 1988, when the light became automated and the U.S. Coast Guard took over the running and maintenance. This is the easternmost lighthouse in the United States. The area around West Quoddy Head Light is surrounded by dangerous cliffs, ledges and rocks and shipwrecks were frequent in this frequently foggy area, which is busy with ships. Initially the light and a fog cannon warned mariners away, and later the light house was among the first to use a fog bell and a steam-powered foghorn. This greatly reduced the shipwrecks. From the lighthouse, visitors can look out over Quoddy Channel (which divides the U.S. and Canada) to the towering red cliffs of Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick. The tower itself is closed, but the lighthouse grounds, a visitor center, and museum run by the West Quoddy Head Light Keepers Association are open to the public. For a few weeks around the equinoxes, West Quoddy Head is the first location in the United States to see the sunrise. The Park also provides some of Maine’s best wildlife-watching in the summer: humpback, minke and finback whales offshore, along with rafts of eider, scoter and old squaw ducks. Kittiwakes, gannets, black-bellied plovers, ruddy turnstones and purple sandpipers all roost at various times on Sail Rock. During spring and fall migration periods, hundreds of shorebirds congregate near the Park’s western boundary and birding opportunities continue into winter. There are two bogs. One is an easy, one-mile round-trip walk, an unusual coastal plateau bog with sub-arctic and arctic plants rarely seen south of Canada. Shrubs predominate, particularly black crowberry, baked appleberry and Labrador tea, along with carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and sundew. A second bog at the property’s western boundary, Carrying Place Cove Bog, is a National Natural Landmark. 0 0

Puffins are cute and comical seabirds which breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands along the Maine coast, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil. They are stocky black and white birds with distinctive, colorful orange beaks during their breeding season; they can grow to nearly a meter in height depending on the species. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly in swift flight. It is thought the name puffin comes from the word ‘puff,’ which refers to swollen. The puffin chick is most like its name because of its round, puffed look resulting from its dense cover of down feathers, which helps the chick retain body heat while the parent is off fishing. They look like little balls of puff with a beak and feet sticking out. Puffin chicks are usually fed by their parents, who mostly eat small fish such as herring, hake and capelin. The parents carry the fish in the bills, around 10 fish at a time, although the record is 62! They will either pass them to the chicks or drop them on the burrow floor, several times each day. The puffin diets can vary from colony to colony, depending on the fish available around the breeding islands. In winter they may also eat crustaceans. Puffins dive to catch fish, and most dives usually last 20 to 30 seconds.  While underwater, the puffin swims by using its wings to push itself along, almost as if it were flying, and uses its feet as a rudder.  In the air, a puffin can fly as fast as 48-55 mph. Their wings beat so rapidly that they blur, giving the bird the appearance of the black and white football. Puffins do not normally breed until they are 5 years old and use their pre-breeding years to learn about feeding places, choosing a mate and nest sites. They dig their 2-3 foot long burrows in earth or between rocks on steep sea cliffs, as protection from predators, using their bills to cut into soil and their feet to shovel away loose material.  At the back of the burrow, the parents build a soft nest of feathers and grass where they incubate the single egg the female lays each year. They mate for life, which can be 20 years or more, and use the same burrow each year. Both parents share the duties of incubating the egg and rearing the chick. There are five Atlantic Puffin colonies along the Maine coast. Three are frequently visited, two are sporadically visited. Only one allows visitors to land. Eastern Egg Rock is a  7-acre island six miles from New Harbor, owned by the state and managed by The Puffin Project. The island is less exposed to challenging seas and this can be a good choice for visitors prone to seasickness!   Remember to take a guess at the two places of A – Z my husband and I will be visiting this summer, after we get to Z.  A copy of my second book is the prize for the correct guess! 0 0

I hope I’m not going to bore you with yet another house, but Rhe’s interest in old buildings is also mine. This one is famous not only for its history, but because it was depicted in Andrew Wyeth’s iconic Christina’s World. Olson House is a 14-room colonial farmhouse in Cushing. It was built in the late 1700s by Captain Samuel Hathorn II and was substantially altered in 1871 by Captain Samuel Hathorn IV. These alterations included the addition of several bedrooms on the third floor and the construction of a steeply pitched roof. Christina Olson and Alvaro Olson, descendants of the Captains Hathorn, inherited the property in 1929 from their mother Kathe Hathorn. Christina and Alvaro Hathorn were depicted in numerous paintings and sketches by Wyeth from 1939 to 1968. Anna Christina Olson is thought to have suffered from polio, but based on her symptoms, was more likely afflicted with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a genetic disorder characterized by a progressive wasting away of the muscles, paralysis, and loss of sensation beginning in late childhood or early adulthood. Wyeth was inspired to create the painting when he saw her crawling across a field while he was watching from a window in the house. After Christina’s death in 1968, the house was purchased by movie director Joseph E. Levine, an admirer of Wyeth’s work. Levine operated the house as a museum for two years starting in 1971 but local residents opposed this use. The house was then purchased by Apple CEO John Sculley, who put the house up for sale in 1989; he eventually donated the house to the Farnsworth Art Museum 1991. This museum has one of the nation’s largest collections of the paintings of the Wyeth family: N.C., Andrew, and Jamie. It maintains the houses as a facility open to the public. The house was designated as a National Historical Landmark in June 2011. I have myself visited the Farnsworth Museum, just to see the Wyeth family paintings, and the experience was unforgettable. An “F” for another day!   0 0

This one is for all you train aficionados out there! The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company & Museum is one tourist attraction that Rhe’s son Jack would love. And also Dr. Sheldon Cooper, from the Big Bang Theory. Located on Portland’s waterfront, the museum is dedicated to the preservation of Maine’s two-foot gauge railways for the education and enjoyment of the public. Funded in 1993, this organization contains a collection of rolling stock and artifacts from the two feet narrow gauge railways that ran in Maine in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The trains, called Maine Two-Footers, were originally designed and built to carry people and products through Maine’s mountainous interior. The five narrow gauge trains that once operated in Maine, ran in rural areas on lines that ran through woods and carried passengers, farming materials, lumber and some manufacturing goods The museum and railroad are housed in a 7,500-square-foot space in the Portland Company complex on Fore Street. In addition to exhibits, the organization operates a 1½ mile long railroad that runs along the waterfront of Casco Bay and parallels Portland’s Eastern Promenade. A variety of restored locomotives and coaches are used in running the train. The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum is moving ahead with plans to leave Portland’s waterfront. Most of the operations are scheduled to move to Gray in 2016, but rides may be offered in Portland until 2023. The new location in Gray is an easy ride from Portland but is more central to other population centers, such as the Sebago Lake region, Freeport and Lewiston-Auburn. The museum is open Saturdays through Thursdays from May to October (closed Fridays). 0 0