Our Stories; The Cranberry Report (Islesford, Maine)

<v Speaker>The following program presents personal views and opinions which are not necessarily <v Speaker>those of Maine public television or the funder. <v Speaker>Some program content may not be suitable for young children. <v Speaker>Maine Public Television's production of Our Stories is made possible through a television <v Speaker>demonstration grant from Rural Development, part of the USDA. <v Speaker>[music plays] <v Man>Remember the 16th Sunday. Temperature of 28 degrees wind north east.

<v Man>Wind speed is 12 knots, snowing about 7 a.m.. <v Man>Snow steady for the rest of the a.m. <v Man>and into the p.m. <v Man>A few of our island fishermen went out today. <v Man>A meeting at the Lobster Co-op Dock this morning by the directors to discuss <v Man>the dividend that will be paid to the lobstermen this year. <v Man>Big expenses were incurred and repair work on the dock with a bigger newbuilding. <v Man>The fishing has been very good this fall and it looks like it will be the co-op's <v Man>best year ever. <v Man>Going fishing is a lifestyle, it's not a not a job or an occupation. <v Man>I guess, I don't look at it as a bottom line, profit driven for profit. <v Man>You know, I work the way I work because it's the way I like to work. <v Man>What do you think they'd wanna do with a ?jumbo? <v Man>Yeah I'll get it past it.

<v Man>The two years that I was teaching. I went out with uh very, you know, anybody that would <v Man>take me. And then when I got through well, before I got through teaching, <v Man>I decided I wanted to try it uh, because I figured <v Man>if I didn't try it, I'd always wonder if I could have done it. <v Man>And uh and I- I went and y' know, built some traps and got a small <v Man>boat and and I went fishing. <v Man>And the rest, as they say, is history. <v Man>[music plays] The <v Man>fishermen catch lobsters. <v Man>We bring them in and sell them to the co-op. <v Man>We have a manager. We pay him to make sure we have <v Man>bait and to market our lobsters ya know t- to our advantage. <v Man>It's just nice to own your business from top to bottom. <v Man>You know, we catch him and we sell and we share in the profits.

<v Man>It's a nice communist idea [laughs]. <v Man>I think w- without the co-op, it would probably be uh harder to maintain <v Man>the ?inaudible?. <v Man>Uh to maintain a community of anyone, because it does. <v Man>It's if you're not a fisherman, you're a carpenter and caretaker, and there's <v Man>only so much of that. <v Man>And over the years, people have wanted to fish and been able to go fishing. <v Man>And if they worked at it they made a real good living. <v Man>Her father has always loved it and my grandfather. <v Man>I remember them doing it. Then when I was 11, I got a license <v Man>and all the people trapped in a rowboat. <v Man>After I get this ?inaudible?, I came home.

<v Man>He did a little ?inaudible?. <v Man>Then I got the jobs in fishing for a while and then I got my own boat. <v Man>You know, very glad I did, because I wouldn't wanna done anything <v Man>else. <v Man>'Cause I really enjoy fishing. <v Man>It's like gambling a lot. <v Man>Your own ?inaudible?. You never know what you're going to get in it. <v Man>You might get nothing. <v Man>You might get not ?inaudible? <v Man>up to 25 or 30 dollars in just a couple minutes. <v Man>You know. <v Man>But the end of the day is what counts I don't know what you get the week in, what you get <v Man>for a check for the week is what really counts but. <v Man>Well, this is the way to make a living and you're your own boss. <v Man>If you make mistakes you know that's your own fault, if you

<v Man>wanna go by yourself, you can you can't stand yourself. <v Man>That's just too bad. <v Man>On both sides of my families, where they all came from was this was this island <v Man>and the other one over there, Big Cranbury. <v Man>And uh. <v Man>?inaudible? I've been off around a lot of parts of the world and I never saw <v Man>any place I liked better. So here I am. <v Man>[mixer buzzes] <v Woman>I think a community is much richer when <v Woman>when people, uh, when their roots are there <v Woman>and they continue generation after generation to be there because <v Woman>there's so m- [laughter] there's so much interest in the place from the people I think, <v Woman>that they want to see the community carry on and thrive.

<v Woman>Father, we thank you for this day. <v Woman>For all it's been done for us. <v Woman>We thank you that we can gather as friends around the table tonight and have such <v Woman>abundance. We give you thanks in Christ name, amen. <v Woman>How did the house come along today, Judy? <v Judy>Oh, actually, [man speaking] we got a lot done today. <v Woman>You did? I have some. <v Judy>We finished. Here. <v Judy>Anna [laughs] I think we should ?get? Anna. <v Man>Son he's now official. ?Richard's son he's now official? <v Man>A fourth ?inaudible? and the fisherman. <v Man>So because of those five sons, there's <v Man>more people been here. <v Man>The sad thing is some of them are now moving to the northeast or <v Man>southwest or. <v Man>It's kind of strange that a lot of outboard motor

<v Man>boats, it take you to the northeast in five or six or seven or <v Man>eight minutes. <v Man>Except in the wintertime, you can't use the bigger boats, faster boats. <v Man>So much easier to leave the island now than it used to be. <v Man>And people aren't bothering to, not wanting to stay on <v Man>the island. <v Woman>Supposed to be good tomorrow isn't it? <v Woman>Mhmm. Tomorrow or Friday, so. <v Woman>Oh, really? <v Woman>Was there any rain this weekend? <v Woman>That'll be good. <v Woman>I probably knew I was leaving Isleford by the time I was about 5. <v Woman>They knew from a very young age that this would not be where I would, where <v Woman>I would live. I really wanted my life to be different than so many of the lives I had <v Woman>seen on Isleford. And so, you know, I tried to pursue that by <v Woman>you know going to going away to boarding school and going to college and and pursuing <v Woman>this career thing. And uh really wanted to kind of separate <v Woman>myself as much as I could from where I had grown up.

<v Woman>So how was your day Cal? <v Cal>Was good. I stayed pretty busy. <v Woman>Mhmm. <v Cal>I had um some good sales. <v Cal>Sold some snow shoes. <v Woman>Oh, you did? <v Cal>Yep. You know, I've had this sort of uh ambivalent <v Cal>relationship with the island. <v Cal>And part of what that's been about for me is that <v Cal>because of because the island is where it is and because it has this culture <v Cal>in the summer of you know the summer community with lots of play time, <v Cal>people on vacation, lots of fun summer type things <v Cal>going on um it's a small community, <v Cal>it's a closed community. I think. <v Cal>It sort of projects this romantic idea <v Cal>of what island life is like. <v Cal>And that's always been difficult for me because. <v Cal>Island life is is it has elements of romance.

<v Cal>But for me, it was not romantic. <v Cal>[music plays] <v Narrator>Summer sweet summer on the Cranbury Isles. <v Narrator>Temperature 75 degrees at noon. <v Narrator>Wind south by west 8 naughts, the lobster men are setting more traps and hauling them <v Narrator>more often now. The fishing is picking up and more ?shadows? <v Narrator>are showing. $4 and a quarter per pound for hard shells and

<v Narrator>275 for ?shadows?. <v Narrator>A little village store is very busy now with islanders and tourists. <v Narrator>The post office is located in the store, which makes it a favorite social gathering <v Narrator>spot. Mark and Vicky Fernald have a new baby daughter, Emma, who <v Narrator>was born this morning. <v Woman>It is so busy compared to what it used to be. <v Woman>I- I've kind of um been in shock, especially after this last summer. <v Woman>There were so many people. I couldn't believe how many people we had. <v Woman>And they all walk up the street and in the cars all have to wait. <v Woman>And they don't even they're touched by the magic of the island. <v Woman>They don't even get out of the way. They're just loving it. <v Woman>They're just smiling and happy and walking right across <v Woman>the road [laughing] [kids shouting], having a great time. <v Woman>People talk about, I miss the island magic.

<v Woman>I have to go back and get some, you know, the summer people or people that have lived <v Woman>here for a little bit off season. <v Woman>Um, I'm thinking of one person in particular. <v Woman>And she says that she goes, oh, yeah, I'm over in Northeast Harbor, but I miss the island <v Woman>magic. I have to go get some. <v Woman>That's the nicest lookin' sight I've seen all month. <v Woman>When did-. <v Man>[man speaking]. <v Woman>That ?vest? lookin when did you get back? <v Woman>When I would go home in September, I would draw pictures of boats all fall <v Woman>and be homesick for the island. <v Woman>And I would think that I would see people from the island. <v Woman>I was so in love with it here. <v Woman>I would see Lewis Fernald. I would see Francis Fernald. <v Woman>I would do a double take and see the boy that worked on the mail boat that year. <v Woman>I would turn around and think I saw Anne or or Cora <v Woman>any number of people. <v Woman>And and then I realized it wasn't them and I'd go, oh.

<v Woman>[laughs] I really did. <v Woman>I had it bad [laughs]. <v Woman>I wanted so much to be here. <v Woman>I don't make a living doing this. <v Woman>I haven't had any salary for three years. <v Woman>So it it can't survive the way it is. <v Woman>And I've been to a store keeping conference that the um <v Woman>Island Institute held and other island people were there and other shop keepers. <v Woman>And basically there's only one island that's making it. <v Woman>And it's because they have twelve hundred people there. <v Woman>[music plays] <v Man>It was impossible to save any money when I first had it. <v Man>No matter how hard you worked, we had a family. <v Man>Now it's entirely possible.

<v Man>Because uh, instead of 30 cents a pound for love. <v Man>Right now, the lowest it's been this year is two dollars and seventy <v Man>five. <v Man>And some of the some of the guys can uh catch a lot more lobsters than we used to. <v Man>Scientists say it's all gone by, but I don't think so. <v Man>I think it's more lobsters than ever. <v Woman>I think my father has like one of the strongest work ethics of anybody <v Woman>I've met. He really never took a day off. <v Woman>He worked. If he wasn't lobstering, which he did, every possible opportunity <v Woman>he could, uh he was in his shop or his shop down at the dock, in the summer. <v Woman>And he had six children.

<v Woman>Uh didn't have you know the sort of the cushion of <v Woman>a job with sick days and vacation time and pension plans. <v Woman>And and uh one of the major stressors that I think he perceived was <v Woman>financial stressors. You know, they probably were more others. <v Woman>Ya know others more underlying that maybe he wasn't aware of and <v Woman>maybe most of us weren't either. <v Woman>But, um. <v Woman>I'm sure it was a difficult time. <v Man>Oh, I was drinking uh for a long time, I drank a <v Man>5th of whiskey every single night. <v Man>Maybe a couple of ?inaudible? to be along with it. <v Man>And it really started to bother me. <v Man>And I thought I <v Man>might try to cut back on it, so I cut it in half and then I'd have

<v Man>terrible nightmares. And so the next night I dreamt my ?inaudible? <v Man>and sleep like a log. <v Man>But it is when you consume alcohol it- <v Man>a lot of it, it ends up consuming the vitamin B12 in your <v Man>system, which takes care of your nervous system. <v Man>So I- I had a anxiety attack at the table with all of us <v Man>eating, though no one knew. <v Man>And I thought I was going to die right here. <v Man>And I drove around the shop, picked my plate up, took it in there. <v Man>Without me shopping, I never built a wooden log to trap for fast in my life because I <v Man>was scared straight to death, ?inaudible? <v Man>was insane, my heart racing an' sweating <v Man>an' ya know so terrible. So I knew I had a big problem. <v Man>And while I was thrashing around trying to solve it, Anna told me that <v Man>she'd had enough. That I could either quit drinking or else, so

<v Man>I knew she meant it. I knew the time to do something, well, heartfelt, <v Man>because I knew that my I'd never have drink again matter of fact, <v Man>she gave me my last drink that night did I quit <v Man>and the tears was running down my cheeks because I knew that was the last drink <v Man>I was going to have. And I thought that was terrible. <v Man>But it wasn't it was ?inaudible?. <v Man>Well, I just knew it had to happen and she was pushing me into doing it. <v Man>So people ?I've got the hospital? <v Man>For some reason or other. So, it was all right. But <v Man>I just knew I didn't wanna drink anymore and I knew I wasn't going to <v Man>until that was 35 years ago and ?inaudible? <v Woman>I was 19 when I came out here, I was 18 when I got married.

<v Woman>When I came out here the following summer, I was 19 and I hadn't, you know, I <v Woman>felt I hadn't lived. I hadn't done anything. <v Woman>So. Why do I have to come out on this block? <v Woman>Because he was thunderstruck. He thought of course we were gonna live on a houseboat. <v Woman>Well, we did. I came over kicking and screaming, and crying and- It <v Woman>took a long time, really, for me to become what I felt <v Woman>was proud of the island and finally saying I'm home. <v Woman>Took about 15 years. Really. <v Woman>It was hard. [music plays] <v Narrator>September the 14th Sunday. <v Narrator>Thick fog early and a light rain. <v Narrator>Reverend Doug Hale and his wife Ruth were delayed by church service this morning <v Narrator>as the ferry didn't make its usual trip due to malfunction.

<v Narrator>John Bliley eventually gave them a ride aboard the Delight and church was held <v Narrator>to the large congregation. <v Narrator>Reverend Hale gave a memorial remembrance. <v Narrator>For Lena Bradford, a friend and neighbor who died last week. <v Narrator>Lena was an island girl who grew up here and went to school here. <v Narrator>She had been sick for some time. [people chatting] <v Woman>It's the most important thing in my life, my faith is. <v Woman>My faith in in Jesus Christ. <v Woman>And uh, because I know if I have Him and know what He has done <v Woman>for me, that is the ultimate gift anybody could give. <v Woman>[organ plays] <v Man>We pray for all of us who mourn the passing of Lena.

<v Man>Even though we are grateful for her release from suffering. <v Man>Give us grace with which we may put bomb <v Man>on the ruins of those around us. <v Man>Put together, we may more nearly represent the kind <v Man>of community Jesus came to found. <v Woman>I know that I'm loved. And no matter what else is going on, um- I <v Woman>have that that that joy within me. <v Woman>[people singing] <v Woman>Thank you. I- I think most homes here are pretty open.

<v Woman>That's you know most the time we just go in somebody's house without even knocking, just <v Woman>open it up and say hi. <v Woman>Um, because it's oftentimes we do call it just like a family. <v Woman>I think everybody needs somebody else anyway, uh no matter <v Woman>if you live on an island or in the midst of a city. <v Woman>Um so I think friends are are um vital <v Woman>in anybody's life. <v Woman>Um [coughs] some days especially, you know, if you if you're feeling kinda down <v Woman>or things aren't going just right, an' you wanna just um get out and <v Woman>get a different view of things, it's just go and go next door to your neighbor and <v Woman>and have a cup of coffee or tea or and talk about, about <v Woman>issues, even about maybe what's bothering you that day and. <v Woman>Usually come away feeling um lifted up. <v Woman>I was I was thinking like, for instance, the families that have moved out I was thinkin

<v Woman>of Paul and Brenda right now because we were talking about that earlier. <v Woman>How how much? [music plays] <v Woman>When my father was dying, he planned a great big party up here <v Woman>to say goodbye and he had everything handled. <v Woman>I think he had Karen was gonna help cater it <v Woman>and he was all ready to go and he was dying. <v Woman>And he didn't make it. <v Woman>He didn't make it to his goodbye party. <v Woman>And he said, I want my party to go on anyway. <v Woman>And so I think that the idea of everybody being at the <v Woman>neighborhood houses is you know, inside me from that <v Woman>and from being at Grange Hall an' from being at the Firemen's Ball and from being <v Woman>a Whitsun nitwits and literary evening and all the things that are traditional that <v Woman>go on at the neighborhood house. [people talking]

<v Woman>Hi ?inaudible? you want some punch? <v Woman>[music playing] I grew up at a time in the 50s when Milton Lord was part of the island <v Woman>and he and his wife did square dance calling. <v Woman>And that was wonderful. <v Woman>And when I thought about my party, I thought I would love to have that kind of <v Woman>folk dancing that we had. Then the copper lines and the community <v Woman>coming together when they can all be awake in the middle of the day. <v Woman>They're not tucked in bed, ready to go fishing in the morning. <v Woman>[square dance calling] If you can slow anything down so a community can be a community <v Woman>that's wonderful and a community can't <v Woman>be a community if it's so busy that it doesn't have time to communicate. <v Woman>[applause]

<v Woman>I think the community, as I have known it throughout my life, especially throughout <v Woman>my adult life, is changing quickly and <v Woman>quite dramatically. <v Woman>Um there are a lot of people who will be having to make choices soon <v Woman>and and some this this fall about um <v Woman>what to do with their children when they go to high school. <v Woman>Um some families um on Isle Ford on <v Woman>Great Cranbury have chosen to send their kids to boarding school and that enables <v Woman>them to stay on the island with the rest <v Woman>of their children. And they continue to go to the island schools until high school. <v Woman>But the majority of people um do <v Woman>move off with their kids and stay over on the mainland while they go to high

<v Woman>school. Then you know the the more children that <v Woman>are going off to school, you know, the the smaller and smaller the population here is <v Woman>gonna become. <v Woman>You know, 2 of my brothers and their families won't be living here um <v Woman>at least throughout the school year this winter. <v Woman>Um it's kind of scary because when I when I live here, I like to to, you know, to think <v Woman>of the island the way I've remembered it. <v Woman>And just, you know, it's nice to remember, <v Woman>think of people back here doing what I know that they do all winter long. <v Woman>And when those people aren't here, can't quite imagine the island anymore. <v Man>[bird chirping] Well, we moved off to Northeast Harbor in September, and I've been <v Man>commuting every day. <v Man>It's been a pretty big adjustment. <v Man>Um it's been good. I think it's been good for my wife and my kids, but it's a little hard <v Man>for me with a commuting.

<v Speaker>All right, you guys. <v Man>It's just a mile to the dock. Less than a mile probably. <v Man>And uh I take my own boat most days when the weather lets me [clears throat] <v Man>so I can be ?inaudible? from I can be from my house to the island in about 15 minutes. <v Man>And uh most days unless then pretty soon off to haul my boat up and take me about. <v Man>And then I'll be an hour. So that'll that'll slow me down a lot. <v Man>[people talking] [boat running] <v Man>There's a trend now that a lot of people going off to bring their kids to a bigger <v Man>school. I think um there's a lot more. <v Man>They just feel like there's a lot more to offer over there. <v Man>I mean, just academically, this school is is wonderful.

<v Man>The kids come, my children started this fall and they were at par with or or <v Man>better than most of the other you know, the other kids. <v Man>And uh so I think that there's no problem there over here. <v Man>I think it's just the social part of it, having other friends, uh extracurricular <v Man>activities. I think that's really lacking here. <v Man>[children shouting and laughing] <v Kelly>I I remember times when, especially in the fall, because fall was a really, <v Kelly>really tough time. <v Kelly>Um, Labor Day was usually like this mass exodus <v Kelly>an' um the boat would be filled with people leaving, <v Kelly>leaving for the year. And that that was a really hard time for me. <v Kelly>I felt a lot of grief during that. <v Kelly>Probably from the time I was like fifth grade on. <v Kelly>I would I would leave the school and I had a favorite place I would go to,

<v Kelly>um, down on um Bunker's head, and there was a rock <v Kelly>there that had uh carved out seat almost just in the rock. <v Kelly>It's just the perfect seat for someone small. <v Kelly>And, um, and I would go down there and I would sit there and look out over <v Kelly>um Mount Desert and, uh. <v Kelly>I would really feel alone. <v Kelly>And, probably about the time I was 10, I started smoking too, so I bring my cigarettes <v Kelly>down and I'd and I'd sit there and wonder, you know, jeez, what are those kids like over <v Kelly>there and how would I ever fit in? <v Kelly>Um, that was a really hard time, really. <v Kelly>You know, especially those 6th, 7th, 8th grade years. <v Kelly>[running footsteps] I <v Kelly>guess I started experimenting a little bit with alcohol, um, <v Kelly>when I was pretty young, you know, 10 or 11.

<v Kelly>I think my parents knew very little. <v Kelly>And I think that's sort of kind of been um the norm [laughs]. <v Kelly>Yeah, I've I think I've always done a good job at sort of protecting them from things <v Kelly>in my life. And it was easier because I didn't live there and I chose not <v Kelly>to live there since I was almost 14 years old. <v Kelly>And um I just was very kept <v Kelly>things very much private from them. <v Kelly>So when I called them from detox, I knew that they would be very surprised. <v Kelly>Um and I knew it would take <v Kelly>years, [laughs] you know um, for them to really <v Kelly>you know come to know a lot about what brought me there. <v Man>I was down ?in the woods? ?cutting woods?, Anna hollered to me, told me, <v Man>come in. She had something to tell me, then she said that Kelly was <v Man>up ?in Bangor? in the detox and I said, ?what?

<v Man>we couldn't ?blame? it ?inaudible? what it was because we didn't realize she had a <v Man>problem that ?inaudible?. ?I was? <v Man>surprised that it uh, that she was <v Man>in the same fix as I was in not being able to handle it properly. <v Man>And I was also glad that she decided to do something about it a lot younger than I did <v Man>when I was 36 or 7 somethin' when I started to do something <v Man>about mine. She did hers. <v Man>I think when she she's 21 or 2. <v Man>And I was real proud of her. <v Man>Somebody wants to straighten themselves up when they got a problem I think it's great. <v Man>They get rid of the problem. <v Man>Solve it in some way. Well they done real good ?inaudible?. <v Man>[music plays] <v Narrator>October the 28th temperature of 42 degrees wind Northwest

<v Narrator>at 25 knots. This has been a very dry summer and early fall. <v Narrator>Up until yesterday Northeast I recorded 14 inches of water <v Narrator>in my well at 7 a.m., a few light sprinkles fell also this <v Narrator>morning. Tis a windy day. <v Narrator>I drove down a narrow road ways later and then walked to ?Mash? <v Narrator>Pond with my binoculars. <v Narrator>No eagle seen this year by their nest. <v Narrator>A goodly gathering at the school this evening for a potluck, supper and parents night. <v Anna>At the time, I didn't realize that it probably would have been a good idea for Kelly to <v Anna>have gone off island and gone to a different school for 7th and 8th <v Anna>grade year. I don't know how that would have worked out, but as I look back, I <v Anna>think it probably would have been better for her because she chooses now... <v Anna>I- I think it was such an issue for <v Anna>her that she choose she's the only one

<v Anna>that chooses not to live on the island at all. <v Anna>I mean, she does come back to visit from time to time. <v Anna>But her memories, I don't think are as as uh <v Anna>good and warm as the the of the older ones that did have <v Anna>other friends to play with, people to be with. <v Anna>I think about different kinds of ways of living. <v Anna>You know, people would come here just for the summer and what their lives are diff- are <v Anna>when they're not here. <v Anna>And I think years ago I used to think when they left the island, <v Anna>I thought, oh, I feel lucky. <v Anna>Wish I could go up with them, you know. <v Anna>But now I don't. I think. Oh, I'm I'm sorry they have to leave because um <v Anna>I don't know. I guess I've just become. <v Anna>I I've become um a settler, you know, <v Anna>just settled right here, and it's my home, it's it's where my heart is.

<v Anna>It's like a [sighs] probably somebody <v Anna>maybe being lost for a long time, maybe. <v Anna>And finally, they found a home. I think. <v Anna>[women talking] [raining] <v Man>This island is a a community of people who are very curious, interested <v Man>and intelligent in the ways in which they approach things in the world. <v Man>They're very aware of what's um <v Man>possible, what's but another has to offer. <v Man>And that's an intelligence that hasn't to do with any literal sense of education. <v Man>It has to do with really the primal intelligence that makes a difference, you see. <v Man>In the Bronx, where I grew up during the Depression years, it was uh <v Man>apartment houses, you know, 3, 4, there are 4 or 5 story buildings. <v Man>And we knew the people in the buildings, we knew our neighbors and they set out on the <v Man>street. We talked to the neighbors.

<v Man>Um the neighbors looked after the children of a community like my mother, <v Man>looked after one of the elderly in our apartment house and took care of things for her. <v Man>And there was that spirit of community that I found when I came here, <v Man>that is everyone was drawn upon for whatever he or she had to offer. <v Man>Being a small community, that was um the thing that opened <v Man>up so that people could be um feel needed in that. <v Man>[door opening] [bell ringing] [door shutting] <v Man>I thought, oh, yeah. [laughs] <v Man>It's essentially a recognition that we are all human and that it's that essence of <v Man>relationship, one to another is the foundation of being human. <v Man>So you can call it community or whatever you like. <v Man>You can form different kinds of groups, but it is that need to communicate one with <v Man>the other and to draw out, you know, in exchange what each has to <v Man>offer, you see. And so where that is lacking, where people get convoluted,

<v Man>caught up in themselves alone, then that breaks down. <v Man>And they're not recognizing that the other is like me, you see, and then they can <v Man>distance themselves. And then you don't get community. <v Man>You have people caught up in their little cloistered, closed in worlds and <v Man>uh the concerns breakdown and the community then breaks down. <v Man>Good, you see, that's what happens when you're away for a week. <v Joy>That's right. <v Man>You get all the presents when you come. <v Man>[woman laughs] Thank you, Joy. <v Joy>You're welcome ?inaudible?. <v Man>[inaudible screaming] I see that's the one thing we all share in common, and that's

<v Man>a childhood. It's universal. <v Man>Anyone who has survived childhood has that within him <v Man>or her because um that's what you've grown through. <v Man>So that's the universal experience of all the people you meet childhood, <v Man>you see. And so that spirit stays in me. <v Man>You know, I tap back to it because it still it flourishes <v Man>that kind of curiosity and wonder and excitement. <v Man>I don't want to dampen. I don't want it to die down. <v Man>I don't want it to be in conflict with my being an adult. <v Children>[children singing] Swimming, swimming, in a swimming pool. <v Man>Some people want their kids to have the wide range of <v Man>uh extracurricular activities that you get in a in a larger <v Man>school where, you know, everybody's in the 1st grade and 2nd grade in the 3rd grade, <v Man>other people are happy here because, you know, the kids get the individual care <v Man>that they they may need or if they're an advanced

<v Man>student, they can go along at their own rate. <v Man>I myself, I speak I think for Cindy and myself, I would just, <v Man>you know, happy as can be with the education that our kids get. <v Cindy>What'd you do this morning? <v Kid>Well, I think that being in a big school I wouldn't really like because there would be <v Kid>too many kids. <v Kid>And also I wouldn't get all the fresh air and I couldn't bike <v Kid>up to school. <v Kid>Stuff like that. <v Kid>Bye mom [kiss]. This is my book, The Islesford's Seasons. <v Kid>Part two, summer. School's out for the summer. <v Kid>More business for Dad. <v Kid>Lobster prices are great. <v Kid>There's a lot more freedom for me because I don't have to go to school. <v Kid>I have lots more fun in the summer because we all go swimming <v Kid>and picnicking on Sand Beach and hiking on the island.

<v Kid>Part four, winter. <v Kid>When winter comes, we start a fire in the mornings, so we are nice and toasty ?warm?. <v Man>When I moved on in 1973, the first winter I was <v Man>here, the only people here my age all winter <v Man>were Rick Ally, Julie Ally and Jim ?Brain?. <v Man>And there were other people in and out through the winter. <v Man>But they you know that people had apartments in Northeast and they were up there. <v Man>They went away for the winter. So I guess I kind of thought that's what it was like. <v Man>And then we went through, I guess, where a lot of us a lot of people had moved <v Man>here after that, myself included, were kind of uh what rebellious, actively <v Man>looking for an alternative to putting a coat and tie on or punchin' 40 hours <v Man>in at the factory. So we uh a lot of people <v Man>that had roots here, married, got married and lived here.

<v Man>And, you know, there was uh a population as large in it as now. <v Woman>I love Islesford, and I I hope that we will always have ties there. <v Woman>Um ideally I'd love to be able to have a place that we could go to. <v Woman>Ya know own a place out there. <v Woman>Um, I think that it has provided for us a really <v Woman>good foundation for our family. <v Woman>I think we were really active and involved in the community and I think <v Woman>that that was a really good example for our children. <v Woman>I think that's a little bit more difficult to do when you're in a larger community. <v Woman>You know, when there are more people and you're busier and all that. <v Woman>Um, so for that, you know, I've really enjoyed the experience out there. <v Woman>Did you guys play outside for recess today? <v Girl>No, we played inside.

<v Woman>Islesford offers a tremendous amount of comfort and safety. <v Woman>And I think that things become a little bigger <v Woman>and a little scarier from Islesford you know, something that seems so simple, <v Woman>for example, getting in the car and driving somewhere, I know for a lot of people on <v Woman>Islesford is a big deal. <v Woman>Um and I don't want that for my kids, you know, I want them to be comfortable <v Woman>with doing things that a lot of people just take for granted that I know people in <v Woman>Islesford don't. <v Man>When something comes along that that would be good for you to do. <v Man>I- I think it it feels overwhelming, you know, like like playing <v Man>in little league or going to camp. <v Man>Uh there's no way I would have ever done like that growing up on Islesford. <v Man>I I uh I was scared. <v Man>I I wouldn't've I I wouldn't've done it. <v Woman>[box sliding] Well, when you're in the boat and well and baiting traps, it's not not real

<v Woman>heavy work, but it's a long day. <v Woman>By the end of the day, you know, you really feel it. <v Woman>Be down here at 6:30 and be done [box sliding] <v Woman>by the time we weigh the lobsters up and get bait, be done by 4:00, 4:30. <v Woman>And then just go home and sit on the couch for a while. <v Woman>[laughs] I mean, it's tiring it's long days and 5, we went 5 days in a row and- <v Woman>you can't do anything else, you get behind on all your paperwork, you get behind <v Woman>on the the dishes, cooking, and but <v Woman>you just gotta just, you know, get through it. <v Woman>And now this time of year, you catch up. <v Woman>So it's just like real busy, it's nothing- you can't do anything else for a while except <v Woman>go ?all upstream?. But, you know, we've been used to that for a long time. <v Woman>And so you just it's just in your mind. <v Woman>That's what you're gonna do. [music plays] [shoveling] You <v Woman>learn a lot by going with somebody.

<v Woman>And uh I think that's about the best way to to <v Woman>learn how to lobster is to ya know go as a stern, stern man. <v Woman>Stern person. <v Woman>You know, just see how it's done. <v Woman>The hard part about fishing is your ?inaudible? <v Woman>and you're away from your your kids and family. <v Woman>So. You know, that's that's one reason I took some time off <v Woman>because I didn't want to be out in the boat if I was needed for something. <v Woman>There's times I've been able to go out for a a few days a week <v Woman>and have somebody come in when they were younger and get 'em off to school. <v Woman>And then spend the rest of the time of the week catching up at home. <v Man>I know my grandfather, my father's father used to and my mom's father did

<v Man>went lobstering. <v Man>And uh, I'm sure they their parents before them went <v Man>fishing of some kind. Back then it was probably groundfish and more for cod <v Man>and haddock. Stuff like that. <v Man>Lobster didn't come on 'til later on. <v Man>Really came on in my dad's day. <v Man>Lobstering much easier to take care of a fishery than ground fishing. <v Man>When they catch the fish it's the most concentrated in the spring when their spawnin' so <v Man>drag 'em up. If you caught all those, those are all like female lobsters <v Man>and you kept 'em all, the lobster fishery would be the same. <v Man>I mean, there's not much you can do about it. <v Man>You you drag 'em up or if you hook 'em up anyway, you're bringing surface. <v Man>They're not gonna make it down. <v Man>Well, as the big measure, which is five inches, anything above that.

<v Man>That's the back measurement. <v Man>Uh I think above that you have to throw back. <v Man>If she's got eggs, you will notch a second flipper on the right. <v Man>That's uh a punch drunk. <v Man>She's a breeder, has eggs, got just a few on started. <v Man>Growing underneath. <v Man>That's I let that one go. <v Man>I learned a lot from my father. But I also learned a lot from being up ?inaudible? <v Man>shop with his boys. <v Man>Um they were building traps. I always had a few traps growing <v Man>up, but not a lot. <v Man>And uh, it was like Mark and uh Danny Studd full time fishing, <v Man>before I did, I went to art school. <v Man>Well, this one is from uh its uh actual

<v Man>place. It's down on the uh eastern side of the island there's a <v Man>a marsh in behind this fellow that I suppose it's me, but um- <v Man>in behind here in this wind is no ?these? <v Man>snow in and uh the skies come up, he said <v Man>sunblock. And he's looking out over there and, uh oh, <v Man>he looks to the right and there's 5 geese comin' around there <v Man>this is just uh wishful thinking. <v Man>Maybe [laughs]. <v Man>Before you even start with this and know what size I want or anything, I just <v Man>I do a little thumbnail sketches like the one on the moon and um <v Man>come up with a design and um they <v Man>may be just little little drawings, you know, simple takes two minutes <v Man>to make or somethin' and you can get an idea from that. <v Man>This is another one from my past,

<v Man>I'm about oh, 8 years old in this maybe, something <v Man>like that. Maybe even younger that uh I <v Man>used to ?inaudible? my dad and I would go tuna fishin'. <v Man>But uh first we call lobster traps in the morning and <v Man>then hope during the day that it was going to stay calm so we could get out, <v Man>look for some tuna fish. <v Man>I like doing things with my hands and painting is doing things <v Man>with your hands, but it's not the physical things I like working on a <v Man>trap or something like that or hauling traps, tuna fishin', or whatever. <v Man>Well, basically, I just enjoy it. <v Man>But uh um I'd like to show other people um maybe <v Man>what I see. <v Man>I guess. ?That's about it?. [music plays] <v Narrator>December the 8th, Monday, temperature 33 degrees, wind northwest,

<v Narrator>sunny in the A.M. with a few clouds, some of the lobster men are bringin' in their <v Narrator>traps to store on the bank for the winter. <v Narrator>Stephanie Ally dropped by the house this morning. <v Narrator>She plans to set some traps of her own in the spring and would like to use my <v Narrator>old ?buoy? colors. Of course, I said sure. <v Narrator>It would be nice to see the red, white and orange combination in the water again. <v Man>Remember, yeah? <v Woman>Yeah. <v Man>The generation before before me, oh uh <v Man>8, 10 years before me, uh just about every one of those people moved off, <v Man>went to college or went out of state, gone. <v Man>Right to and then our generation was one that wanted <v Man>to come back. For some reason, I'm not sure why.

<v Man>Oh, I never wanted to go away anyway [laughs]. <v Man>Oh, I just loved it here. I had such a good, great childhood here and <v Man>uh hmm ?inaudible? <v Man>I don't know what it would be like where I would go if I had to had to move off. <v Man>Seemed like a trend just to move off in the winter. <v Man>I suppose it's easier. <v Man>Well, these people, you know, it makes life easier for 'em. <v Man>It is a little difficult here. <v Man>Um, what I see happening is uh this island becoming a summer community. <v Man>Um they'll still own the houses, but, you know, they'll be there just in the summertime. <v Man>And some of the older houses, a couple fairly recently have <v Man>gone up for sale across fairly high price tag. <v Man>And a young family that wants to live here year round, a fish

<v Man>can't they can't pay that and fail in <v Man>the last two places, uh families from off island ?and? <v Man>?bottom?. And they might be here in the summer they may not even be here in the summer. <v Man>And uh [coughs] there's that when a when a house just <v Man>sitting there with no family and not uh contributing too much to the <v Man>community. I mean, tax wise, I suppose it is, but um <v Man>as far as people bein' there. <v Man>[man talking] [car driving] <v Kelly>I think now I think now in my life, I feel really grateful that I <v Kelly>have it as a heritage. You know, I think there's a lot I learned from Islesford. <v Kelly>I think my my love for the outdoors is probably very <v Kelly>strongly rooted in having grown up where I did. <v Kelly>I also think that as difficult as so much of my alone time

<v Kelly>was as a child, that it's given me what <v Kelly>I think of now as almost the gift of being able to be alone <v Kelly>well. [phone rings] <v Kelly>Repeat performance. <v Kelly>I'm here until 6. And um you know now with my with <v Kelly>my work an' my store, I I feel <v Kelly>um like I'm getting back to sort of the roots of my family and being self-employed <v Kelly>and, you know, starting something from nothing and creating a <v Kelly>pretty neat little business. <v Kelly>And um and I feel really glad to be <v Kelly>in Maine still, I love Maine. <v Kelly>There's no place else I really would want to live. <v Kelly>And I'm really glad to have a way that I can sort of create <v Kelly>a community of my own within uh within my state.

<v Kelly>Um I think I learned a lot of that from my dad [music playing]. <v Kelly>He didn't verbalize a lot about his appreciation for nature <v Kelly>and and the beauty of his surroundings, but it was <v Kelly>very clear that he felt that he has still, I think to this <v Kelly>day after, you know, 50 years of lobstering, <v Kelly>I think he still finds wonder in something that he might hole <v Kelly>up in his trap or the sunset or <v Kelly>you know, some beautiful scene around him. <v Kelly>I think even though they may be things he's seen over and over again, he still finds <v Kelly>the wonder in it. And I think I've learned a lot of that from him. <v Narrator>December the 21st. A nice day. <v Narrator>12 degrees at 5:00 A.M., but 26 degrees at noon, wind northwest. <v Narrator>Lobster price is now $3 per pound for average size with

<v Narrator>$4 per for jumbos. <v Narrator>?Wind? up began at 3:07 P.M. <v Narrator>and was celebrated by many of the younger folk with the winter solstice picnic <v Narrator>at their favorite spot on Bar Beach on our island's south shore. <v Narrator>Bud and Shirley Dwelly arrived today on the last boat. <v Narrator>Shirley stayed home, but Bud strolled down to the picnic to greet all <v Narrator>and have a noggin of cider while the children made merry with sparklers. <v Narrator>[music plays] <v Speaker>Maine Public Television's production of our stories is made possible through a television <v Speaker>demonstration grant from Rural Development, part of the USDA.