Articles by Robin Clifford Wood
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Honoring their art
Three local artists, women with national-level talents and regional connections, have died within the past year. In addition to being great artists, Helen Marie Allen, Margaret Manter, and Mette Arup Watt were active community volunteers, teachers, mentors, wives and mothers. They were also friends of Boyd Place, an independent living ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Arctic adventure forges bonds for the Wanderbird crew
In a traditional rite of passage for sailors crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time, the three young crew members of the Wanderbird, an expedition vessel based out of Belfast, Maine, took part in a “blue nose ceremony” last summer off the shores of Greenland. The ceremony includes head ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
At home with a Pakistani teenager
When we heard that a 15-year-old Pakistani girl had been shot by extremists for publicly espousing education for girls, the news hit close to home. Our home, since Aug. 17, has included a 15-year-old Pakistani girl, here in the United States to further her education. Even before Malala Yousefzai’s shooting, ...
‘Becky’s New Car’ offers talent, fun and food for thought
I knew I was going to enjoy Penobscot Theatre’s production of “Becky’s New Car” right from the opening scene, when a harried, middle-aged woman wielding a DustBuster passes a roll of toilet paper to someone in the front row. “Could you hang on to this for me? Thanks!” This is ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Maine writers explore life, celebrate books in Bangor
There are those who predict the demise of books without concern. For them, Kindles and Nooks have won the evolutionary advantage. Others, like me, are loath to relinquish that feeling of substance when we hold a new book in our hands, that satisfying crinkle of a turning page, that evocative ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
October blizzard with a peak-bagging friend
Since the computer world has co-opted the term “friend,” I’d like to set the record straight on friendship. A real-world friend calls you to join her for a cup of tea. She herds your escaped goats back home with a carrot. She shares her favorite bit of calming maternal advice: ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
84-year-old professor still deep in ice and glaciers
Flowing north from the Kukri Hills of Victoria Land on the continent of Antarctica, there is a glacier named after geologist Harold “Hal” Borns. Last week I met with 84-year-old professor Borns in his office at the University of Maine. Well before our three-hour chat was done, it was clear ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Senegal offers amazing journey, new name
I told a friend of mine that I was going to spend a week in Senegal, a small country on the westernmost edge of Africa. The news sparked a vivid memory for him. He had spent six months in Sierra Leone long ago, but his first experience on African soil ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
One summer of lizards that changed a life
In the course of interviewing people for this column, I have discovered that many life histories include a pivotal event that changes everything. I recently heard a particularly unusual “pivotal event” from Steve Ressel, who has been teaching science at College of the Atlantic for nearly 20 years. The glorious ...
Conversations with Maine
From airlift to flight home, Mainers support stroke victim and family
A couple of weeks ago, my household went into crisis management mode. While vacationing on an island off the coast of Mount Desert, my husband’s erstwhile healthy uncle was airlifted to Eastern Maine Medical Center. Uncle Dick had woken up feeling a bit “off” one morning on that roadless little ...
‘Always… Patsy Cline’ a crowd-pleaser at Penobscot Theatre
I thought a sunny, Sunday afternoon might be stiff competition for a theater performance, but the Penobscot Theatre Company’s Sunday matinee of “Always… Patsy Cline” was packed. Word must have gotten out — the show is a hit. Even if you’re too young to remember Patsy Cline, who died in ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Swan’s Island not for everyone, just right for a few
“Swan’s Island is not for everyone.” So opens an essay about Swan’s Island written several decades ago by Peg Bailey, a Swan’s Island real estate agent. Most Swan’s Islanders would agree that Peg’s dubious-sounding promotion remains largely true. The year-round population stands at about 332, a quirky combination of lifetime ...
Teen’s outdoor leadership bodes well for Maine’s environmental future
The average age of Baxter State Park users is rising, but those older folks who love the park won’t be able to take care of it forever. That is why the Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program hopes to attract young people who will be stewards of Maine’s outdoors into the ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Year-round resident makes life work on Swan’s Island
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who knows more about the people and places of Swan’s Island than Donna Wiegle, even though she didn’t become a year-round resident until 2002. Maybe it’s because she provides health care at the local clinic. Maybe it’s because Donna has been writer and ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Curiosity key to life of artist, physician
Thomas Hope is a painter who has had a gallery showing in Spain. He is a sculptor; he does carpentry, brickwork and stonework; he plays piano and guitar and composes music; and he is fluent in three languages, having lived abroad for many years. He designed several houses, including the ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Boat builder finds his calling back home on Great Cranberry Island
GREAT CRANBERRY ISLAND, Maine — Last Friday I hopped on a boat manned by Josh Gray and his deckhand, a 7-year-old lab named Ozzie. Gray is the captain of “The Cadillac,” a 26-foot water taxi with a lobster boat hull that he built three years ago at the Newman and ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
New Sweden 89-year-old looks back, and looks ahead
When I asked around about someone interesting to interview in New Sweden, Ralph Ostlund’s name came up — retired potato farmer, avid dancer and cross-country skier, world traveler, citizen of the year, irrepressibly energetic 89-year-old. Ostlund had never heard of me when I called to ask if I could visit ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
A visit to New Sweden sweeps visitor up in the spirit of time and place
Nearly 30 years ago when I was a teacher in New Hampshire, I met a young woman with an intriguing background. Lisa’s northern Maine hometown sounded like a place of almost mythic remoteness. The fact that she had 106 first cousins only added to the mystique. Our lives overlapped again ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Her Majesty’s Cabaret creating a new universe in downtown Bangor
I knew that Her Majesty’s Cabaret would offer a glimpse into unfamiliar Maine territory when I read a comment on their Facebook page. It was written after their most recent comedy production: “I was hoping to go to Her Majesty’s Cabaret, but it was the last home roller derby bout ...
CONVERSATIONS WITH MAINE
Couple’s 40-year business retains personal touch
BANGOR, Maine — Shopping for clothing with my son takes place only after much arm-twisting. He once wore a pair of sneakers until they were more duct tape than canvas. Nevertheless, during a college break he finally agreed that he should have one nice suit. That was the day we ...
Former Bangor YMCA building sold to new dental technology school
LePage delivers instant veto after hospital debt, Medicaid bill passes Senate
‘Knife war’ led to fatal stabbing at Bangor apartments in April, witness says
Bangor man charged with murder, escape from psychiatric hospital found not competent to stand trial
After 27 years, a father continues to search for his daughter, presumed dead
Why is DHHS always asking for more money?
The scramble to fill the 2nd District seat if Mike Michaud runs for governor
Maine GOP disappoints on Medicaid
Goodwin steps down as Brewer High School boys basketball coach
University of Maine hockey job has been offered to former assistant Red Gendron
Bucksport’s Cassidy Adams strikes out 19 in single game
Live Updates: UMaine baseball vs. Binghamton in America East championship round
UMaine trails Binghamton 8-2 in suspended game at America East baseball tourney
Maine Democrats stooped to the governor’s level with TV complaint
Maine’s beer industry continues to brew double-digit growth
‘All That’ actress Amanda Bynes arrested after allegedly tossing bong out apartment window on 36th floor
Maine School of Science and Mathematics alumni drawn to give back to magnet school