Letter 28: Maine IV
We discovered, quite by accident, that the Old State Prison (since destroyed, except for the prison store) in Thomaston, Maine, where we visited the prison store, was the location of the filming of “The Shaw Shank Redemption.” There was no Maine prison by the name of Shaw Shank. The story was written by Stephen King. Now we will have to watch the movie again.
Monday, September 14 we packed up and drove to Kennebunk to a
From there we headed up Hwy 35 to the Sebago Lakes area on our way to Sumner to stay with Diana and Ted. The drive was so pretty and the trees are beginning to turn color. Along the way we saw a limb of red, a tree with yellow, pretty little creeks with a touch of color. We knew we were going to be in for a real treat in a week or two. We are told it happens almost over night.
We have mentioned Ted & Diana before, but to remind everyone, Fred & Diana grew up in Duncanville and graduated together, then both went to North Texas State University. They were good friends all that time. Olivia went to NTSU two years later and was in the dorm room across the hall from Diana. Fred & Olivia met and instantly Olivia knew who Freddie was. Diana was in our wedding. When Diana graduated she joined Braniff Airlines as a flight attendant and flew the world. In Okinawa she met Ted who was a fighter pilot who flew over 100 missions in Viet Nam. When he retired from the Air Force they moved to his home state of Maine and they have lived here ever since. She goes to Texas periodically and we always enjoyed seeing her and have wanted to see Maine because of her.
Arriving at the Toleman’s we entered their
Tuesday, September 17 Fred went off to Norway to the dentist for his quarterly peridonic cleaning while Olivia attempted to pay bills and catch up with the blog. Diana and Ted had their errands. In the afternoon Diana took Olivia to the
Wednesday, September 16 Olivia treated Diana to a
In the afternoon the Toleman’s took us on a scenic drive. First we stopped at a
Next on the route was the scenic town of Bethel, then on to Rumford where we stopped to see the
Coos Canyon made another
Height of Land was a breathtaking stop with
Stopping on the north side of Rangley Lake we watched as a flock of Canadian geese flew low in front of us, then landed and walked up the bank to
We also watched a
We ate at Loon Lodge on the lake
Thursday, September 17, we drove to Buckfield viewing the devastation from a tornado that occurred about a month before. Tornados are rare for this area. Maybe when Hurricane Bill was whirling away out in the Atlantic? It traveled about 12 miles through the forest, but miraculously not hurting the homes.
Our evening’s treat was a “lobster feed.” First course was two ears each of fresh silver queen corn out of their garden. We rolled our ears on the comunal stick of butter. Second course was
Friday, September 18 Ted left for a weekend fishing trip on Grand Lake in Eastern Maine and we ventured into Auburn/Lewiston with the priority of having a new keyboard installed in the laptop. While waiting on the repair, we explored the towns. One stop was
Diana has beautiful flowers around her house including this
Saturday, September 19 Diana spent the morning helping her best friend at her apple orchard. This is her
Later we drove to Buckfield to see the
Toleman’s farm where they lived for many years. This is the house Diana had told us about their daughter Amy coming home crying because her home work in first grade was to count the windows of their home. It has 128 windows. The farm was beautiful and we could see why they had enjoyed living there, but also why they wanted to move because of the upkeep of such a huge home. They actually lived in the middle of the house, called an ell. There are a lot of houses here built like this, of all sizes.
Sunday, September 20 we attended
church with Diana in the Congregational Church of East Sumner, established in 1802. The choir was not back in from the summer so the choir director asked for an
“Instant Choir” to come forward for special music. People of all ages came forward to sing Peace Like a River.
Ted returned from his fishing trip with his limit of two salmon and Fred prepared one like Genie did in Montreal, with maple syrup and nuts. It was delicious.
Monday, September 21, Diana had a massage appointment in Norway, so we loaded our laundry and went too. While she was busy we did our washing and were now ready to move on to New Hampshire.
Now for a tour of the Tolman home. The entry most used opens to their
mud room and is the biggest, nicest mud rooms we have ever seen. Diana kept a jigsaw puzzle on the table for any down time we had.
The next room was a huge
kitchen with a dining room adjacent. This is really a gathering place with space to move in. Diana is a fantastic cook making blueberry muffins and scones, apple & blueberry pies among other things for us. There is even a wood burning cook stove in the lower right and she has even cooked on it when their power was out for ten days one winter.
Past the formal entry is their
living room where they sit by the window or watch TV. All of the rooms are extra big with space to spread out. Diana swears they use every room, every day.
Next is their
computer room/office and it too has
lots of room, even for a sofa.
Upstairs are two huge rooms, one is their
master bedroom where they have full and queen size beds. The door between the bed’s opens to the mud room/garage attic.
The other room is a combination
guest room and Diana’s
fun space, where she works on hobbies, sews and also has a TV to watch while Ted watches ball games. There are also lots of large closets and two large bathrooms. This is very sufficient for most people but they also have a full basement, which is their laundry room, two freezers, large pantry, and much more. Then there is a
barn with a full
basement and
attic.
Their garage holds a gator, Diana’s car and the
blueberry processing equipment AND has a
full attic which is adjacent to the
mud room attic.
Diana likes the statement that “humans are the only animals that collect stuff” and Olivia says, “It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
Tuesday, September 23 We drove to Portland and the
Christmas Tree Shops Diana had been raving about. She states it is not a Christmas store. Olivia decided it was a cross between Garden Ridge, Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Morning, with some groceries and drug store items all at outlet prices.
After spending some time there we drove to the Atlantic and Cape Elizabeth to have lunch
at the
Lobster Shack by the sea. Fred had thought he wouldn’t see the ocean anymore this trip but when Diana suggested it, he didn’t mind the drive at all. This area is called
Two Lights, because there are two lighthouses here. One is now a private residence.
Back to Portland we went into Ted’s old stomping ground to pick up an
“Italian Sandwich” for later and to visit a friend of theirs.
On the way back to Sumner we drove by Sebago Lake and visited their
old “Camp” which is a
summer home on the lake. Ted & Diana had spent a lot of their early marriage there, until they decided to sell it because it was getting too crowded with people and boaters in the area.
This had been an extra long day and we were glad to see the trailer and our bed again. Diana has been so good to tour us around. We didn’t expect all her time. We look forward to hosting her in Texas and hope Ted comes too
Wednesday, September 23 we returned to the
Swap Shop, which is at their recycle and dump center. This rural community takes their trash here on Wednesdays and Saturdays, then it is taken into a larger town where this area pays by the pound for someone else to process it. They started the swap shop to share still good items with their neighbors. The community has saved enough to already build a structure to house these good items. This is also a neighborhood gathering place and we actually met another Texas couple there. That afternoon Diana taught Fred how to make a
blueberry pie, and how to
grease and
wet the top for a better, flakier pastry.
Thursday, September 24 was moving day. Ted and Diana came for coffee in the trailer for the last time. We couldn’t help seeing their
maple and
birch trees in full color as we departed. We will really miss them and their Maine hospitality.
We drove north to Bethel, then south on Maine 113 following the
headwaters of the Androscoggin River. The trees made a 
tunnel all the way to Evan’s Notch and we know this will be beautiful in a couple of week.
Along one 10 mile stretch we met only one vehicle—a motorcycle. And that is a good thing, because the road wasn’t wide enough for our trailer and another car. When the color comes this road will be well traveled. We passed signs warning travelers the road isn’t maintained during the winter. At the end of a long stretch, we realized it wasn’t maintained because there weren’t any houses. It is very remote and something to see.
Arriving in the next campground in Albany, NH the owner said we were about two weeks early for the fall colors here. We hope it isn’t that far away.
We love to hear if you have been to any of these spots or wish to see. For comments on our rambling or just to say hi, contact us at:
Olivia@bobheck.com or Fred Harrington@yahoo.com
Sunday, September 20 we attended
Monday, September 21, Diana had a massage appointment in Norway, so we loaded our laundry and went too. While she was busy we did our washing and were now ready to move on to New Hampshire.
Now for a tour of the Tolman home. The entry most used opens to their
The next room was a huge
Past the formal entry is their
Next is their
Upstairs are two huge rooms, one is their
The other room is a combination
Their garage holds a gator, Diana’s car and the
Diana likes the statement that “humans are the only animals that collect stuff” and Olivia says, “It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
Tuesday, September 23 We drove to Portland and the
After spending some time there we drove to the Atlantic and Cape Elizabeth to have lunch
Back to Portland we went into Ted’s old stomping ground to pick up an
On the way back to Sumner we drove by Sebago Lake and visited their
This had been an extra long day and we were glad to see the trailer and our bed again. Diana has been so good to tour us around. We didn’t expect all her time. We look forward to hosting her in Texas and hope Ted comes too
Wednesday, September 23 we returned to the
Thursday, September 24 was moving day. Ted and Diana came for coffee in the trailer for the last time. We couldn’t help seeing their
We drove north to Bethel, then south on Maine 113 following the
tunnel all the way to Evan’s Notch and we know this will be beautiful in a couple of week.
Along one 10 mile stretch we met only one vehicle—a motorcycle. And that is a good thing, because the road wasn’t wide enough for our trailer and another car. When the color comes this road will be well traveled. We passed signs warning travelers the road isn’t maintained during the winter. At the end of a long stretch, we realized it wasn’t maintained because there weren’t any houses. It is very remote and something to see.
Arriving in the next campground in Albany, NH the owner said we were about two weeks early for the fall colors here. We hope it isn’t that far away.
We love to hear if you have been to any of these spots or wish to see. For comments on our rambling or just to say hi, contact us at:
Olivia@bobheck.com or Fred Harrington@yahoo.com