The Spooky Side of Maine: Hauntings & Urban Legends from the Pine Tree State

Ayers Island – Penobscot Bay – Orono, Maine. Ayers Island is a 62-acre island located in the Penobscot River in the Town of Orono. (About two miles from the University of Maine Orono campus.) It was named for one of the original settlers of Orono, Joshua Ayers, who constructed the first structure on the island sometime in 1774.  The island has been used for numerous ventures over the years starting with a saw/lumber mill, then a pulp and paper mill, and finally as the Striar Textile Mill until its closure in 1996. According to local lore, the island has long-been …

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Celebrate National Library Week!

April is a very special month for libraries! First and foremost, the second week of the month is National Library Week! Not only that though, April is also School Library Month and it contains National Library Workers Day, National Bookmobile Day, and Support Teen Literature Day! [All of which happen during National Library Week.] PLUS both America’s first dictionary Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), and Peter Roget’s Thesaurus (1852) were first published in April as well!  (Personally speaking, I find it rather cool that The Bard himself was born in April too! Keep an eye out for our up-coming blog!) What/When is National Library Week? National Library …

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

It’s March 17th! You know what that means, right? Happy Maewyn Succat Day! Wait… What? Don’t know who in the world Maewyn Succat is? Well then, let us explain! St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, no matter the day of the week. This day was chosen for the holiday because it is the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death. This year, St. Patrick’s Day is Thursday, March 17, 2022. The history of St Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, who was born in the second half of the 4th century, is incredibly, and perhaps inevitably, vague. There has always been controversy over …

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All Things Browntail-Moth Awareness

The Maine Forest Service has announced that February 2022 has been recognized as Browntail Moth Awareness Month in Maine to encourage people to take advantage of the dormant season of the insect and join together to reduce impacts from Browntail-moth. Let’s take some time to learn about these annoying creepy-crawlies. What is the Browntail-moth and how did it get here? The Browntail-moth (Euproctis Chrysorrhoea) is a species of moth that was accidentally brought to Massachusetts from its native Europe in 1897. Browntail-moths are now found living in all New England states in addition to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Why are Browntail-moths …

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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Here are some of our favorite Dr. Seuss titles, what are yours? Hop on Pop was a favorite Dr. Seuss book of mine and also of my children. I read the dickens out of that book to my boys and then they in turn read the dickens out of it to me. It was this book that taught them to read, with its hilarious rhymes and funny illustrations. How proud they were the first time they were able to read to me! We laughed a lot at what Pat sat on and what a bad day Dad had. And who can …

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What is Mardi Gras?

What is Mardi Gras? Mardi Gras (also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday) is a Christian holiday (and now a popular cultural phenomenon) that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. It’s celebrated in many countries around the world on the day before the religious season of Lent begins. Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday -The term “Carnival” technically refers to the period of revelry and feasting that begins on January 6 (the Feast of the Epiphany) and ends on Mardi Gras. [The derivation of the word Carnival is uncertain, though it possibly can be traced …

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