Maine Influenza November 1918

[from “1918 Pandemic Influenza in Maine.” Maine Department of Health and Human Services.(edited for length and clarity)]* Saturday, November 2 The influenza epidemic, which has caused so much suffering in Portland, has passed its climax, but it has left behind weakness and desolation. Many families which have always been self-supporting have lost their providers. Others…

Maine Influenza October 1918

St. John School (later All Saints School) State Street, Bangor

[from “1918 Pandemic Influenza in Maine.” Maine Department of Health and Human Services.(edited for length and clarity)]* Tuesday, October 1 On account of the epidemic of Spanish influenza and the fact that five students who arrived this morning were found to be afflicted with the disease, the opening of Colby College has been postponed for…

Maine Influenza September 1918

Central Maine General Hospital c. 1918

[from “1918 Pandemic Influenza in Maine.” Maine Department of Health and Human Services.(edited for length and clarity)]* Saturday, September 7 The first soldier at Camp Devens near Boston becomes ill with influenza. Just 35 miles northwest of Boston this camp, like so many other military camps, was hurriedly erected in the summer of 1917, just…

Muscle Ridge Shoals Township

Otter Island Ledge Day Beacon in Muscle Ridge Channel (2015)

This island group township in Knox County is just offshore from South Thomaston in the Gulf of Maine. Its more than a dozen islands includes the larger Andrews, Dix, Fisherman and Pleasant.  [click images to enlarge and clarify, for these and all others] The “shoals” refer to ledges and reefs that threaten safe passage.  Otter…

Meir, Jessica

Jessica U. Meir (1977- ) born in Caribou, was selected by NASA in 2013. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Brown University, a Master of Science in Space Studies from the International Space University, and a Doctorate in Marine Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UCSD). From 2000 to 2003, Dr. Meir…

Madawaska Lake Township

This township is just west of Stockholm and North of Westmanland in the Swedish Colony area of Aroostook County. The historic “Sunset Lodge” was a ceder log camp built in 1932 by Bruce Ward on the shore of the Lake. The Lodge apparently has been demolished based on a survey of the area in 2016.…

Mills, Janet

Governor Janet Mills (2018)

Janet Trafton Mills (1947-    )  was sworn in as the 75th Governor of Maine on Wednesday, January 2, 2019. She was born and raised in Farmington, where she still proudly lives today. The granddaughter of Aroostook County potato farmers and the daughter of a long-time high school English teacher and the U.S. Attorney for…

Mushrooms and other Fungi

Oyster Mushroom in Harpswell (2018)

Mushrooms and Fungi Mushrooms are fungi (plural of fungus), but not all fungi are mushrooms. There are about 99,000 fungi species, including yeasts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms. Some mushrooms a poisonous! Do not eat wild mushrooms unless you are certain they are safe. None of the mushrooms noted or referenced here have been vetted for…

Insects, Browntail Moth

Browntail Moth Larva (2017)

According to the Maine Forest Service the browntail moth was accidentally introduced into Somerville, Massachusetts from Europe in 1897.  By 1913, the insect had spread to all New England states, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  Populations of this pest slowly decreased due to natural controls until the 1960s, when browntail moth was limited to Cape…

Milton Township

Corn Field in Milton Township on Route 232 in Autumn (2014)

This small township is surrounded by organized towns: Rumford, Bethel, Woodstock and Peru – all in Oxford County. About one mile of Route 232 is in the western corner and serves as the “Main Street” serving Milton Village. Several mountains, most of which are under 2,000 feet high, mark the landscape: Bean, Bryant, Chamberlain, Davis,…

Mayfield Township

Incorporated as a town in 1892, it deorganized in 1937. This township is just north of Brighton Plantation, with Mayfield Corner being the intersection of Routes 16 and 151 and the site of a village in the 19th century. It has private frontage on Otter Pond, Mayfield Pond and Kingsbury Pond. According to a report…

Maple Sugar

Maple Trees Tapped for Maple Syrup on Route 6 in Carroll Plantation (2014)

Maine has a significant portion of the maple sugaring and maple syrup industry with 14% percent of the U.S. production in 2014.  Vermont produced 40%, and New York, 18%. Big Six Township, in northern Somerset County, is said to account for roughly 23% of Maine’s maple sugar production and 4% of the U.S. total production.…

Merganser, Common

Common Mergansers on Giles Pond in Aurora

This duck is, in fact, common throughout Maine in the summer and year round within about 40 miles of the coast from York County to Hancock County.  Lakes are their preferred habitat. Long at 22-27 inches, the common merganser has a pointed, orange bill with jagged edges to catch slippery fish.  The male’s dark green…

Mourning Doves

These pigeon-like birds visit home bird feeders, feasting mostly on seeds that drop to the ground. They remain year-round within about 40 miles of the coast. In summer they may be found in all but northern Piscataquis, Somerset and Aroostook (western portion) counties.   The doves are ground feeders in the wild and measure 12…

Map Cabinet

Map of Maine 1778

The Map Cabinet offers selected images of historic maps of Maine. Most are from the Library of Congress where higher resolution versions are available by following the links listed under “Sources” below. The Library’s “permalinks” are permanent links to the associated images. “Image source:” links are those from which the images were acquired on the…

MacMillan, Donald B.

Model of the Schooner Bowdoin at Bowdoin College (2013)

Donald Baxter MacMillan (1872-1970), though born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, lived in Freeport as a boy, and graduated from Freeport High School and Bowdoin College in Brunswick.  He later taught at schools in Maine and Massachusetts. After joining Admiral Robert E. Peary’s successful expedition to the North Pole in 1908, MacMillan began to explore, eventually accompanied…

Martin, John L.

(1941 –    ) was born in Eagle Lake June 5, 1941 and attended local schools. He received his B.A. in History and Government from the University of Maine at Orono in 1963, and did advanced graduate study in Political Science at the University of Maine at Orono. First elected to the House of Representatives in…

Monkfish Landings

Monkfish Landings 1974-2016

Commercial fishermen who harvest monkfish, also known as American goosefish, have had substantial landings for most of the period 1974 through 2011.  However, the recent rapid decline since the peak in 2005 is troubling and may signal several year of closure unless the resource rebounds. As usual, prices per pound rise with declining landings.  They…

Blue Mussel Harvests

Blue Mussels Historical Landings 1950-2016

Prior to the mid-1970’s, blue mussel harvests in commercial fishing were relatively low.  Since then harvests appear to follow cycles, with higher yields in the late 1980’s, the mid-1990’s and the mid-2000’s.  Higher total values followed a similar trend.  “Whole pounds” in the table below refers to mussels in the shell, as does “price/lb.”  Mussel…

Maine State Symbols

Maine State House (2001)

Each state has its “official state” you-name-it, and Maine is no exception. These symbols are intended to convey the spirit and essence of the natural environment and cultural heritage of Maine. Each has its own story and myths. Often the bird, insect, mineral, etc. symbols are offered to the legislature by elementary school classes as…