Nation’s last sardine cannery closing, sniffle

Beach Cliff Sardine Man, Prospect Harbor ©Hilary Nangle

In the first half of the 20th century, sardine processing was big business in Maine, with more than 400 factories along the coast, but on April 18, another chapter in Maine’s rich seafaring history closes along with the last sardine cannery in the country. The former Stinson Seafoods plant in Prospect Harbor—the one with Beach Cliff Sardine man out front—will shut down operations, after more than 100 years in biz, a victim of federally mandated reduced herring catches, according to the Bangor News. And now another 128 folks are out of work in the job-starved, but achingly gorgeous, Schoodic region of Maine.

Ronnie Peabody demonstrates a labeling machine (©Hilary Nangle)

You can still get a sense of the heritage, even if you can no longer view the gold en fish drying on racks or taste their salty goodness on the sites. Start at the Maine Coast Sardine History Museum, in Jonesport. The town now renowned for its lobstering, lobster boat races, and Tall Barney was once home to 15 canneries. FYI: Herring are known as sardines once processed and canned.

Museum director Ronnie Peabody and his wife, Mary, began collecting sardine artifacts and memorabilia in 2001, and opened this labor of love in 2008. Ronnie is a passionate guide who brings life to the photos, equipment, and even the cans displayed. You can zip through on own in about 20 minutes, but start asking Ronnie questions or ask him to guide you through, and you’ll wonder where the hour went. He brings a vanishing, make that vanished way of life alive. And if you’re lucky, five-time World Champion Sardine Packer Rita Willey might be around.

McCurdy Smokehouse, Lubec ©Hilary Nangle

Afterwards, wander up to Lubec to view Mulholland Brothers Market, once a warehouse for the shucks used to make herring boxes, and McCurdy Smokehouse, a historic site honoring the last operating herring-smoking operation in the country. Both are being preserved by Lubec Landmarks.

Saving Ocean Wood

Marian Barker, executive director of Saving Ocean Wood, asked me to post this info and video link about the Saving Ocean Wood Trust, which aims to preserve and protect a 150-acre property on the Schoodic Peninsula. The property includes the former Ocean Wood campground and a privately owned compound parcel, in Birch Harbor. If you want to know more, email Barker at savingoceanwood@gmail.com.

Saving Ocean Wood Campground

Sniffle, sniffle. Schoodic’s Ocean Wood Campground is now closed forever, unless…

Unless a group of dedicated campground devotees can prevent that from happening. Their goal is to preserve the land and public access to it. If you want to learn more about their efforts, read Marian Barker’s comments on this previous post.

Good luck, and keep me posted, please.

The Schoodic region report

My, my, my how quiet everything is. Where are you people? Get traveling!

Today I noodled my way around Hancock, Sullivan, and Gouldsboro, one of my favorite regions of the coast. It’s less developed, less trendy, less touristed and yet it has some of the best scenery as well as an excellent collection of galleries and studios and it’s home to the only mainland section of Acadia National Park.

Let’s start in Hancock. Still going strong is The Mexican Restaurant, now open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and serving killer Mexican and Central American foods, with three generations of women running the place. Everything’s made from scratch, and it’s cheap, too. We had a more-than-filling lunch sampling four separate dishes and got out of there for $12.80 including tax.

Le Domaine, the tres French restaurant, is looking quite suave from the exterior, freshened and welcoming. A five-course fixed-price menu goes for $35.

Next door Mano’s Market isn’t looking open. Can’t say for sure yet, sign is still up, but no one answered the phone and it just has that look.

Definitely closed is Art & Antiques, that cool shop just east of the Sullivan-Hancock bridge. And, as noted previously, Tidal Falls no longer has a lobster pound but remains a wonderful place for a picnic and Frenchman Bay Conservancy is offering a Monday night music series here.

The Galley just east of the bridge and on the water is still going strong and although I didn’t eat here, the reports I’ve heard are positive. I did stop in, and the dining room is bright and cheery with nice water views. Beer and wine are now served. Good spot and family friendly with a kiddo menu ($3.50-$4.99). Regular menu has hand-made pizzas, calzones, burgers, and the usual fried fish and chowders. Most choices $8-16.

Heading down the Schoodic Peninsula, in Winter Harbor, Grindstone Neck of Maine, the smoked seafood store, is now selling lobster rolls and crabmeat rolls. Gerrish’s Store is under new management and serving the usuals–sandwiches, soups, salads, ice cream, sweets. The former Mama’s Boy Restaurant remains empty. Looking for a cheap sleep? The Bluff House has a sign out front advertising $75 rooms (aptly named, this hybrid motel/b&b crowns a bluff with nice ocean views).

The ferry service to Bar Harbor is using a new, enclosed boat this season. And here’s something you might not realize. You can get to the Schoodic peninsula without a car. You can fly into Portland, Bangor, or Bar Harbor; take the Downeaster train to Portland and then the bus; or take from wherever to Bar Harbor, then hop the ferry over and board the free Explorer bus which circulates to many of the lodgings and restaurants as well as the park. Yes, it will take some coordinating of schedules, but it can be done.

Near the entrance to the park road is Harbor Girl Emporium & Cafe, a combo store and restaurant operated by the owners of the Prospect Soap Co. Inside are soap products and works by local craft artisans as well as tables and a menu ranging from subs and sandwiches to pizza and even lobster ($15 for lobster dinner, such a deal!).

Bunker’s Wharf Restaurant is closed and, as mentioned previously, Ocean Wood Campground has a new owner and is expected to close after this season,

Albee’s Shorehouse Cottages, one of my favorite low-key and cheap places, is looking quite dapper these days with fresh paint and cheery flowers. Not a place for anyone who’s the least bit fussy, but if you don’t mind rustic (in the Maine sense, not the New York sense) lodging, this place is fab. Sits right on the water’s edge.

Down East Deli is still in biz and still has that big for sale sign out front. Sigh.

We had dinner at Fisherman’s Inn, and it was excellent. Although it seems a wee bit pricey for the area when you first glance at the menu, those prices are backed with value. We were welcomed to the table within minutes with a plate of crackers accompanied by the house more-than-cheddar spread and a Grindstone Neck (same ownership) smoked salmon pate. Our entrees came with an order of the house-made focaccia accompanied by a dipping sauce comprising olive oil, roast garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, and romano cheese. Quite addictive. I had one of the night’s specials, a crab casserole made with fresh crabmeat paired with the house cheese spread and baked. I ate every morsel. Service was very good, and the one minor lapse was quickly made up for with apologies and a gratis glass of wine. Nice!

And now I’m taking it easy at Oceanside Meadows Inn, a combination B&B and environmental resort on 200 acres that stretch from a sand beach through dunes and meadows and woods back to a salt marsh. Two buildings, a farmhouse and a former sea captain’s home, are filled with antiques and comfy furnishings. And now, with the window open, I can hear the ocean surf rolling in and crashing on the shore. Heaven!

Tomorrow I expect to mosey down to Corea then loop through the park, before heading up the coast.

Schoodic’s Ocean Wood CG, one more summer

Big thanks to longtime Ocean Wood camper Nancy Ragusa for this update on one of the state’s best private campgrounds for the non-humongo RV set. Although the oceanfront campground was auctioned, the lawyer who purchased it is allowing Mike Brunton to run it this summer. Mike plans to begin taking reservations April 28 for the 2009 season.

It is for sale, and of course such a spectacular chunk of real estate so close to the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park will command more than chump change. “If we can fill up the campground with a prosperous summer, perhaps the new owner will be more open to keeping it and enjoying if for what it is,” Nancy dreams.

She also  notes that the new owner might be willing to sell it to a land trust. Wouldn’t that be a nice solution?

In the meantime, if you’re a camping fan with a tent or a mini, reserve now. You won’t be disappointed.

Schoodic’s Ocean Wood Campground in Limbo

Oh this saddens me: I just talked with a friend in Prospect Harbor. Ocean Wood Campground, that wonderful eco-conscious, oceanfront campground near the tip of the peninsula that’s home to the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park, is in trouble. It’s caught in a web comprising foreclosure, an auction without bidders, bankruptcy, and a lawsuit.Its future operation is up in the air. For details, go here.

For fans of few frills camping, this place is tops. It’s heavily wooded and private. A big plus: 17 walk-in wilderness sites, many oceanfront. Of the 70 total sites, only 20 had hookups. There are few other commercial campgrounds anything like it. The only I can think of in the area that comes close is Mainayr, in Steuben. UPDATE

Schoodic Region: Chews News

(NOTE: Wish I could provide links on these, but for all there either aren’t any or they weren’t active.)

In Winter Harbor, Gerrish’s Store has been a landmark for generations. Once a true country store with marble-countered ice cream fountain and true penny candy, it was purchased a while back by a local wealthy person who tore the heart and soul out of the place, turning it into a swanky deli. (Same person tore down a home that had been in a family for five generations replacing it with the New York-style monstrosity that housed Mama’s Boy, which now sits derelict…but I digress, grrrr).

Anyhoo, this spring the new owner, a Bar Harbor restaurateur, planned to turn it into a restaurant, but he pulled out when he was unable to get a license to serve alcohol outside. Enter Kathryn Baltef, a local woman with previous experience operating a bakery down south, and her daughter Alyssa Rider. The duo opened Two Sisters, a bakery cafe serving breakfast and lunch, Gifford’s ice cream, coffee, tea and sweets. It’s comfortable, welcoming and has free Wifi.

Fisherman’s Inn is still going strong. Once when I was dining there, I asked the waitress how fresh the fish was. She laughed, directed me to the guy sitting in the booth behind us and said: Ask him, he caught it. Portions are generous here and accompanied by a sampling of chef-owner Carl Johnson’s smoked seafoods (he’s also the owner of Grindstone Neck of Maine) and foccacia bread accompanied by an addictive house dipping sauce made from olive oil, parsley, garlic and red pepper.

And yes, Chase’s is still the best choice for local grub and gossip, with good service, huge portions, low prices and better-than-decent fare. Hint: the small order of fish and chips is more than enough for most appetites.

Locals tell me a lobster joint is expected to open at the former Barnicle. Stay tuned for news on that one.

Locals worried that Bunkers Wharf, in Birch Harbor, wouldn’t reopen this spring, but it’s back and going strong. Although pricey by local standards, it has the best views and a super location at the end of the park’s Schoodic Loop; perfect for lunch or dinner. It overlooks a working wharf and lobster boat-filled cove–yeah, way quaint, precious and all those other adjectives used to describe Maine the way it’s depicted in postcards. By the way, Bunker’s is planning to open in Bangor, too, in the old EPI Pizza spot.

Downeast Deli, in Prospect Harbor, is doing well under its new ownership. It now has a dining area adjacent to the deli shop. Pizzas, hot and cold hoagies, sandwiches, etc., but the biggest seller is the homemade ice cream sandwich.

Maine Treasures: Acadia’s Oceanside Meadows

Waves lapping lulled me to sleep, and when I awakened this morning, gauzy curtains framed the ocean view from my third-floor room at Acadia’s Oceanside Meadows, one of Maine’s treasures. Really!

Situated on more than 200 acres of Schoodic Peninsula land that encompass seven varied habitats, from sand beach and salt marsh to forests and meadows, and comprising two early historical homes, this classic Maine inn is just the kind of place folks from away think of when they dream about Maine. From my bedroom window, all I see is a spruce lined point of land reaching out to sea and proteching the cove with its sand beach backed by dunes.

The inn fronts on a sleepy section of road that connects two lobstering villages: Prospect Harbor and Corea, and is only a few miles away from the Schoodic Point section of Acadia National Park. It’s land is contiguous to two giant sections of conserved lands, both surrounding heaths, one protected by a local land trust, the other part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Fifteen minutes up the road is the major section of that preserve, Petit Manan. And on the inland side of Route 1 is the Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land. It’s a region laced with two scenic byways, one Maine, the other National.

Getting the picture? This part of Maine is rural and undeveloped. It’s the Maine of author Louise Dickinson Rich, who wrote from her nearby farmhouse. It’s the Maine long favored by bird watchers and nature lovers. Sure, over in Winter Harbor is a historical cottage colony of the late-19th/early-20th century version of McMansions, sprawling grand homes most with a Philadelphia connection, but the world has yet to discover this special place.

Inn owners Sonja Sundararm and Ben Walters have filled the inn’s two adjacent buildings, one an 1860’s sea captain’s home, the other an 1820’s farmhouse, with antiques and family treasures that complement the setting. Nothing is frilly or overdone. Our room, built into the eaves, is light and bright, with floral wallpaper, painted country furniture and a simple white spread topped by a classic quilt on the bed. The bathroom is tiny, and in keeping with Ben and Sonja’s environmental stewardship, soaps are dispensed, not those ubiquitous tiny bottles that clutter landfills.

They’ve cut trails through the woods and meadows and created guides to flora and fauna in each of the habitats on the property. They’ve also turned the barn into a performance room, staging an arts series each summer with lectures and concerts. Last night, a speaker addressed global warming.

Sonja’s breakfasts are legendary and with good reason.