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PAIDLEWISTON, MAINE

PERMIT #82

Friends of Acadia

MissionFriends of Acadia preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality,

and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations.

Friends of Acadia 43 Cottage Street PO Box 45 Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 207-288-3340 800-625-0321

Tom

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Spring 2009Volume 14 No. 1

A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding CommunitiesA Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Family Fun DayJuly 12, 2009

Friends of Acadia’s annual Family Fun Day has been rescheduled to July 12th, 2009,

rather than the July 19th date that was noted in last issue’s event calendar.

Join us at this celebration of summer in Acadia National Park! For more information, or to register, please contact Theresa Begley at 207-288-3340,

or email [email protected]

Friends of Acadia’sANNUAL MEETING

Thursday, July 9, 20093:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Business Meeting

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cocktails

The Bar Harbor Club55 West Street, Bar Harbor

Celebrate another year of hard work and dedication to a mission that matters!

Learn more about how your contributions help preserve and protect Acadia.

Casual dress.RSVP by June 30 to Terry at 207-288-3340, 800-625-0321, or [email protected]

Parking is limited. If possible, we encourage use of the Island Explorer. Bus schedules: www.exploreacadia.com

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Purchase Your Park Pass!Whether walking, bicycling, driving, or riding the fare-free Island Explorer through the park, all must pay the entrance fee.

The Acadia National Park $20 weekly pass ($10 in the shoulder seasons) and $40 annual pass are available at the following locations in Maine:

Open Year-Round

• ACADIA NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS

(on the Eagle Lake Road/Rte. 233 in Bar Harbor)

Open May – November

• HULLS COVE VISITOR CENTER

• THOMPSON ISLAND INFORMATION STATION

• SAND BEACH ENTRANCE STATION

• BLACKWOODS CAMPGROUND

• SEAWALL CAMPGROUND

• JORDAN POND AND CADILLAC MTN. GIFT SHOPS

• MOUNT DESERT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

• VILLAGE GREEN BUS CENTER

Your park pass purchase makes possible vital maintenance projects in Acadia.

1Friends of Acadia Journal Spring 2009

This year marks the 10th anniversaryof the Island Explorer—the localfare–free shuttle buses that run on

clean–burning propane fuel. Since 1999,these buses have carried more than 2.9 mil-lion people, beating their all–time seasonrecord last year with a whopping 8,000 pas-sengers on a single day in August.

During these last 10 years, more than 1million vehicle trips have been eliminated.Were all those parked cars to line up, theywould create a traffic jam reaching from BarHarbor down around the southern tip ofFlorida, heading past St. Petersburg toYankeetown. Over the years, individuals whochose to ride rather than drive into the parkhave eliminated more than 16 tons ofsmog–causing pollutants and reduced green-house gases by more than 10,000 tons—agreat gift to Acadia and the region.

The Island Explorer is the largest publicbus fleet in the state of Maine. It is alsoarguably the most popular. Last summer, 99%percent of surveyed riders showed theirstrong support for the system, saying that itis “very important” for it to continue.Currently, this efficient and popular serviceoperates out of the parking lot of a local mar-ket on Route 3 in Trenton. In order for it tooperate—and grow—more efficiently, how-ever, it needs a permanent home.

From the earliest planning days, the IslandExplorer partners envisioned a location thatwould include a site for maintenance andoperations, a welcome center to provide com-munity and Acadia National Park informa-tion to visitors, and a place where day visi-tors could easily board the bus and explorethe park before heading back home or to theirnext Maine destination.

Now, the Acadia Gateway Center—the cap-stone of the Island Explorer system—is pro-posed on 150 acres in Trenton. Friends ofAcadia acquired the Crippens Creek proper-ty in 2007, exercising a four–year option onthe land, and selling what was needed for theGateway Center to the Maine Department ofTransportation (MDOT). The center will havea national park–like setting, protecting the

creek, the big heath, and other natural fea-tures. The development will incorporate con-servation, outdoor recreation, and facilitiesthat fit within the character of the area. A fit-ting prelude to Acadia.

Design plans include LEED (Leadership inEnergy & Environmental Design) certifica-tion. That is only the starting point. Partnersare exploring additional opportunities forenergy conservation, efficiency, and innova-tive technological models. Pioneering tech-nology will draw people to the center toexplore and learn about energy efficiency, aswell as renewable energy alternatives.

Earlier this year, the Acadia National ParkAdvisory Commission, composed of stateappointees and citizen representatives fromthe surrounding communities, passed a res-olution urging Acadia National Park and theMDOT to make the Acadia Gateway Centera demonstration project, incorporating ener-gy efficiency and generating and using renew-able energy.

Simply stated, the Acadia Gateway Centershould stand as a model of conservation andenvironmental leadership—a gateway centerworthy of an iconic American destination.

In a time of calls for “shovel ready jobs”and “economic stimulus,” the Acadia GatewayCenter has the potential to be a welcomeresource for the region. Acadia National Parkgenerates more than $130 million of the Stateeconomy each year. As the Gateway Centerreaches its potential, Trenton will find itselfon the map as home to a place where peoplecome to learn about and experience creativeenergy conservation, discover what the regionhas to offer, and hop on the bus to Acadia.

The Gateway Center will bring jobs andcustomers to the area communities.Downeast Transportation, the nonprofit

organization that operates the Island Explorer,employs more than 85 workers, includingseasonal bus drivers, year–round charter busdrivers, office staff, maintenance crew, andothers. Building the first two phases of thecenter will require more than 150 construc-tion jobs, of one– to two–year duration,over the next three to four years.

When you see the snappy white IslandExplorer buses with their distinctive blue andgreen stripes this summer, consider howmuch they benefit the park and surround-ing gateway communities. If you haven’talready ridden one, give it a try. Schedules areonline at www.exploreacadia.com, and avail-able at many businesses and town offices onMount Desert Island.

With ample space for bus maintenance,operations, and visitor information, theAcadia Gateway Center will surely build uponthe great successes of the Island Explorer.

—Marla S. O’Byrne

THE GATEWAY TO ACADIA

President’s Column

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The Acadia Gateway Centershould stand as a model ofconservation and environ-mental leadership.

2 Spring 2009

A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities

FEATURE ARTICLES

8 George B. Dorr Society Lisa Horsch Clark & Susan WiderWhat it means to include Friends in your estate plan.

10 Restoring the Schooner Head Path Terry BegleyThe most recent graduate of the Village Connector Trail program

12 When the Rains Fall Virginia ReamsWhen nature strikes Acadia, park staff get to work

14 Bob Patterson’s First Work on MDI Jack RussellThe story of one of the early architects of Acadia’s trails.

ACTIVITIES/HIGHLIGHTS

7 Memorial – Philip Levin

19 Acadia by the Numbers: Island Explorer

20 Updates

25 Advocacy Corner

26 Book Reviews

DEPARTMENTS

1 President’s Column The Gateway to Acadia Marla S. O’Byrne

3 Superintendent’s View Special Place, Special Partners Sheridan Steele

5 Special People Rita and Mel Timmons Sharon Broom

6 Poem Encounter Brooke Pacy

27 Schoodic Committee Polar Opposites at Schoodic Garry Levin

28 Chairman’s Letter Vision, Opportunity, Action, and Legacy Lili Pew

Spring 2009Volume 14 No.1

BOARD OF DIRECTORSLili Pew, Chair

Edward L. Samek, Vice ChairJoseph Murphy, TreasurerMichael Siklosi, Secretary

Emily BeckGail Cook

Andrew DavisJohn Fassak

Nathaniel FentonDebby LashLinda Lewis

Ed LipkinStan MacDonald

Liz MartinezBarbara McLeod

Joe MinutoloMarla S. O’Byrne

Jeannine RossHoward Solomon

Sherry StreeterNonie Sullivan

Christiaan van HeerdenBill Whitman

Dick WolfBill Zoellick

HONORARY TRUSTEESEleanor Ames

Robert and Anne BassEdward McCormick BlairCurtis and Patricia BlakeRobert and Sylvia Blake

Frederic A. Bourke Jr.Tristram and Ruth Colket

Shelby and Gale DavisDianna Emory

Frances FitzgeraldSheldon Goldthwait

Neva GoodwinPaul and Eileen Growald

John and Polly GuthPaul Haertel

Lee JuddJulia Merck

Gerrish and Phoebe MillikenGeorge J. and Heather Mitchell

Janneke NeilsonNancy Nimick

Jack PerkinsNancy Pyne

Louis RabineauNathaniel P. Reed

Ann R. RobertsDavid Rockefeller

Patricia ScullErwin Soule

Diana Davis SpencerBeth Straus

EMERITUS TRUSTEESW. Kent Olson

Charles R. Tyson Jr.

FRIENDS OF ACADIA STAFFTheresa Begley, Projects & Events Coordinator

Sharon Broom, Development OfficerSheree Castonguay, Accounting & Administrative Associate

Stephanie Clement, Conservation DirectorLisa Horsch Clark, Director of Development

Ian Marquis, Communications CoordinatorDiana R. McDowell, Director of Finance & Administration

Marla S. O’Byrne, PresidentMike Staggs, Office Manager

Friends of Acadia Journal


Ilove to cruise the waters off Mount DesertIsland, observing the spectacular coast-line, examining the contrast between

beautiful cottages and long stretches of unde-veloped shore. Without the combined visionsof Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr, and JohnD. Rockefeller Jr., there would likely be littleundeveloped public land along the shoretoday. And yet, Acadia is still a work inprogress.

Many do not realize that some of Acadia’smost significant resources are not fully pro-tected. In fact, within the park’s legislatedboundary, set in 1986, there are more than1,000 acres of private land. Ultimately, thisland should be protected to complete thepark—or “fill in the holes,” as I like to say.

One such example is the 123–acre BurntPorcupine Island in Frenchman Bay. Theisland is currently undeveloped, appearingas it has for hundreds of years, but that couldchange very quickly. It was the intent ofCongress that Acadia National Park pre-serve all such islands in their natural and sce-nic condition for future public use and enjoy-ment. This mirrors the legislated mandate ofthe National Park Service: to protect nation-ally significant natural and cultural resourcesfor present and future generations, while atthe same time making them available for theenjoyment of all Americans.

There are many other private parcels with-in Acadia’s boundary that the park would like

to protect. Recently, the National Park Servicecompleted the purchase of the former PoolerFarm on Northeast Creek, thanks in large partto a partnership with Friends of Acadia andMaine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT). TheNortheast Creek area has long been a popu-lar recreation spot for canoeing, kayaking,bird watching, hiking, cranberry picking, andeven ice skating. Now, its future is assured.

This joint effort began several years ago,when Friends of Acadia drafted a plan to raisefunds for land protection purchases and workwith MCHT to negotiate with landowners.

For the Pooler Farm, MCHT teamed up withthe Bar Harbor Housing Authority to pur-chase the land, with the idea that the por-tion of land outside park boundaries couldbe utilized for affordable housing. Today, thishousing serves many island residents.

The National Park Service’s role in theprocess was to seek federal funding from theLand and Water Conservation Fund, estab-lished with off-shore oil royalties, and setaside for land acquisition. Thanks to the lead-ership of Senator Collins, this funding wasacquired in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. TheNational Park Service used these funds topurchase the property from MCHT, allowingthe money to be used again for future proj-ects. This is the essence of Friends of Acadia’sand MCHT’s land protection partnership: tohelp Acadia protect key parcels, avoiding fur-ther development inside the park.

I believe that land is the very essence of apark, for it is the land that comprises the nat-ural beauty and recreational potential. Theland is what people come to experience. Forthis reason, protecting holdings inside theboundary of the park must continue to beour number one priority. We cannot expectto preserve the value of Acadia without main-taining the integrity of the land within itsboundaries.

Federal funding for land acquisition hasdeclined over the course of the last decade.Because of this, the role of partners likeFriends of Acadia and Maine Coast HeritageTrust is that much more important to thelong-term protection of Acadia. Because ofthe work that we have done, and continueto do, visitors today enjoy a high-qualityexperience in Acadia. With the help of gen-erous contributions from many donors andvolunteers, we have kept Acadia very spe-cial indeed.

—Sheridan Steele

SPECIAL PLACE, SPECIAL PARTNERS

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Superintendent’s View

Heart of the Matter

“Time and space—time to be alone,

space to move about—these may well become

the great scarcities of tomorrow.“

—Edwin Way Teale

4 Spring 2009 Friends of Acadia Journal

Dear Superintendent Sheridan Steele,

This past October, 103 sixth grade studentsfrom Hampden, Maine took part in theSchoodic Education Adventure program inWinter Harbor. This program was an out-standing educational opportunity for the stu-dents. We are grateful, and want to congrat-ulate you for offering such opportunities toschools in Maine.

The program was amazing, and the stu-dents loved it. Questions like “why can’t welearn like this all the time?” were asked uponour return.

The facility was beautiful, and the staff werewell–trained, not only in the subject matter,but in how to interact with students. RangerKate Petrie has created a program that is inalignment with Maine Learning Results.

Park rangers presented four programs,including: a mock archeological dig; a shore-line geology walk; a mapping project usingGPS units and computers to create digital

maps; and a marine investigation, whichincluded population study by tidal depth.The well–planned and –scheduled trip alsoincluded a night hike, as well as anartist–in–residence experience. Kate Petrie’sprogram not only reached all students, butinspired them to learn more about the naturethat is abundant here in Maine.

The response to this program was so pos-itive that we, as a staff, have made a com-mitment to provide every sixth grade classwith this experience.

On behalf of all the students and faculty ofthe sixth grade class of Reeds Brook MiddleSchool, I would like to thank you for offer-ing such outstanding programs to the youthof Maine.

Sincerely,

Georgiana PieteSixth Grade Science TeacherReeds Brook Middle School

A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities

Friends of Acadia preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding

natural beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive cultural resources of

Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and

future generations.

The Journal is published three times a year.Submissions are welcome.

Opinions expressed are the authors’.

You may write us at43 Cottage Street / PO Box 45

Bar Harbor, Maine 04609or contact us at207-288-3340800-625-0321

www.friendsofacadia.orgemail: [email protected]

EDITORIan Marquis

DESIGNPackard Judd Kaye

PRINTINGPenmor Lithographers

PUBLISHERMarla S. O’Byrne

This Journal is printed on chlorine-process free, recycled, and recyclable stock using soy-based ink.

Spring 2009Volume 14 No.1

Notes from Friends

Friends received this card from the Coluccio family, winners of the 2008Acadia Quest grand prize canoeing package, which was generouslydonated by L.L.Bean.

Shadbush in bloom on Canada Cliffs.Cover photograph by Tom Blagden

Schoodic Education Adventure a Success


In 2006, Rita and Mel Timmons had justbought a condo in Bass Harbor. They hadvisited Acadia often since their first visit

in 1972. Now, they wanted to spend eachsummer near the park.

During the Fourth of July parade, theywatched Friends of Acadia’s Imprecision DrillTeam, always a highlight of the event.Marching with their wheelbarrows, shovels,and rakes, these volunteers of the trails andcarriage roads delighted the crowd.

“Those people are having too much fun.”Rita told Mel, as the couple watched thedrill team going through their paces. “This isa group that we want to join.”

The couple had enjoyed Acadia’s trails foryears. Now, they were looking for a way to giveback. They also wanted to be part of a groupof where fun and fellowship wenthand–in–hand with work on worthy projects.The Friends of Acadia trail volunteers were theperfect fit; Rita and Mel have volunteered withthe crew for the past three summers.

The multi–talented pair has also foundother creative ways to help, and they arequick in responding to any request. When itcomes to preserving and protecting Acadia,no project is too large or too small.

“We’re counting the days until we getback,” Rita said in a recent telephone con-versation. “The FOA community is one of thenicest, most gracious I have ever met, and Ilove to be in the park.”

Mel added, “I’ve traveled the world onbusiness, and I’ve never seen anything morebeautiful than Acadia.” Both Rita and Melwear their Friends of Acadia caps proudly inMaryland, as well as on Mount Desert Island.

Mel, who retired in 2001 after 30 years asan engineer designing power tools for Black& Decker/DeWalt, enjoys working withwood. Last summer, when a foot injury cur-tailed his work on the trails, he asked AcadiaTrails Foreman Gary Stellpflug if he could usehelp in the shop. The answer was a resound-ing “Yes!” Mel spent much of the summer fin-ishing and repairing signs, shaping the large

logs on which signs are posted, re–pointingtrail stakes, and building the anchors thathold signs on carriage roads.

Mel also has contributed his woodwork-ing skills and creativity. In Maryland, heuses wood burning to create special walkingsticks for donors to the local Boy ScoutDistrict, with which he has volunteered formany years. In 2006, Mel visited Lisa HorschClark, director of development, to show herone of his walking sticks and ask whetherFriends could use them as gifts for specialdonors. The answer, again, was a resounding“Yes!” Mel uses wood burning to decorateeach stick with text written especially for thehonoree, and sometimes adds color draw-ings. The result is a one–of–a–kind com-memorative item. He also donated a walk-ing stick to the silent auction at the 2007 and2008 Benefit Galas.

“Woodworking is my hobby, and I enjoydoing it,” Mel said. “And I like the idea ofdoing something for people who do thingsfor FOA.”

Ever willing to help, Rita and Mel both

responded to a different kind of call for vol-unteers last summer. Friends was expand-ing its membership table program, startedin 2007, and needed more help at the JordanPond House location. Membership table vol-unteers engage visitors in conversation aboutAcadia—what it means to them, and howmembership gifts can help Friends preserveand protect the natural beauty of the park.

After hearing about the project from anoth-er trail worker, Rita and Mel quickly offeredto help. Their contagious enthusiasm forAcadia drew in many new members. “Weenjoy talking with people about what we dofor Friends,” Says Rita. “We tell them aboutour trail work, and explain that the park iswell taken care of because of FOA.”

Rita, who worked with special educationchildren in the Baltimore County schoolsbefore retiring, said Acadia “keeps us young.”

“We’re not wealthy, so we want to supportthe park in other ways,” Mel adds. “Becauseof Friends of Acadia, there are many ways forus to help.” ❧

—Sharon Broom

RITA AND MEL TIMMONS

Special People

Rita and Mel Timmons.

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IN MEMORIAMWe gratefully acknowledge gifts

received in memory of:John E. Ainsworth

Samuel David AmitinThe Bakalians

Matthew BaxterDaniel BazinetLucie Blasen

Wilmer BradburyBenjamin Breeze

Virginia Ann BrownGeorge H. BuckCharles E. Bybee

Carol S. CampbellDow L. Case

ChakraGregory Michael Colonis

Marilynn CoombsMarion G. Decker

Ray O. DeihlFrancis W. Dinsmore

Tucker ElliottPersifor FrazerRichard Frost

Jeannette GerbiGilbert Greene

Brenton S. Halsey, Jr.Irma Jantz

Betty S. JohnsonOlin Kettelkamp

Ilmars KnetsDavid Krieger

Joseph B. KrisandaWilliam Lawrence

Barbara K. LeeEric LindermayerMarlene Marburg

Robert McCormickMichelle

Elizabeth MondayRobert Palmer

Mary C. PhilbrickEunice Thompson Orr

George PutnamReona Pyzynski

David L. RabascaGordon RamsdellBayard H. RobertsArnold R. SchultzMarvin ShappiroJeanne B. SharpeClare F. Shepley

Hale Daniel SimonsRobert Smith

Charles A. SoderlundDavid StaintonJudith Steves

Richard G. TalpeyEileen M. Tateo-BeebeRobert Kinsey Taylor

October 1, 2008 – January 31, 2009

“Encounter”

Looking straight past whiskers into eyesround and dark as his, the babysmiles, pats the grizzled jaw, utterssyllables that mean: new nameable delight . . .

But whendid this happen for the first time?

And where?In what cave or on what plaindid wolf or coyote stretch, yawn, gazefrom shallow yellow slits into humancountenance and trust, patiently allowa tiny hand to brush its muzzle?Picture it now; stone age motherlost in pleistocene imaginings whilethe grey brute she would neverdream to touch stands rooted, routedby an utter absence of planin a small strange face . . .

Whatslow art widened the wild eyes, deepenedthem into mirrors of the child’s belief?

—Brooke Pacy

BROOKE PACY taught English and raised four childrenin Maryland, has published feature magazine articlesand poetry, and has a novel out looking for publication.She and her husband spent eight summers sailingbetween Annapolis and the Canadian border and livenow full time in Midcoast Maine.

FRIENDS OF ACADIA POETRY AWARD

3rd Prize

Poem


Memorial

Philip Dane Levin, poetry editor of theFriends of Acadia Journal, died onFebruary 3, 2009. Phil practiced law and

lived in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Among hismany other accomplishments—and inspira-tions—he was a literary editor, mountainclimber, paddler, and poet.

Phil served as editor and poetry editor ofAppalachia, and was a member of the EditorialAdvisory Board of the environmental magazine E.

His poetry and articles on mountaineering and wilderness theory were fea-tured in publications including Appalachia, Earth Ethics, Flyway (formerlyPoet and Critic), Friends of Acadia Journal, Green Mountains Review, Literatureand Belief, Poet Lore, Snowy Egret, and The Southern Poetry Review.

Phil had a close relationship with the wild places of the world, developedon excursions, like a late fall canoeing trip on the Allagash. He climbedmountains in East Africa, Greece, Norway, the Alps, Mexico, and the Rockies.Phil saw the world as a poet, “San Miguel is a courtly mountain, a femininemountain, something out of a medieval tapestry or perhaps a conquistador’shomesick reveries” (excerpted from his essay, “Mountaineering in Mexico.”)

Phil and his wife, Eleanor, began their relationship with Mount DesertIsland more than 25 years ago. This serendipitous acquaintance brought ustwo imaginative, gentle, and inspiring friends who shared their uniquevisions of Acadia.

Phil was the creator of Friends’ Nature Poetry Competition, which hasfostered the relationship between words and nature in these pages.

In memory of Phil, we gratefully share, once again, his poem“Climbing Beechcliff.”

Climbing Beechcliff

all skin and bones

this mountain

like the hollow that separates

the hunched–up shoulder blades

of the very old

picking my way across

the ancient beaver dam

I have lost count of the times

we have done this before

along the lake

up the eroded switchbacks

sutured with ladders

a forest without sun

that struggles briefly

and gives out

through all our ceremonials

age is a falling away of things

we climb deliberately now

the columns of our acquaintances

no longer stretched in front

or to the rear

the silence fills

with our own breathing

emptied of expectations

the view drops off

down to the lake

miniaturizing and expanding

a clear view of water

widening as we ascend

and in the unexpected way

that mountains have

as if we had received a sign

suddenly the air

ignites with birds

a migration

of black–throated green warblers

settles excitedly above us

with a pilgrim’s mute persistence

we climb up into their benediction

(reprinted from the Friends of Acadia Journal, Summer 1996)

POETIC MEMORY

Philip Dane Levin1931 – 2009

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George B. Dorr Society

The George B. Dorr Society of Friends of Acadia was established in 2005 to recognize thosemembers and friends who have made future provisions for Friends in their estate plans, regard-less of value. Such provisions may be made in the form of bequests, trusts, annuities, life insur-ance, or other means.

The Dorr Society honors George Bucknam Dorr, a gentleman, scholar, and lover of nature whosededication to preserving Mount Desert Island helped create Acadia National Park.

For additional information, please contact Lisa Horsch Clark at 207-288-3340.

REMEMBERING VIRGINIA LLOYD Lisa Horsch Clark

On December 26, 2006, Friends ofAcadia lost a dear friend and bene-factor: Virginia “Vidy” Lloyd of

Berryville, Virginia. After a brief illness, Mrs.Lloyd died peacefully in her home at LongPond Farm.

As a child, Mrs. Lloyd would travel withher mother from her family home in ClarkCounty, Virginia, to visit her grandmother,Mrs. Alexander Mackay–Smith, in SealHarbor. When she married Stacy B. Lloyd in1981, they combined their love for AcadiaNational Park, Mount Desert Island, and car-riage driving, and made a home together athis family’s summer cottage in NortheastHarbor. Even while in Virginia, they thoughtof Acadia often—so much that they namedtheir farm Long Pond Farm after one of theirfavorite driving spots on the island.

Horses were always an integral part ofVirginia’s life. In the early years, she was a foxhunter. Later in life, she and her husbandwere avid carriage drivers, both in Virginiaand on Acadia’s carriage roads. The Lloydswere also sailors, and spent many yearsexploring the coasts of both Maine and theVirgin Islands.

Members of Friends of Acadia almost sinceits inception, the Lloyds supported a varietyof programs at Friends, including the CarriageRoads Campaign, Acadia Trails Forever,membership, and the annual benefit.

After Mr. Lloyd died in 1994, Mrs. Lloydcontinued her support of Friends. But itwasn’t until much later that the full extent ofthat support would be realized.

In early 2007, I received a letter fromWilliam B. Watkins III, Mrs. Lloyd’s cousin

in Virginia, notifying us that we were to bethe beneficiaries of a portion of Mrs. Lloyd’sestate. Mrs. Lloyd had begun her estate plan-ning many years ago. As she found new phil-anthropic interests, she continued to add newcharities and nonprofits. The charities shesupported were are broad as her pursuits inAcadia. She drove for FISH, delivering eld-erly patients to medical appointments. Shesupported the Clarke County Visiting NursesAssociation, Help With Housing, and theClarke County Humane Foundation. She wasinstrumental in the creation of a new coun-ty animal shelter in Virginia. In Maine, shesupported Friends of Acadia conservationpartner Maine Coast Heritage Trust, alongwith many other local nonprofits. One of herlast charitable acts was placing her belovedLong Pond Farm under conservation ease-ment protection.

Not knowing Mrs. Lloyd personally, Iturned to those who knew her well to heartheir stories of her kindness and generosity.One former Friends of Acadia staff member,Bonnie Gilfillan, has fond memories of a timewhen the Lloyds shared their passion for car-riage driving with her and her children.

When I spoke with Mrs. Lloyd’s cousin,Diana Watkins White, she told me ofVirginia’s final trip to Maine, in the summerof 2006. “She was thrilled to be there,” saidMrs. White, who later reminded me of Mrs.Lloyd’s diligence in preparing her final estateplans. With professional guidance, she struc-tured her estate in such a way as to providethe utmost support for her charities, whilealso avoiding taxes. “It is a loss for the world,”remembered White. “She was probably the

most generous person I have ever known,”From Virginia, friends and family shared

many stories, all with the common thread ofwhat a good woman she was. They said ofher, “Vidy made us all want to be better peo-ple.” “..Truly an angel sent among us.” “Herability to identify unmet needs of everydescription was uncanny and she would qui-etly provide the appropriate remedy.”

As a quiet member of the George B. DorrSociety, Mrs. Lloyd made a monumentalbequest to Friends of Acadia. We think shewould be pleased to know that her gift willhelp us maintain her beloved carriage roads,inspire volunteers to donate their time andenergy to working in the park, and protect theland she loved to explore from her carriage.On behalf of current and future generations,we appreciate her foresight and generosity.

LISA HORSCH CLARK is the director ofdevelopment and donor relations for Friendsof Acadia.


Sometime in the 1980s:Mom was born in Maine, and in her heart she never left. So why

did it take her thirty years to introduce me to her favorite places there?She and Dad had moved to New Mexico in the 1950s, and for somereason Maine never showed up in our vacation plans. Perhaps therewas just too much of Colorado and California nearby.

But by the 1980s, our Ellsworth, Guilford, and Surry relativeswere aging, and I was determined to have Mom show me aroundthis mythical place called Maine. On the drive up from Boston, Iremember being angry with Mother for not taking me there as achild. I was smacked with the beauty. Imagine growing up withsuch amazing trees, ocean and lakes, shorebirds, and animals I’dnever encountered. All that Green. Mom, why did you wait solong to take me there?

And then, the first visit to Acadia National Park. I was alreadyin love with Maine—already hooked on the shore, the art, and thepeople—did I mention the food? Then, this new adventure on thePark Loop Road landed in my lap. Each stop was peppered withMom’s stories of prior trips and memories, and each vista drew mein. How could she ever have left this place for the desert?

Again and again throughout the 1990s:Mom and I began making annual fall trips to Maine. Her health

was declining, and these trips really helped raise her spirits. Westayed at our favorite inn in Blue Hill, and sometimes I drove tothe Park twice in a single day. I might do an early hike on theGorham Mountain Trail, leaving time to return to Blue Hill,gather up Mom, and take her to Schoodic, her favorite part ofthe park. Another day might bring a morning hike on North orSouth Bubble, and then the Loop Road with Mom in the after-noon. She even managed the Great Head Trail with me once ortwice. She fell a few times, but she didn’t care; this was her land,and these were her rocks.

January 2003:Dad’s death jolted me into action

on several fronts. I had to settle hisaffairs for Mom, who by this time wasnot well enough to do so. I also hadto make certain she was provided for.And the whole estate settlement, care-giving, put-my-life-on-hold experi-ence showed me that I had to get myown legal and financial affairs in bet-ter shape.

I had also noticed Mother and Dad’s provisions for charities intheir trust, and made a note to ask my attorney how to do that inmy own estate planning.

Mid 2003:I had several meetings with the attorney, and it turned out that

charitable giving was simple. In the case of my retirement savingsplans from prior employers, I filled out a simple form that listedthe charity as my beneficiary, or remainder beneficiary. I specifiedsome outright bequests to charities in my will, and those sameorganizations were also included in a Charitable Remainder Trustthat will benefit them outright after my husband and I die.

Early 2004:It was nice to be able to tell Mom that Friends of Acadia will get

some help from me when I’m gone. She and I had a good ten-year’s worth of adventures there: Waves crossing the road nearSchoodic Point. Popovers. Being the only people at Bubble Pondwhen a fox came up to say hello. Popovers. Trying to find thosedarn metal bird markers on the Schoodic Head Trail after dark.Popovers.

January 2009:Mom’s gone now too. I don’t get to Maine very often, but I devour

every issue of the Friends of Acadia Journal. I worry about the eco-resort. I jot down tips from the rangers about things to do on mynext visit. I love reading the poetry. I sit vicariously with GeorgiaMunsell at the membership table.

I think it would please Mother to know that a part of what Iinherited from her and Dad will now flow through my trust, andeventually help to support some of our favorite places—or evenfoxes—in the Park.

It’s not direct financial help now; it’s help for later. But maybesomeone else will read this little account and also decide to do whatI did. And that’s help for now.

GEORGE B. DORR SOCIETY: A DONOR’S DIARY

Susan Wider

George B. Dorr Society member Susan Wider and her mother, MaryCunningham Wider, in 1997, enjoying one of many meals they sharedtogether at the Jordan Pond House.

Stacy and Vidy Lloyd with horses, King and Star, and dogs, Buster and Sunny.

10 Spring 2009

This summer, Friends of Acadia andAcadia National Park will inauguratethe Schooner Head Path. Once aban-

doned, the path will now be completed by theaddition of a new village connector trail. Therestoration of this 100–year old portion ofthe island’s historic trail system was made pos-sible by the generosity of private landowners,Acadia Trails Forever donors, Acadia NationalPark, community partners, and a $50,000grant from the Fore River Foundation, madein honor of Kate Davis Quesada.

Completion of the path will fulfill one ofthe important objectives of the Acadia TrailsForever program, launched in 2000, whichcalled for the creation of five village connec-tor trails and reconstruction of up to 10 milesof abandoned trails. Among the village con-nector trails already completed are the AcadiaRidge Trail, Giant Slide Trail, Great MeadowLoop, and Western Mountain Connector trail.Reconstructed abandoned trails include theHomans Path, Sargent East Cliffs Trail (for-merly known as the Jordan Cliffs Trail), andthe Penobscot Mountain Trail.

The Village Connector Trails system playsan important part in the cultural and historiclandscape of Mount Desert Island. At onetime, trails connected the island’s villages tolands that are now part of Acadia. Many ofthese trails have been lost over time to eitherdevelopment or disrepair. Friends’ VillageConnector Trails program works to re–estab-lish these historic connections by creatingenjoyable walking paths, allowing individu-als to access the park on foot from nearbytowns and neighborhoods.

Reconstructing abandoned trails and cre-ating connector trails is part of the park’s man-agement plan as well, says Gary Stellpflug,trails foreman at Acadia.

“There is nothing like working on therestoration of a historic trail,” he says. “I trulylove all the work—like uncovering old sec-tions of wall, finding old culverts, and sur-

mising why there was a ‘zig’ instead of a ‘zag.’I enjoy working with the past to create for thefuture, and the restoration of the SchoonerHead Path is a perfect example of this.”

Until last year, the Schooner Head Path wasa faintly-visible trail running parallel to theSchooner Head Road, south of Bar Harbor.Built sometime around 1901, the path con-nected the Compass Harbor home of GeorgeDorr, known as the Father of Acadia, to theBear Brook area, and later to Schooner Head,but had since become abandoned.

When the trail is fully restored, hikers willbe able to walk from the village of Bar Harbor,via sidewalks, to Compass Harbor. There, thepath will continue to the Schooner HeadOverlook, where hikers may travel on toeither Great Head or Sand Beach. Currently,the path also connects to the Precipice park-ing area via Murphy’s Lane, with further plansto connect to the Orange & Black Path (for-merly known as the East Face Trail) at thesteps at Highs Seas, and potentially furtherstill to the Bear Brook Trail on the north ridgeof Champlain Mountain.

The new Schooner Head Path would nothave been possible without several commu-nity partnerships. Because the path travers-es private property, Acadia National Parklands, and also land owned by the JacksonLaboratory, it was important that everyoneinvolved with and affected by the project bein agreement. Friends of Acadia and AcadiaNational Park worked with both the Town ofBar Harbor and the Department ofEnvironmental Protection to get the neces-sary permits. The actual construction of thepath was performed in large part by a cadreof volunteers. In this case, it literally took avillage to build this village connector trail.

Forming a successful partnership with TheJackson Laboratory was crucial to the successof the Schooner Head Path. Close to one–halfmile of the trail is on Jackson Lab property,including the remains of a well–defined his-toric trail bed. John Fitzpatrick, senior direc-tor of facilities at the lab, worked with bothFriends and the park from the initial plan-ning stages.

Acadia Trails Forever

FRIENDS AND PARTNERS RESTORE

THE HISTORIC SCHOONER HEAD PATH

Terry Begley

Path map from 1903. The location of the SchoonerHead Path is indicated by the green line.


An old post card depicting the Schooner Head Path.


“From both a personal and professionalstandpoint, it was exciting to be a part of theestablishment of the connector trail projectlinking the village of Bar Harbor to SandBeach,” Said Fitzpatrick. “Rarely do projectsthat bring together often competing priori-ties between municipalities, private landown-ers, volunteers, and non–profit advocates endwith such great results.”

Fitzpatrick notes that the lab welcomed theopportunity to collaborate on the successfulrestoration of the Schooner Head Path.

“Thanks to the completion of the project,our employees are now provided with safepassage between our campus and downtown,while also being granted immediate access tomiles of scenic hiking trails within the park.”

Property owners Paul and Elizabeth Paradisare among several landowners abutting theSchooner Head Path who recognize boththe historic importance of the path and itsbenefits to their neighborhood. Overall, theyhave been pleased with the outcome.

“Most of the problems we have had areminor, and I think in time they will workthemselves out.” Paul states. “It’s more abouteducating the public about leashing andcleaning up after their dogs, or staying on thetrail rather than meandering through people’sback yards.”

Friends addressed these concerns by plant-ing trees along the trail to create a natural pri-vacy screen, and posting educational signageon the trails to help the public understand how

they can use the trail and leave no trace. Thesuccess of the project is largely due to the will-ingness of landowners like Paul and BethParadis to help develop solutions that work.They have found the experience a positive one,and appreciate the efforts of both organizationsto address any issues that have arisen.

Capping off this collaboration are the hun-dreds of volunteers who physically madethe trail happen.

“We had the Acadia Youth ConservationCorps, Maine Conservation Corps,Appalachian Mountain Club volunteers,Landmark Volunteers, Jackson Lab volunteers,and of course Friends of Acadia volunteercrews all working side by side with Acadia’strails and road crews.” Stellpflug remarks.“There were so many volunteers on the proj-ect, coordinating the equipment at the variouslocations became a real physical challenge.”

Howard Solomon, a Friends of Acadia vol-unteer crew leader, adds, “It’s very exciting tohelp rehabilitate a path that offers anotherway to hike into the park from downtownBar Harbor. The junction of the SchoonerHead Path and Murphy’s Lane opens up anew opportunity to walk through beautifulwoods to the Loop Road near the Precipice.What more could anyone ask for?”

When asked about the project, I usuallystart with a brief history of how the commu-nity came together to work with Friends. Butthen, I find myself quoting Gary:

“The Schooner Head Path, with the part-nerships and efforts it took to restore it, ispretty amazing. Just look at the map and letthem hikin’ boots go free . . .” ❧

TERRY BEGLEY is the projects and eventscoordinator for Friends of Acadia.

Volunteers secure portions of a bridge during construction.

An in-progress look at Jeff’s Bridge, at site 3 on the Schooner Head Path.

Volunteers from Jackson Lab work on the Schooner Head Path shortly after Tropical Storm Hanna.


Stewardship

The rain fell hard—not for a long time,but long enough. By the time it hadpassed on September 7, 2008, Tropical

Storm Hanna had dropped nearly eight inch-es of rain on Bar Harbor and parts of AcadiaNational Park. In its wake, the storm left failedculverts, washed-out roads and trails, andstanding—or running—water. Months later,the park is still recovering from its effects.Natural events like Tropical Storm Hanna chal-lenge park staff to maintain roads and trails ina safe, usable condition for park visitors.

Typically Mount Desert Island sees multi-ple storms and other natural events eachyear that require a concerted repair effort.Some are not unexpected—fierce wind stormsthat drop shallow-rooted trees; freeze/thawcycles that loosen rocks along cliffs and causerockslides on the Park Loop Road. Others aresurprises (an earthquake? in Bar Harbor?).Over the past few years, Tropical Storm Hannaand the October 2006 earthquake werenotable for their substantial impacts on parkroads and trails. Hanna’s heavy rains forced

the closure of every unpaved road in thepark due to failed culverts and crossings,washouts, and severe rutting. Seal Cove Roadalone lost 400 cubic yards of road surface—up to three feet deep in some places. Therain washed away 50 yards of the popularOcean Path and dislodged four steppingstones, weighing 1,500 pounds each, at the

north end of the Tarn. In 2006, the 4.2-mag-nitude earthquake dropped boulders on thePark Loop Road, obliterated portions of theEast Face Trail (now called the Orange &Black Path), twisted iron railings and ruinedbridges on the Precipice Trail, and damagedmany other trails.

Events like these are beyond the normalwear and tear expected on the 45 miles ofcarriage roads and 125 miles of historic trailsthat crisscross the park. The roads and trailsare carefully crafted to withstand high trafficand adverse weather conditions, but theyrequire regular maintenance to remain ingood condition. When a storm brings highwinds and heavy rains, park staff hold theirbreath. When the clouds lift, staff head outto assess the damage. Where is it? How badis it? Does it present a safety hazard? Andthen: What will it take to fix the damage?How long will it take? When should we start?They take all this information into accountand create a plan.

Safety is the first priority. Areas deemed toodangerous to enter are closed to the publicuntil they can be made safe. After the earth-quake, park staff closed the Park Loop Roadfrom Sieur de Monts Spring to the entrancestation until protection rangers could climbthe cliffs and knock down any loose rock.The more visitor use an area sees, the morelikely it is that even relatively minor damagewill create a serious safety hazard. Blown-down trees near the Jordan Pond House, forexample, require a quick response to ensurevisitor safety—and protect surrounding veg-etation from quick-forming social trails.Sometimes, the damage is so severe that con-ditions are too dangerous for park staff tobegin repairs. After the earthquake, the parkbrought in geologists to analyze the stabilityof the Orange & Black Path rockslide. Trailworkers began repairs, but more rocks camedown, bringing work to a halt. The geologistsreturned to take another look, and only whenthey deemed the area safe did work resume.

Once safety is assured, park staff next con-sider public use.

“We usually focus first on areas where clo-sures cause the most disruption for visitors.”says Acadia Roads Foreman Alan Farnsworth.In the case of Tropical Storm Hanna, this wasthe Park Loop Road, followed by the carriage

Ginny Reams

WHEN THE SKIES LET LOOSE

Each year, volunteers con-tribute thousands of hours,keeping culverts and ditchesfree of debris and clearingbrush and downed trees.

Trail damage caused by the 2006 earthquake.


roads near Wildwood Stables/Jordan Pondand Eagle Lake. Once staff completed theserepairs, they moved on to quick fixes andthen the more serious challenges like SealCove Road.

“When we went to assess the damage [onthe Seal Cove Road], the initial shock wassurprising.” says Farnsworth. “We thoughtthere were a couple of washouts, but we gotin to find major damage.” Once crews beganwork on Seal Cove Road, the repairs took twosolid weeks using all available employees.

Sometimes, the damage is so severe thatdespite disruptions to visitor use, repairs sim-ply cannot be made quickly. More than twoyears later, the trail crew is still at work repair-ing the Orange & Black Path. The rockslidecaused by the earthquake scoured clean morethan 200 feet of Champlain Mountain’s eastface. This required rebuilding some areas, cut-ting a temporary bench (a flattened tread cutacross a slope) through the main slide, andsetting log steps. Some of these repairs aretemporary, as the area continues to settle.

“In another ten years or so, the crew willhave to go back to add more permanent fea-

tures, such as stone steps that maintain thehistoric character of the old trail.” says TrailsForeman Gary Stellpflug. “In the meantime,however, we hope to complete repairs andreopen the trail sometime in 2009.”

Repair projects like the Orange & BlackPath and Seal Cove Road are a big commit-ment. The park must redirect staff and fund-ing from regularly scheduled work in orderto complete the unplanned repairs.Maintenance staff work closely with otherpark divisions to finish these repairs: Theroads crew hauls materials and operates heavymachinery. Protection rangers perform back-country patrols to assess damage, initiate tem-porary closures, and help cut fallen trees.Resource management staff work to revege-tate damaged areas. Interpretation staff getthe message out to visitors.

Friends of Acadia and other volunteers alsoplay a big role in preventing and repairingdamage. Each year, volunteers contributethousands of hours, keeping culverts andditches free of debris and clearing brush anddowned trees. These efforts allow stormwaters to flow where intended when the rains

fall, rather than damaging the trails and car-riage roads.

Repair efforts are expensive. Often, mate-rials left over from previous projects providethe means to complete repairs.

“Without [surplus] materials, we couldnever have repaired the six-figure damage fromTropical Storm Hanna.” Farnsworth says.

When damage is particularly severe, thepark applies for storm funding from theNational Park Service. Such funds are not aguarantee, but when received, help to replen-ish supplies and fund larger reconstructionprojects.

This spring, with the major repair workfrom storms and other natural events behindthem, maintenance staff and trail crews aimto complete the yearly tree clean-up. Then,it’s on to all the regular maintenance thatkeeps the trails and carriage roads in goodcondition for visitors.

That is, until the next big event comesour way! ❧

GINNY REAMS is writer-editor at AcadiaNational Park.

The Great Meadow Loop, part of the VillageConnector Trail system, experienced erosion to alesser extentThe Seal Cove Road, shown here, suffered severe washouts in 2008 due to Hurricane Hanna.


Patrons of the Jordan Pond House willknow the photograph: A gentleman inhis sixties surveys the dining room,

hands at rest on lapels in the manner of18th–century portraits. Those who knew himcan imagine this composed man offeringadvice in a calm voice on the right moss fora garden recess, how to feather a paddlestroke in wilderness waters, a fresh way formorning light to flood a room–to–be, or apath to compose the needs of town and park.The man is Robert Whiteley Patterson,known to many as a leading architect of20th–century coastal Maine. Less known ishis earlier contribution—to composingnature and design in our park.

Patterson was enabled by the Acadianvisionaries. Born in 1905, he was just fouryears younger than the conserving collabo-ration of Eliot and Dorr, and the Harvardfrom which he graduated in 1927 was stillthe University of President Eliot less thantwenty years after his retirement. Pattersoncame to Mount Desert Island in 1934 in timeto participate in Superintendent Dorr’s lastfull decade of park development when hejoined New Deal resources and private phi-lanthropy. John D. Rockefeller Jr., the prin-cipal source of that philanthropy, was then atwork on his grand bequest of lands, roads,and bridges when Patterson arrived. Pattersonwould design and build for Rockefeller’s chil-dren, and for many islanders for whom parkroads were and are a way to work.

From the same good New England soil asEliot and Dorr, Patterson was raised in mod-est comfort in the well–wooded village ofWayland, Massachusetts, only a short ridefrom Boston. His father died when he wastwo, but a strong mother and aunt filled someof the loss, and older brothers guided himthrough the woods and waters near his town,nurturing the future conservationist. Soonenough, the tall, young Noble andGreenough man straight–arrowed throughacademic and athletic achievement toHarvard in 1923.

There Patterson found his professional pas-

sion in architecture, returning to the GraduateSchool of Design in 1932 to specialize inlandscape architecture. He had already foundpersonal happiness with Barbara Brown, alsoof Wayland. They wed in 1931 when he was26 and she 19, and it was she who firstbrought him to Mount Desert and Acadia.The couple enjoyed a summer stay in 1932with her relatives who were second–genera-tion rusticators in Southwest Harbor.

The island drew him back. In January of1934, in the depths of the GreatDepression—and into a howling blizzard—the Pattersons and their baby daughter drovenorth to Maine, where they made their homefor the next 54 years, save two away duringWorld War II. Soon employed on the staff ofthe new Civilian Conservation Corps campin Ellsworth, Patterson was enlisted for island

projects, many within the expanding parkwhere the young designer’s skills were awelcome resource for Benjamin Breeze, thepark’s landscape architect.

One of Patterson’s first assignments wasto conceive an expansion and integration ofthe Beech Cliff and Beech Mountain trail sys-tem, building on the achievements of theSouthwest Harbor Village ImprovementAssociation. A parking lot and short trail upto the cliffs were roughed in by island menemployed by the New Deal CWA programlate in 1933, but heavy snows had haltedthem. In the spring of 1934, Bob Patterson’sCCC lads finished this work and built thetrail loop around the cliffs, working to hisdesign that “one of the most importantrequirements in stone work here is that itlooks harmonious and unobtrusive in its sur-roundings of beautifully lichened ledges.” The29–year old designer wanted the Beech Cliffloop trail to be “safe and passable, but noth-ing more, leaving the route as unchanged aspossible.” It remains so after 75 years.

Young Patterson’s design aesthetic alsoshone in the challenging Perpendicular Trailup the rugged east side of Mansell, also begunin 1934. “The requirements of the trail arefirst scenic beauty, either in distant views ornearby forest stand; second, an ultimateobjective point climaxing the hike; and third,there must be embodied in the trail itself anatural change of pace—for example, fromsteep rock climbs to level moss or needle sur-faced walks.” The ultimate objective of hisdesign was achieved in full only in 2007,when the Acadia trails crew finished theupper section with an aesthetic worthy ofPatterson.

The Perpendicular Trail clearly engaged allthe skills of the young artist, who saw theneed for strength, delicacy, and design againstdespoilers. In one section, “the problem [was]one of securing substantial steps as securityagainst heaving by the ice and frost action,or a rugged coping of a size defying move-ment or dislodgement by any one or two indi-viduals’ efforts.” In other sections, his attempt

History

BOB PATTERSON’S FIRST WORK ON MDIJack Russell

Photo of Robert Patterson that hangs in Jordan

Pond House.

From the beginning, he wasa man of vision, committed toconservation and mindful ofthe frailty of the trails hisCCC crews created.


would be to “soften and naturalize [the] rockysections by clothing ragged and bare surfaceswith moss and mats of rock fern, such asgrow for the most part throughout the talusslope.” As the authors of Pathmakers wouldobserve more than 70 years later, in a tellingbreak from their usually austere style, “Thetrail is one of the most highly constructedon the island . . . [the] views are grand to thesoutheast, but the stonework steals the show.”

By 1935, Bob Patterson had become thefull–time assistant to Ben Breeze at AcadiaNational Park. From the beginning, he wasa man of vision, committed to conservationand mindful of the frailty of the trails his CCCcrews created. As he would soon advise hissupervisors, there is a “’fundamental princi-ple [that] areas used by the public (unlessmost carefully planned for several decades oftime), tend to destroy themselves for the par-ticular park purpose for which they are used.”

Did George B. Dorr hear the distinctivevoice of his designer? Documentation doesnot confirm this, but since the Pattersonsrented a home on Livingston Road very near

the old Park Headquarters at Park and LowerMain, it seems likely that the vigorous octo-genarian enjoyed good talks with this youngpark employee, a Harvard man and properBostonian who shared Dorr’s passion forplants and lived just a few steps away.

Robert W. Patterson’s future, however, wasonly a few steps more in another direction,toward the shore at Reef Point Gardens, andinto history. His long professional associationwith Beatrix Farrand and commitment to hervision led to many commissions, and to hisessential roles in honoring the decisions ofFarrand’s final years, and saving the plantsof Reef Point for their lasting life at the AsticouAzalea and Thuya Gardens, created by hisgood friend Charles K. Savage.

The young Bob Patterson who came tothe portal of that future had already found anisland aesthetic while high on Acadian slopes,directing young CCC men from across Maine.Lessons learned working on the Beech Cliffand Mansell trails as he began his decadeshere helped guide the hand that gave us morethan 40 MDI houses, grand and modest, for

frugal townsmen, as well as Astors andRockefellers. The public service he began inthe park would lead to many of our ameni-ties, from wading pools and wharfs to land-scaping for schools and churches. Thethoughtful young park designer wouldbecome a wise counsel for both park andtowns on the long path to recovery after the1947 fire. The lover of things wild, drawn toAcadia in his twenties, would found theMaine Natural Resources Council, and fur-ther conservation of our northern wilderness.

Friends of the Acadia that Bob Pattersoncherished might pause at his portrait on theirnext visit to the Jordan Pond House, to reflecton the unsigned works that the young artistcontributed at the beginning of his career onour island. ❧

JACK RUSSELL and his wife, Sandy Wilcox,live at the north end of Echo Lake. He thankshis neighbor Robert Whiteley Patterson Jr.(Lee) for generous guidance on this essay.They are now, as once their fathers were, goodfriends.

1934 photograph of Bob Patterson (front row, far right) with the staff at Camp Braun, the CCC camp in Ellsworth.


ACADIA FOREVER

Estate Planning—Supporting the Mission of Friends of Acadia

Preserving and protecting the outstanding natural beauty,

ecological vitality, and cultural distinctiveness of

Acadia National Park and the surrounding communities

is a wise investment.

And, it’s simple. Add only one of the following sentences

to your will, or a codicil:

I hereby give ______% of my residuary estate to Friends of Acadia, Inc., a Maine charitable corporation,

PO Box 45, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, for its charitable purposes.

I hereby bequeath $______ to Friends of Acadia, Inc., a Maine charitable corporation, PO Box 45,

Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, for its charitable purposes.

I hereby devise the following property to Friends of Acadia, Inc., a Maine charitable corporation,

PO Box 45, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, for its charitable purposes: [legal description of the property].

For more information, call the office at 207-288-3340 or 800-625-0321,

email the director of development at [email protected],

or visit our website at www.friendsofacadia.org.

Looking for the perfect gift idea fora birthday or anniversary?

Introduce someone you care about toAcadia with a gift membership in

Friends of Acadia.

Please send a special $40 gift package* to:

___________________________Name

______________________________________________________Address

_________________________________________________________________________________City, State, Zip Code, & Telephone Number

Message you would like on the card:_________________________________________________________________________________* Gift package includes:

• Greetings from the Heart of Acadia, a packet of seven lovely note cards designedespecially for Friends of Acadia, featuringphotographs of Acadia National Park.

• A one-year subscription to the Friends ofAcadia Journal, published three timesannually

• A Friends of Acadia window decal

• The satisfaction of knowing that membership in Friends of Acadia helpsto preserve the remarkable beauty ofAcadia National Park

To give a gift membership, simply mail theabove form, along with a check made payable toFriends of Acadia, in the envelope provided or

visit www.friendsofacadia.org.All contributions to Friends of Acadia are used to preserve,protect, and promote stewardship of the outstanding natu-ral beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive culturalresources of Acadia National Park and the surroundingcommunities. All gifts are tax deductible.

Friends of AcadiaP.O. Box 45 • Bar Harbor, ME 04609

www.friendsofacadia.org207-288-3340 • 800-625-0321

Give the Gift of Acadia

��

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October 1, 2008—January 31, 2009

New Members

We are pleased to welcome our newest friends:


FORESIGHT & GENEROSITY

WAYS YOU CAN GIVE“One of the greatest satisfactions in doing any

sound work for an institution, a town, or a city, or for the nation,

is that good work done for the public lasts, endures through

the generations; and the little bit of work that any individual of

the passing generation is enabled to do gains the association

with such collective activities an immortality of its own.”

—Charles W. Eliot, Sieur de Monts Celebration, 1916

Please consider these options for providing essential financial support to Friends of Acadia:

Gift of Cash or Marketable Securities. Mail a check, payable to Friends of Acadia, to PO Box 45,

Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, or visit www.friendsofacadia.org/annualfund to make a secure gift using your credit card. Call or visit the website

for instructions on giving appreciated securities, which can offer income tax benefits as well as savings on capital gains.

Gift of Retirement AssetsDesignate Friends of Acadia as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k),

or other retirement asset, and pass funds to Friends of Acadia free of taxes.

Gift of Real PropertyGive real estate, boats, artwork, or other real property to

Friends of Acadia and you may avoid capital gains in addition to providing much needed funds for the park.

Gift Through a Bequest in Your WillAdd Friends of Acadia as a beneficiary in your will.

For more information, contact Lisa Horsch Clark at 207-288-3340 or 800-625-0321,

email [email protected], or visit our website at www.friendsofacadia.org/join.

“Acadia is in our blood”PO Box 52

Bar Harbor, Maine 04609

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E-mail: [email protected]


10Seasons of Island Explorer operation

2,929,941Total ridership since program began in 1999

25Number of buses running on MDI

1Number of buses running at Schoodic

1,083,382Number of automobile trips to MDI

eliminated from 1999 to 2008

113Days of operation in 2008

10,258Tons of greenhouse gases reduced since 1999

61Percentage of riders surveyed who reported

purchasing a park entry permit

17Percentage of bus riders who have used the

Island Explorer for five or more years

The Island Explorer carried405,142 passengers in 2008. Everyyear, Friends of Acadia estimates apseudo-traffic jam that would becreated if one placed all the carsand RVs back to back that IslandExplorer passengers chose not todrive. Each year, this figure isadded to the cumulative total to seehow far the traffic jam stretches.This year, we estimated that anoth-er 295 miles would have beenadded, taking the traffic jam 2,268miles from Bar Harbor, to theFlorida Keys, and back up the westcoast of Florida, past St. Petersburgto Yankeetown, Florida. The IslandExplorer will receive its 3 millionthpassenger in 2009. Our purpose...is supporting yours.

Pete

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ACADIA BY THE NUMBERSRIDING THE ISLAND EXPLORER

2,268 MILE TRAFFIC JAM


Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

With the advent of the new President andadministration comes a new Secretary of theDepartment of the Interior. In January, KenSalazar was unanimously confirmed as the50th Secretary of the Interior. A fifth gener-ation Coloradan, Salazar has been a farmerand rancher; worked for eleven years as awater and environmental lawyer; createdthe Youth in Natural Resources program inColorado; authored a state constitutionalamendment to create Great OutdoorsColorado, to conserve and protect Coloradolands; and most recently served as Colorado’s35th U.S. Senator. In 2008, then SenatorSalazar co–sponsored, with Maine’s SenatorCollins, a Centennial Initiative bill for ournational parks.

As Secretary of the Interior, we will look toSalazar to set a standard for enlightened lead-ership of the National Park Service (NPS),

among other agencies, beginning with theselection of an able and dedicated NPSDirector. Secretary Salazar has stated a com-mitment to early priorities that include:reviewing, for possible revision, “midnightactions” enacted in the last days of the Bushadministration; increasing allocation of oiland gas royalties from federal lands to boostthe Land and Water Conservation Fund;restoring integrity to the Interior Department,expanding youth programs, and protectingconservation systems. These are prioritieswhich we welcome and support for thelong–term protection of our national parks.

Bill Green Interviews AWTAVolunteer

Bill Green of WCSH6 met with members ofthe Acadia Winter Trails Association volunteercrew on January 20th. Green interviewedDavid Kief (pictured), one of sixteen volun-teers who regularly groom the carriage roadsfor cross-country skiers. Thanks to the pris-tine snow conditions and many hours ofgrooming provided by the volunteers, the ski-ing conditions were great this winter in Acadia

2009 Acadia Winter Use Survey

If you were out cross country skiing, snow-mobiling, hiking, or ice fishing in Acadia thiswinter, you may have been asked to fill outa winter recreational use survey. Josh Carroll,assistant professor of recreation managementand policy at the University of NewHampshire, worked with Acadia NationalPark staff and volunteers to implement thesurvey. The study is the park’s first statisticalglance into winter use since the mid–1980s,when year–round visitation research wasdone for the park’s General ManagementPlan. Professor Carroll received partial fund-

Updates

Help Keep Friends GreenAs an organization, Friends of

Acadia is committed to being a

responsible steward of our nat-

ural resources.

With that in mind, we would

like to offer all of our members

the chance to choose how they

would like to receive commu-

nications from us. Starting this

spring, we begin corresponding

not only with physical mail, but

also electronically.

If you are interested in hear-

ing from us electronically, please

register with us online at

www.friendsofacadia.org/green.

Bill Green of WCSH6 interviewing Acadia WinterTrails Association volunteer David Kief.

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Bar Harbor – Ellsworthwww.cadillacsports.com

BRUCE JOHN RIDDELLLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

27 PINE STREETBAR HARBOR, MAINE 04609

207.288.9668

Creative & Innovative Landscape Architecturefor Residential & Estate Gardens


ing for the project as a 2007 L.L.BeanResearch in Acadia fellow.

Beginning in January, volunteers were post-ed at a variety of locations around the park,including the Fabbri Picnic area, Eagle Lake,

Jordan Pond, the Brown MountainGatehouse, Wonderland, and other winterpark destinations. In addition to gatheringdemographic statistics, the survey asked vis-itors what they did during their winter visit,what problems (if any) they perceived, howthey felt about park resources (such as rest-rooms), and how often they visit Acadiathroughout the year. Both weekend andweekday samples were taken.

The 2009 winter was diverse, and a vari-ety of responses are expected. At the begin-ning of the season, snow had not yet fallen,but the cold weather created good ice con-ditions. Once the snows arrived inmid–January, the skiers became active, thankslargely to the grooming of the carriage roadsby the Acadia Winter Trails Association. Asthe winter progressed, the park received amix of snow and rain, creating icy conditionson the roads, trails, and carriage roads.

Results from the winter use survey areexpected within the year.

Comprehensive Assessment ofAcadia’s Natural Resources

Have you ever sat at the edge of one ofAcadia’s ponds and wondered what sort offish are in it, whether it has good water qual-ity, or how often the National Park Service isable to monitor it? How many of us havehiked Acadia’s trails, seen an interestinginsect, wondered about invasive species, orconsidered the effects of air pollution onAcadia’s plants, trees, and environment?Natural resources are the foundation of manyof our experiences at Acadia. Now, for thefirst time, the NPS and collaboratingresearchers have produced a comprehensiveassessment of the conditions of uplands,freshwater resources, and marine/coastal areasin the park.

Published in November of 2008, the“Assessment of Natural Resource Conditionsin and Adjacent to Acadia National Park”focuses on characterizing Acadia’s resources,assessing threats to them, analyzing their con-dition, drawing conclusions, and determin-ing where more information is needed. Thereport draws data from studies that haveoccurred in the park, and discusses currentecological threats. These threats may be char-acterized as existing problems (such asground–level ozone), potential problems(such as bacterial contamination of beaches),historic problems, or unlikely problems (suchas overgrazing by herbivores). Added to theseassessments are descriptions of the knowl-edge base (good, fair, poor, or inferential) sothat readers can better understand the threatlevels listed.

The report continues with summaries ofresource conditions, ranking each as “good”,“caution”, or “significant concern.” For exam-ple, wet deposition of sulfates is listed as animproving trend in the air quality section, butis still marked as a “significant concern.”Similarly, forest patch size in the section on ter-restrial resources is listed as “good” because theforests are large and contiguous enough to sup-port invertebrates, mammals, and many birdspecies. Concise listings of the research involvedin preparing the report are also provided.

While the assessment is quite dense, andmay prove difficult for casual readers, it isan invaluable scientific resource for the park.The report is a snapshot of what is knownabout Acadia’s resources. It includes a bibli-ography of the studies that were consulted,

Curling on Long Pond in Acadia National Park.

F R O GH I L LDESIGNS

Betsy Barmat Stires Interior Designer

Mt. Desert Island, ME — Washington, D.C.

TEL: 703-597-3385

EMAIL: [email protected]

www.froghilldesigns.com


and identifies gaps in knowledge thatresearchers might be able to fill. This docu-ment will also become the “go–to” guide, pro-viding quick answers to questions about thestatus of any of the park’s resources.

To download a copy of the report, and tosee resource condition assessments across theNational Park Service, go to www.nature.nps.gov/water/watershed_reports/WSCondRpts.cfm. The Acadia report is listed under theNortheast Temperate Network.

2008 Take Pride in Acadia Day

On Saturday, November 1, 2008, a recordnumber of volunteers turned out for the 19thannual Take Pride in Acadia Day, hosted byFriends of Acadia and Acadia National Park.Over 326 volunteers, divided into 19 workgroups, raked leaves out of ditches andcleaned the culverts of over 12 miles of car-riage roads.

One of the most important volunteerevents of the year, this effort contributes valu-able assistance to the park, reducing carriageroad erosion from the rain, ice, and thawingthat occur throughout winter and spring. Thechilly autumn morning work session was fol-lowed by a hot meal of chili, cornbread, andcider. Later, the crowd, energized by theexperience and the crisp autumn air, enjoyeda desert of homemade cakes, donated by

Janet Anker. The event also marked the drawing for the

winners of the Acadia Quest program. 2008was the inaugural year of the Quest, a pro-gram designed to encourage teams to expe-rience Acadia National Park together. TeamColuccio of Hulls Cove were the winners ofthe grand prize canoeing package, generouslydonated by sponsor L.L. Bean.

Events like this would be impossible with-out the support of the community. Without

the help of sponsors Bar Harbor Bank &Trust, The Knowles Company, and The First,and in-kind donations from Acadia Bike andCoastal Kayaking, Acadia National ParkTours, Darlings Auto Mall, and National ParkSea Kayaking Tours, neither Take Pride inAcadia Day nor Acadia Quest would havebeen the success they were.

Volunteers gather in preparation for the day’s workat Take Pride in Acadia Day.

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GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY THIS YEAR!

Every year, Friends of Acadia volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to improving boththe park and surrounding communities. Time and time again, people identify volunteerwork as some of the most meaningful and significant work they have ever done. Whetheryou’re lending a hand at an event, spending a morning a week with the trail crew, orpicking up trash from the roadside, your help makes a difference.This spring and summer, see how you can make volunteering with Friends a memo-rable part of your routine!

EARTH DAY ROADSIDE CLEAN–UPSaturday, April 25, 8:00 a.m.—11:30 a.m. You can make a difference this Earth Day.Start the volunteer season off with a bang! Every year, hundreds take to the roads, gath-ering trash and helping to keep our island pristine.

ACADIA QUESTAcadia Quest is a series of youth– and team–oriented experiences in Acadia NationalPark that encourage youth and their teams to explore, learn, and protect Acadia. Notonly is the program fun, but your team qualify for a chance to win a grand prize pack-age! Teams must include one child under the age of 18 and one adult aged 18 yearsor older.

VOLUNTEER WORK DAYS Starting in mid–May, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Join ourcrew of regular volunteers who work on trails and carriage roads three times a week.Come by yourself, bring a friend, or even a whole crew. Not only is it fun, but it’s sim-ple: arrive at Acadia National Park Headquarters on Rt. 233 (Eagle Lake. Tools andTraining provided. Don’t forget your water!)

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY Saturday, June 6, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Spend time with the Acadia National Parktrail crew, learning about trail history and what it takes to build a trail. Afterwards, helpkick off the 2009 volunteer season with a special National Trails Day volunteer proj-ect in the park.

FAMILY FUN DAYSunday, July 12, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. A celebration of summer in Acadia, this fun–filledday is geared towards instilling a sense of stewardship in children of all ages. Hundredsof children attend this event, which would not be possible without the support of theadult volunteers who help make it happen.

From more information on volunteering, or to register to participate, please email TerryBegley at [email protected], or call 288–3340.

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University of Maine students at Take Pride in Acadia Day 2008 2008 Earth Day Roadside Cleanup.


In Gratitude

OFFICE VOLUNTEERS

Don BellJenn DonaldsonFlorence ErvinPriscilla HirschenhoferEileen LinnaneMarsha LyonsKathy OlsonFrank and Betsy RobertsMary Ann SiklosiJean SmithAnne WarnerSandy Wilcox

GIFTS IN KIND

The Acadia CorporationJanet Anker and Chuck DonnellyL.L.Bean, Inc.Darling’s Auto MallStephen and Mary Ann HandelBarbara McLeodVictor RydlizkyWallace Tent & Party RentalWesty and Lois Frazier

IN NOMINEWe gratefully acknowledge gifts

received in honor of:

Bjorn and Wendy Burgeson

Cynthia Camino

Kent Carter

Lisa Horsch Clark and Bob Clark

Diamond and Tippy

Charles W. Eliot

George and Amy Hancock

Harrison Middle School Library Volunteers

Milt and Ann Herchenrider

John Hirschenhofer

John Iaria

Bob Johnson and Trish Burr

Julius and Mary Krevans

Susan S. Leiter

David Manski

R. Anderson and Daria Pew

Lili Pew

Katherine Richards

John and Jean Smith

Summers on Mount Desert Island

Edward and Bobbye Winterberg

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Tom

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Friends of Acadia staff, as well as theAcadia Advocacy Network, have beenhard at work protecting park resources

through outreach to, among others, the MaineCongressional delegation. Advocacy Networkmembers recently contacted Congress regard-ing two important issues: guns in nationalparks, and the economic stimulus package.Friends staff also traveled to Washington inmid–February to advocate for the best pos-sible FY 2010 budget for Acadia.

In December 2008, the Department of theInterior (DOI) released the final rule allow-ing possession of loaded, concealed firearmsin national parks located in states that issueconcealed weapons permits. Acadia AdvocacyNetwork members and more than 140,000citizens across the country sent letters ande–mails to the DOI regarding this change inregulations. The final rule went even fur-ther, tying national park firearms laws to stateregulations, rather than to regulations in anal-ogous state parks.

The final rule allowing loaded concealedweapons in national parks went into effecton January 9, 2009. Also in January, theNational Parks Conservation Associationjoined with the Coalition of National ParkService Retirees to file suit against the DOI,seeking an injunction against the rule change.The Brady Campaign to Prevent GunViolence also filed suit. The three organiza-tions argued, among other concerns, that theDepartment of the Interior did not complywith the National Environmental ProtectionAct when it instituted the new regulationwithout first assessing the environmentalimpacts of its decision. In February, Friendsof Acadia filed an amicus curiae, or “friend ofthe court” brief, supporting these two suits.In March, the U.S. District Court ruled infavor of the suits filed, finding the Interior’sprocess in establishing the new regulation tobe “astoundingly flawed.” The DOI has untilApril 20 to respond. Until then, the originalfirearm regulation—allowing the carrying of

firearms in national parks and wildlife refugesas long as they are disassembled andstowed—is in effect.

As activity on firearms regulations wasslowing down, the economic stimulus billswere winding their way through Congress.The House version of the bill set aside $2.05billion for national park projects, while theSenate version set aside $847 million. Thenational parks are estimated to have a $9billion backlog of maintenance projects, andAcadia has projected that it could undertakeapproximately $17 million in paving andconstruction projects alone within the nexttwo years. Friends of Acadia sent out an advo-cacy alert, asking members to encourage theirsenators to support an appropriation fornational parks that was closer to the Housefigure. In the end, national parks received$735 million for maintenance and operationsprojects, $15 million for historic preservationat historically African American colleges anduniversities, and $170 million from theFederal Highway Administration for nation-al park roads. Maine’s senators figured promi-nently in negotiating the final economic stim-ulus package. Acadia awaits word from theNational Park Service as to whether the park’sprojects will be funded, and at what levels.

To increase awareness of Acadia’s mainte-nance, operations, and land acquisition needs,Friends of Acadia President Marla O’Byrneand Acadia National Park SuperintendentSheridan Steele met with each member ofthe Maine Congressional delegation inmid–February. O’Byrne and Steele discussedtwo base operations increases for interpreta-tion, education, and the Schoodic Educationand Research Center, which Acadia hoped toreceive in FY 2009 and 2010. They also sharedthe need for a robust Land and WaterConservation Fund, and described severalparcels of land inside Acadia’s boundaries thatare presently available from willing sellers.

—Stephanie Clement

WEAPONS AND FUNDSIN NATIONAL PARKS

Advocacy Corner

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26 Spring 2009

Time and Tide in Acadia: Seasons on Mount Desert Islandby Christopher CamutoW.W. Norton & Company, 2008197 pp., Softcover

Many beautiful wordshave been written aboutthe coast of Maine. MountDesert Island in particu-lar, unique as it is on theeast coast—in the world,even—has been inspira-tion for countless writers.Taken in that sense, Christopher Camuto’s Timeand Tide in Acadia is but the latest entry in aproud and longstanding tradition. But there ismore at work here than simple reiteration.

“Sunrise from Cadillac Mountain reveals acoastline carved with a crooked knife,” beginsCamuto’s first chapter, aptly titled “First Light.”This line sets the tone for the rest of the book.From the top of Cadillac at daybreak, we jour-ney through mountain trails and forests, low-land marshes, and the homes of creatures oftenhidden. Emerging at the shore, Camuto leadsus along the water’s edge, pausing to reflect ondistant islands. We peer in at the homes ofseabirds; paddle through gentle seas, perhapscatching sight of life in the glinting water. Andthen, the journey is at end, sunset on MountDesert Rock the final chapter.

Camuto writes with painterly attention todetail—not only capturing, but smoothing, pol-ishing, and presenting. The images he paintsare not rough, nor are they cluttered. There isfocused intensity in his words. Sandpipers are“stoutly delicate . . . large, dark eyes [taking] ineverything around them.” A blast of cold airfrom a nearby spring emerges from “a cavewhere the gods store wind and water.” Smoothstones shifting in the tide pivot “like boiling eggsuntil they become perfectly sculpted cobbles.”These experiences—his experiences—are alivewith the infinitesimal points of light that indi-cate veracity.

Ultimately, Camuto’s vision is best summedup by one of the last lines in the book: “Everyedge of Mount Desert Island . . . is beautiful andstrange in perfectly equal measure.” It is his will-ingness—indeed, his eagerness—to captureboth that makes this work so compelling.

—Ian Marquis

Acadia Always: The Story of Acadia National ParkWith Jack PerkinsJeff Dobbs Productions, 200860 min., DVD and Blu-Ray Disc

There’s always some-thing new to say aboutAcadia. If the park’s abil-ity to inspire wereexhaustible, we mightlong ago have ceased tonotice it. But of course,this could not be furtherfrom the truth. Acadia Always, the latest cre-ation of filmmaker Jeff Dobbs, illustrates this.Narrated by Jack Perkins, former NBC Newscorrespondent and host of A&E’s Biographyseries, it presents a familiar story from a freshperspective. The result is a tribute to Acadia’slasting power.

Like other Dobbs productions, AcadiaAlways is never short on presentation. Fromthe stunning aerial footage of the island, tothe atmospheric score by John Cooper, toPerkins’ heartfelt narration, there is alwayssomething to hold your attention.

The story begins with the shaping of MountDesert Island by glaciers, and soon, the arrivalof the first humans. Native American residentsgive way to European settlers, and soon thefirst tourists. There, the narrative explores thefounding of Acadia National Park and theefforts involved in protecting it. Airtime isgiven to the variety of educational opportu-nities available through the park. The filmends with an introduction to Friends of Acadiaand the volunteer work that helps preserveAcadia for future generations.

For newcomers, Acadia Always is an intro-duction to both the park and the historybehind it. For the seasoned veteran, it is afamiliar tale that nonetheless manages toserve up bits of information you may not haveheard before. But its message to both is sim-ple: the land will exist in perpetuity with-out, or in spite of, human intervention. Butif Acadia as we know it is to endure, we mustprotect it.

To purchase Acadia Always, visitwww.jeffdobbs.com.

—Ian Marquis

Book Review


Telephone or Fax: 667-621035 Commerce Park, Bar Harbor Road

P.O. Box 552, Ellsworth, ME 04605

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Email: [email protected]


Schoodic Committee

POLAR OPPOSITES AT SCHOODIC

In the summer of 2007, Rosemary and Ispent our Wednesday afternoons volun-teering at one of Downeast Maine’s pre-

mier art events: the Schoodic SculptureSymposium. We were awed as seven artistsfrom around the world transformed massiveblocks of Maine granite into exquisite worksof art. We were delighted by the interest,enthusiasm, and excitement stimulated bythe event. The Symposium inspired our com-munity and generated a vibrant energythroughout the region and the state.

On July 25, another iteration of theSchoodic Sculpture Symposium kicks off,and we can’t wait. 110 applications werereceived from sculptors in 37 countries. Inthe end, six artists were chosen to participatein the 2009 session, the second of five bien-nial Symposiums. As in 2007, the sculptorswill converge on Downeast Maine and, afterselecting their stone from local quarries, gath-er at a work site behind the RockefellerBuilding on the Schoodic Education andResearch Center (SERC) campus, in theSchoodic District of Acadia National Park.Each day, in their open–air studio, they willdesign, drill, cut, carve, chip, grind, shape,smooth, and polish. By September 12, theywill have created stirring works that will thenbe moved to permanent sites in local com-munities, where they will live as public artfor all to enjoy.

The Symposium reflects well the charac-teristics, identity, and values of the Schoodiccommunity. The event promotes art by expos-ing the creative process, from conception tocompletion, allowing visitors to interact withthe sculptors as they work. It honors natureas a creative influence, with artists finding theirmuse in local granite, and inspiration in thecoastal environment of Schoodic. It celebrateslearning, informing children and adults, teach-ing the history and tradition of Maine’s gran-ite industry, as well as the history of sculpture.At its heart, the event promotes the sharing ofideas, visions, and cultures.

The Symposium’s grass roots and localinclusion unite the community. It inspirescivic pride and involvement, stirring neigh-

bors to volunteer, to help organize and pro-mote the event, man the reception tent, pro-vide lunches for the sculptors, and host din-ners, parties, and related events. It also spurstourism and commerce, attracting visitorsfrom across the region, state, and country—people who patronize local restaurants, visitSchoodic shops and galleries, and stay at areabed and breakfasts.

Contrast the strong, positive communityimpact of the Schoodic Sculpture Symposiumwith the potentially devastating impact of theeco–resort proposed for the 3,300 acres adja-cent to the Schoodic District of AcadiaNational Park.

Rosemary and I believe that the eco–resortproject offers nothing beneficial to the com-munity. Despite efforts to dress the proposalas both “green” and a fiscal boon for theregion in the form of jobs and taxes, in truthit is a threat to Schoodic.

This feeling has been underscored byrecent reports focusing on the secrecy con-cerning exactly who is behind Winter HarborHoldings. We worry that the consortium’slack of candor is a red flag. The absence offorthrightness, honesty, and transparency isindicative of deceitfulness, and impliesuntrustworthiness.

Another bad sign is the recent news thatAmes A&E, a Bangor architecture and engi-neering firm, and Maine Street Solutions, theMaine consulting firm represented by MichaelSaxl, are no longer working on the projectdue to difficulties getting paid and differenceswith the developer. That these companieshave severed their ties to the developmentadds to our fear that the next proposal we seefrom the Modenas et al will be even moredevastating in both scope and style.

The Schoodic Sculpture Symposium andthe proposed eco–resort speak volumes aboutefforts in the Schoodic area. One cheers cre-ation and unity; the other screams destruc-

tion and division. One represents forwardthinking; the other illustrates backwardsthinking. One involves the local communityand honors its heritage; the other is by peo-ple from away, and for people from away. Oneoffers a clear blueprint of the type of oppor-tunity that we should be exploring and pro-moting; the other takes us in the wrong direc-tion for the future of the SchoodicPeninsula.❧

GARRY LEVIN is a volunteer and memberof the Schoodic Committee of Friends ofAcadia.

Left: Narihiro Uemura”s “I Want to Ride a Cloud,” which is installed in downtown Ellsworth.Right: Don Merserve with his sculpture, “Cleat,” which is installed in Winter Harbor.


As I begin this letter, four words cometo mind: vision, opportunity, action,and legacy. In many ways, these

words define the earliest days of AcadiaNational Park. Despite the challenges wefaced as a nation at that time, there werevisionaries who saw through to the future andseized the opportunity to preserve a large par-cel of land for generations to come. Acadiawas their vision, and it is their legacy.

In a way, the construction of the carriageroads, driven by the vision of John D.Rockefeller Jr., was in its own way an earlyexample of an economic stimulus thatchanged the lives of not only a single gener-ation, but also those that followed. Keepingthis legacy healthy and vital is an importantpart of what Friends of Acadia accomplisheseach year. Through the thousands of hoursgiven by volunteers, the financial gifts thatfund our programs, and the shared leader-

ship and responsibility of our board and staff,we all play a vital role in keeping the legacyof Acadia alive and filled with hope.

Recently, during a conversation with mygood friends, Rolf and Carol van Schaik, I wasreminded again of Mr. Rockefeller’s early giftto Acadia and our nation as a whole. TheSchaiks, long-time supporters of Friends, havelong been grateful users of the carriage roadsfor their horse-drawn adventures in the park.

“We have enjoyed driving on the carriage

roads at Acadia National Park since 1993. We

bring our pair of horses and carriage from

Cavendish, Vermont for a week every summer.

The vistas and natural splendor, as well as the

superb condition of the roads, provide an

unforgettable experience. The park and its

roads are a national treasure for all to enjoy.”

—Rolf and Carol van Schaik

Over the years, countless people have beentransported through time by experiences likethese. What began nearly a century ago as avision now provides easy access to a wildand beautiful place, nature’s classroom forfamilies to explore, and views at night of mil-lions of stars reaching out across the placewhere the mountains meet the sea.Experiences in nature transcend the concernsof the moment; they never lose their relevance.

Now, we are in another time of great uncer-tainty. If we are to arrive at a healthy outcomefor our economy, our environment, and forall people, our public and private leadersmust be bold. Recently, Maine’s Senatorsand Representatives, in partnership withPresident Obama, have demonstrated greatleadership in seeking solutions to the chal-lenges we face as a nation. Actions such asthese require vision beyond the immediate,and the ability to act when an opportunitypresents itself. Friends of Acadia and AcadiaNational Park are fortunate to have “shov-el–ready” programs available that will helpstimulate jobs and provide immediate results.In this way, we will preserve the park as amodel of excellence for all to enjoy.

—Lili Pew

Chairman’s Letter

VISION, OPPORTUNITY, ACTION, AND LEGACY

A horse-drawn carriage at the top of Day Mountain

Lili Pew cross-country skiing on Eagle Lake.

Car

ol v

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chai

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“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where

nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

—Wallace Stegner

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow

into you as sunshine flows into trees.The winds will blow their own fresh-

ness into you... while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

—John Muir

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Family Fun DayJuly 12, 2009

Friends of Acadia’s annual Family Fun Day has been rescheduled to July 12th, 2009,

rather than the July 19th date that was noted in last issue’s event calendar.

Join us at this celebration of summer in Acadia National Park! For more information, or to register, please contact Theresa Begley at 207-288-3340,

or email [email protected]

Friends of Acadia’sANNUAL MEETING

Thursday, July 9, 20093:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Business Meeting

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cocktails

The Bar Harbor Club55 West Street, Bar Harbor

Celebrate another year of hard work and dedication to a mission that matters!

Learn more about how your contributions help preserve and protect Acadia.

Casual dress.RSVP by June 30 to Terry at 207-288-3340, 800-625-0321, or [email protected]

Parking is limited. If possible, we encourage use of the Island Explorer. Bus schedules: www.exploreacadia.com

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Purchase Your Park Pass!Whether walking, bicycling, driving, or riding the fare-free Island Explorer through the park, all must pay the entrance fee.

The Acadia National Park $20 weekly pass ($10 in the shoulder seasons) and $40 annual pass are available at the following locations in Maine:

Open Year-Round

• ACADIA NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS

(on the Eagle Lake Road/Rte. 233 in Bar Harbor)

Open May – November

• HULLS COVE VISITOR CENTER

• THOMPSON ISLAND INFORMATION STATION

• SAND BEACH ENTRANCE STATION

• BLACKWOODS CAMPGROUND

• SEAWALL CAMPGROUND

• JORDAN POND AND CADILLAC MTN. GIFT SHOPS

• MOUNT DESERT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

• VILLAGE GREEN BUS CENTER

Your park pass purchase makes possible vital maintenance projects in Acadia.

PRST STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDLEWISTON, MAINE

PERMIT #82

Friends of Acadia

MissionFriends of Acadia preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality,

and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations.

Friends of Acadia 43 Cottage Street PO Box 45 Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 207-288-3340 800-625-0321

Tom

Bla

gden

Spring 2009Volume 14 No. 1

A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding CommunitiesA Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities

tom blagden friends of acadiafriendsofacadia.org/foa_journal_files/spring_2009.pdffriends of acadia...

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