Articles by Brian Swartz
Weekly
Vacationland Inn undergoes renovations
By David M. Fitzpatrick, Of the Weekly Staff on May 22, 2013, at 9:14 a.m.
The owners of the Vacationland Inn on Wilson Street in Brewer have been busy remodeling the hotel’s lobby, outdoor fountain and breakfast room. On May 14, representatives of the city of Brewer joined owners Cheryl and Ross Bradford, co-managers LeeAnne and Allan Hewey, and representatives of the Greater Bangor Convention ...
Special to the Weekly
Stepping out of one’s comfort zone can bring personal rewards
By Chris Quimby on May 22, 2013, at 9:10 a.m.
It’s been suggested that I must be strong or crazy to spend hundreds of hours supporting most of my 200 pounds of body weight upon the narrow hardness of a bicycle seat. After consideration, though, my response is always that, although an office chair has more width and greater cushion, ...
Maine at War
There was standing room only for the heroes of Chancellorsville
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on May 22, 2013, at 9:01 a.m.
“Through smoke and fire and shot and shell, unto the very walls of hell, we did stand and we did stay, in that Virginia field so far away”: Thus does a paraphrased verse from John Tam’s “Over the Hills and Far Away” describe the fate that befell the valiant heroes ...
Bangor High School Speech and Debate students head off to championships
By Debra Bell, Of the Weekly Staff on May 21, 2013, at 4:37 p.m.
Memorial Day weekend will mark the first of two championship speech and debate weekends for Bangor High School Speech and Debate students. Ten students will head to National Catholic Forensic League championships in Philadelphia on May 25-26. In all, the students will represent Bangor High School in the classification of ...
Special to the Weekly
Caregiving elderly family member can be rewarding, challenging
By Carol Higgins-Taylor on May 21, 2013, at 4:35 p.m.
Amy Cotton loved nursing long before she entered the profession. Cotton’s grandmother, Clarice Gooch Hoyt, a nurse in Downeast Maine who made house calls on horseback, was a constant source of inspiration. Cotton calls her “a pioneer.” Before there was public health nursing in Washington County, Hoyt used to provide ...
Historical competition
By Ardeana Hamlin, Of the Weekly Staff on May 21, 2013, at 4:32 p.m.
BANGOR — Kate Adam and Sydney McDonald, eighth-graders at William Cohen Middle School in Bangor, are in fundraiser mode. They achieved second place for their “Stock Market Crash of 1929” presentation in the Maine State National History Day Competition on April 3. This entitles them to represent their school and ...
Gold Star Cleaners moves to new Bangor location
By Debra Bell, Of the Weekly Staff on May 21, 2013, at 4:27 p.m.
When Gold Star Cleaners owner Eric Pooler made the decision to move his Bangor dry cleaning and laundromat location to the Third and Union Street Plaza, he invested in the facility. In return, customers will enjoy an enhanced experience while getting the same service they’ve always experienced at Gold Star ...
Special to the Weekly
Many butterflies add color to the Maine landscape every spring
By Greg Westrich on May 21, 2013, at 4:18 p.m.
Since the beginning of May, there have been butterflies. The first to emerge were the Spring Azures, a small powdery blue butterfly that could hide with its wings open under a dime. They flit through the woods and around rocky areas like a piece of tissue paper caught in the ...
Weekly
Raising alpacas can be an enriching experience
By Ardeana Hamlin, Of the Weekly Staff on May 21, 2013, at 4:11 p.m.
UNITY — Alpaca heads turn to stare with long-lashed dark eyes when visitors drive into the farmyard at Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm on Crosby Brook Road. The long-necked animals with thick fluffy coats freeze in place and stare intently. The alpacas’ air of quiet vigilance and Zen-like demeanor quickly arouse ...
Special to the Weekly
Miniature War Gamers Club of Bangor
By J.B. Lawrence on May 21, 2013, at 11:19 a.m.
For more than a decade, the Miniature War Gamers Club of Bangor has fought battles ranging from the War of 1812 to World War II. Through re-enactment, club members plan maneuvers to defeat the opposing side. Members carefully adorn their tabletop settings with trees, bunkers, cottages, and hand-painted soldiers of ...
Maine at War
Sixth Maine’s screaming demons hurdled the Stone Wall at Fredericksburg
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on May 06, 2013, at 3:51 p.m.
Frantically loading and firing their rifled muskets, the Mississippi infantrymen defending the Stone Wall at Fredericksburg in Virginia about 11:05 a.m. on May 3, 1863, suddenly realized that all the .58-caliber lead bullets in the world would not stop the screaming, wild-eyed berserkers swarming toward them. No matter how many ...
Weekly
Experience a Bald Mountain high
By Brian Swartz, Of the Weekly Staff on April 24, 2013, at 1:55 p.m.
Hikers focused on exploring the peaks of Acadia National Park and and Baxter State Park might overlook the spring hiking opportunities looming along the Penobscot Valley eastern and southern horizon. The Dedham Hills straddle the Hancock-Penobscot county border and include several peaks accessible to hikers and the occasional mountain biker. ...
Maine at War
Fifth Maine’s ‘noble men’ advanced against enemy artillery fire
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on April 24, 2013, at 1:40 p.m.
After enjoying the “beautiful night” that slipped away with the dawn on May 3, 1863, 1st Lt. George Bicknell saw that Sunday turn decidedly ugly. Sheltered by the Virginia darkness, he stood with his 5th Maine Infantry comrades as they waited the orders to attack nearby Confederate troops defending the ...
50th Annual Shrine Circus set for April 26-28
By David M. Fitzpatrick, Of the Weekly Staff on April 16, 2013, at 2:48 p.m.
The Anah Shrine Circus returns to the Bangor Auditorium Friday through Sunday, April 26-28, with two important footnotes: It will be Anah’s 50th circus in Bangor, and it will be the final one at the Bangor Auditorium, which will be demolished after the new Cross Insurance Center opens this fall. ...
Custom Publication of the Bangor Daily News
Editorial letter excoriated Bangor chaplain after Louisiana battle
By Brian Swartz, Of the Weekly Staff on April 16, 2013, at 2:45 p.m.
A war of words erupted in a Bangor newspaper in spring 1863 after an Army chaplain allegedly insulted the 26th Maine Infantry Regiment. For the use of one word in a letter written to the Daily Whig & Courier, the Rev. John K. Lincoln of Bangor earned righteous indignation from ...
Habitat for Humanity is building single-family home in Hampden
By Brian Swartz, Of the Weekly Staff on April 16, 2013, at 2:40 p.m.
HAMPDEN — Between the professionals and the volunteers, construction should be finished by mid-July on the latest house being built by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor. According to Lin Lufkin, vice president of the organization’s board of directors, construction started earlier this year on a three-bedroom ranch at 5 ...
Maine at War
A medical student just would not do for the 5th Maine Infantry
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on April 10, 2013, at 5:02 p.m.
When the 5th Maine Infantry Regiment sought a doctor in the house in 1863, officers discovered that a medical student just would not do. The 1,000-odd men and boys who had marched to war with the 5th Maine two years earlier had encountered germs, diseases, Confederate bullets and viruses galore. ...
Maine at War
Maine snow bird took a March cruise down Jacksonville way
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on March 26, 2013, at 2:45 p.m.
Restless natives extended a particularly warm “welcome” to the Maine snow bird who cruised to Jacksonville in Florida in late March 1863. Seventeen months earlier, Capt. Henry Boynton had sailed to war with the 8th Maine Infantry Regiment, an outfit cursed with too many arrogant and madcap company officers who ...
Maine at War
Soldier from Bangor battled Shoshones instead of Confederates
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on March 12, 2013, at 2:17 p.m.
His teeth chattering, his fingers and toes numb in the deep cold, William Farnham of Bangor struggled through knee-deep snow as he approached the Bear River in Washington Territory about 4 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, 1863. Around him other men clad in Union blue cursed the snow, their colonel and ...
Maine at War
Reinforcements marched to assist war-weary Union veterans
By Brian Swartz, Special Sections Editor on Feb. 26, 2013, at 3:01 p.m.
To paraphrase the patriotic song “We Are Coming, Father Abraham,” by February 1863, the war-weary Maine veterans who manned the nation’s ramparts from Virginia to Louisiana could “look across the hilltops that meet the southern sky,” where “long moving lines of rising dust your vision may descry.” In this dark ...
LePage tells legislative leaders he’s moving out of State House because of ‘censorship’
Maine Sports Hall of Fame member, DJ Dana Wilson convicted of child pornography possession
Lincoln’s Coffee Pot Cafe shuts its doors
Community members rally in memory of Nichole Cable; events, fundraisers planned
Anonymous investor puts $3 million into MOOMilk
Rep. Diane Russell’s fool’s errand
The scramble to fill the 2nd District seat if Mike Michaud runs for governor
How the omnibus energy bill will benefit Maine
Governor Veto
Goodwin steps down as Brewer High School boys basketball coach
Tommy Lawrence pitches UMaine baseball to victory in first America East tournament game
Live Updates: UMaine baseball vs. Binghamton in America East championship
Garcia sorry after ‘stupid’ Woods fried chicken jibe
Decorated Howland war hero Samuel Deeds finalist for NASCAR honor
Maine School of Science and Mathematics alumni drawn to give back to magnet school
New York City rumble showcases Maine’s lobster roll dominance
Get all dressed up for the season’s salad days
Advice on Planting Warm-season Vegetable Crops
Dandelion Greens with Balsamic Vinegar