Getting to Know You

A seagull enjoys the view at the Robinhood Marina

It’s the end of August, and I feel as though I should pause and think about all that I have learned over the course of this sky-blue summer along the Kennebec. I’m obviously a teacher! Truth be told, at the end of every school year, most teachers enjoy trading places with their students, and they become learners after the last school bell rings. Every June I turn into a wide-eyed kindergartner, and by the fourth of July I’m a precocious sophomore, and in the middle of August I’m a college freshman ready to tackle the world’s problems in 'no ordinary time'! There’s nothing more energizing than meeting new people, discovering new places and opening new books, and that is so easy to do in Bath, The City of Ships.

The Patten Free Library on a peaceful summer day

On July 16th, I attended a lecture by former Senator George Mitchell at Bath's Patten Free Library. Listening to Senator Mitchell, the architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland, speak about his memoir, The Negotiator, and his view of today’s conflicts at home and in the Middle East, restored my belief that by engaging in productive dialogue we can plant seeds of peace. The library’s meeting room was filled to capacity that night. In fact, many people were turned away at the door. Fortunately, Julie Shea, the owner of The Mustard Seed Bookstore, had told me to arrive at least an hour early if I wanted a seat, and I followed her advice! As fate and Bath would have it, I sat down next to Sue Fitzgerald, a long time resident of Bath. Ironically, both of our homes had been on the Sagadahoc Preservation Inc.’s June House Walk, but we had never met until that moment. Once we started talking, we could hardly stop when the senator finally arrived. Senator Mitchell was at least a half hour late because of the traffic on Route 1, and that extra waiting period proved to be as enlightening as the lecture. As the senator began to speak, Sue slipped me her phone number and suggested we have lunch to finish our discussion on community affairs and politics. Before the lecture started, I had already learned a lot about Bath and Maine from chatting with Sue. I also realized that Sue and I have more than houses on Washington Street in common. We both enjoy talking about history, politics and family, and we both seek to make new friends while cherishing the old!

Lauren Crosby performing at the Mustard Seed

Now that I am back in Chicago and planning lessons for the coming school year, I find myself listening to a CD I purchased in Bath called Lauren Crosby. I first heard Lauren Crosby sing at The Mustard Seed on a sunny afternoon in late June while I sipped an “Arnold Palmer." It was practically a divine experience! Lauren is a native of Georgetown, Maine, and her fresh and salty lyrics caught me like a fishing net. As Lauren sang, I could almost feel the breeze at Five Islands, and in between songs she talked to us about her life experiences growing up on the island of Georgetown. She also thanked us for listening to her music so intently because some of her other audiences were rowdier and less focused on her lyrics! In a quiet moment, she shared that upon graduating from college she would be a teacher (I knew right away that I liked this artist), and she went on to tell us that the thought of being in charge of a classroom of children ”scared” her. Since it was an informal gathering, I felt bold enough to add my own confession: “Don’t worry,” I said. “I have been teaching for thirty years, and that thought still scares me!” Everyone laughed, and I felt like I was getting to know this group of good people along the Kennebec. By the way, my favorite song on Lauren Crosby’s CD is “Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere."

The Wonderful Wizards of Bath

I am at heart a language teacher, and a language teacher stresses four essential skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. All summer long I practiced these skills at Wednesday morning coffees with the wizards of Bath. We talked about local news; we listened to funny stories about our own lives; we discussed great books, and then my wise friends inspired me to write  my first novel! Encouraged by the staff at the Mustard Seed Bookstore, I plan to connect with Maine Authors Publishing Cooperative when I complete the first draft of my labor of love. Let's hope I will have enough creative energy to finish what I have started. I'm spinning a romantic story that begins in truth but ends in pure Bath time fiction! 

A statue of Chief Robin Hood

Eager to learn more about Bath and its neighbors, I was delighted to hear local historian, Gene Reynolds, speak at the Mustard Seed. Mr. Reynolds is the author of Georgetown, which is a part of the Images of America series. I am proud to say I now have a signed copy of Mr. Reynolds’ work because his narrative piqued my interest about the settlement of Georgetown, which was incorporated in 1716. Mr. Reynolds also shed some light on the intriguing history of my home in Bath when he told us that the Robinhood neighborhood of Georgetown used to be known as Riggsville. History tells us that Robinhood Cove was named after Robert (Robin) Hood, which was the English name given to Chief Mowhatawoemit, the leader of the Abenaki Confederacy; however, before it was called Robinhood, the area residents called it Riggsville because it was settled by the Riggs family. Here’s the Bath connection. According to the research of Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., one of the most prominent owners of my home was Captain Guy C. Goss, who married Mary Riggs, the daughter of James Riggs of Georgetown. My research shows that Captain Goss and his wife, Mary, were both buried in the Riggs' Cemetery in Georgetown, but until I attended Mr. Reynold's lecture, I had no idea how important a role the Riggs family had played in Georgetown’s formation, nor did I know where their family's cemetery was located.

If you try hard, it's possible to read old tombstones!

I believe it was a little miracle that a volunteer from the Goergetown Historical Society attended Mr. Reynold's lecture and invited me to visit her office to continue my research on the Riggs family. With her help, I was able to locate the cemetery as well as witness the beauty of Robinhood from a new perspective! At the end of July, my family and I visited the Robinhood Marina for the first time, and in early August we went on a family expedition to find the graves of Captain Guy Goss and Mary Riggs Goss. Along the way, we uncovered a wealth of knowledge about the island of Georgetown and the families who shaped its history.  Sadly, Mary and Guy Goss survived their three children. Their son, James, and their daughter, Jane, both died in 1862 at nine years old and six years old, respectively, and their baby, Lizzie, died in infancy. Old cemeteries can certainly teach us a lot about the courage and fortitude of those who came before us. Captain Goss went on to build the Goss & Sawyer Shipyard along Long Reach just north of the Sewall Shipyard. In 1882, he opened the Goss Marine Iron Works at the south end of Bath along with a group of investors. Later, in 1884, Thomas W. Hyde would incorporate Bath Iron Works.

 

Barbara, Sue, Polly and I at the Small Point Club

During the second week of August, only a few days before leaving Bath for the start of school in Chicago, I finally had a chance to have lunch with Sue Fitzgerald, and two of her friends, at the Small Point Club in Phippsburg. To make this epic lunch happen, Sue had to sync four busy calendars, but she was determined to have three women, all former Illinois residents, meet and get to know each other. Sue knew we would all get along, and she was right. We first gathered at Sue's summer home near Sebasco Road. Of course, I got lost even though I had a GPS in my car. After making a few u-turns, I called Sue on my “smart” phone, and she put Barbara Knuckles, her neighbor, on the phone to guide me to her door. I arrived within minutes, and the four of us never stopped talking until we said goodbye! The fourth “Musketeer” was Polly Goldman, who I had been hoping to meet for the past two years because Bathites kept telling me that Polly was from the town just west of where I live in Illinois. This fact turned out to be coincidentally true, and Barbara Knuckles just happened to graduate from the same high school as my daughter (a few years apart). Our lunch at the Small Point Club certainly demonstrated that “it’s a small world after all.” 

The beach at Small Point on a rainy day

Despite the rain that day, I was in awe of the view from the club’s porch. I suspect the impressive history of our surroundings guided our conversation that day because we found ourselves talking about Normandy, France. The fact that we had all visited the American Cemetery there seemed to strengthen our connection. And then, perhaps because of our location, we began to talk about Eleanor Roosevelt, and that discussion lead us to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s beloved Campobello in New Brunswick, Canada. FDR began summering at Campobello as a child, and he introduced Eleanor to the island in 1903 during their courtship. Eleanor continued to spend summers there for the rest of her life, and she wrote both volumes of her memoirs on the island, the first in 1936, and the second in 1947. Polly, Barbara and Sue all agreed that the opportunity to enjoy “Tea with Eleanor” made the long drive to Campobello worthwhile. While lunching at Small Point, not far from The Sebasco Resort, another one of Eleanor’s favorite haunts, these three smart women convinced me that I must go to Campobello next year.  

An old skiff in front of a modern fleet

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.” I agree with Eleanor. Without trying, most people tend to make life too complicated. A good teacher knows that the way to solve a problem is: simplify, simplify, simplify! I took two lessons away from the Small Point Club. First, it’s a gift to have the opportunity to get to know good, intelligent people. Second, when you meet those people, be sure to listen carefully because they have valuable insights to share, and learning is essential for a long and happy life.

On Monday morning, August 24, 2015, I wrote my name on the chalkboard for the eighteenth time in Room 23, and I greeted 121 high school students at my classroom door with a smile and an open heart because my friends in Bath reminded me that I have an important job. This year my goal is to share as much Bath-like enthusiasm for learning as I can! In order to accomplish that goal, I plan on telling my students what I did last summer, who I met, and how their words and actions affected me. In Bath, Georgetown and Phippsburg, I conversed with some fabulous teachers, and they all encouraged me to read more, write more and complain less!