This looks like the place to be. If you are going to visit the coast of Maine the trip would not be complete without stopping at Watchtide By The Sea.  A unique bed and breakfast with a huge dose of American history.

 Watchtide . . . by the Sea! invites you to experience the unhurried lifestyle along the midcoast of Maine.  This historic bed and breakfast inn on three-plus landscaped acres offers some of the finest accommodations on the Maine coast -- five comfortable rooms with private baths, tasteful period furnishings and accessories, and the sense of history that only a 200-year-old home can convey. 

          Each morning you'll awaken to a superb, creative multi-course breakfast served on our 60-foot enclosed sunporch as you watch a spectacular sunrise over the glistening waters of the bay.  Spend your day relaxing on  the sunporch or in our guest lounge, reading in our library, or strolling in our flowering gardens.  Venture out for sightseeing, visiting the many interesting galleries, museums, antique shops, parks and historic sites along the coast road, or sailing on one of  America's most attractive waterways.

          Less than an hour's drive from Rockland, Camden, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park, the inn is located on Coastal Route 1 in Searsport, a seacoast town famous for its clipper ships and sea captains in the mid-1800s and today considered the antiques capitol of Maine.

          In August, 1794, Brigadier General Hanry Knox acquired the original deed to the Watchtide property.  General Knox, one of George Washington's most reliable aides during the American Revolution, was the new nation's first Secretary of War and is acknowledged as the founder of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.  After General Knox sold the property, well-to-do merchants and sea captains resided here until the Pettee family purchased it in 1901 and retained ownership for half a century.  One of the daughters, Frances Pettee, and three roommates from Wellesley College opened a tea house on the site in 1917 which evolved into the College Club Inn, one of the most popular stopping-off places on the Maine coast.  The inn hosted many notables, among them Eleanor Roosevelt who made regular visits with her entourage as she traveled the coastal route to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada, where the Roosevelt family spent their summers.  In April, 2000, the College Club Inn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places   by the U.S. Department of the Interior.   A framed document certifying this recognition hangs proudly in the main entry hall at Watchtide . . . by the Sea!

          The present owners and innkeepers, Patricia and Frank Kulla, take great pleasure in continuing the tradition of hospitality established at the inn many decades ago.  Today, as in years past, they are welcoming guests to enjoy the warmth and special ambiance of a stay at this unique, historic bed and breakfast inn overlooking beautiful Penobscot Bay.

Kevin The Bold

They say there was a reason for the name Kevin.  The first hint may come from my grandmothers maiden name, Farrell. If that doesn’t help, her mothers maiden name was Boyle.  Some heavy Irish accents in that house.

Others would suggest the name was more related to the possibility of this little guy resembling Kevin The Bold when he grew up.

In the 1950's Kevin The Bold was a household name.   Kreigh Collins developed a comic strip named Mitzi McCoy.  It appeared every Sunday starting November 7, 1948. Mitzi’s ancestor from the 1500's Kevin The Bold joined the characters on September 24, 1950. Not long after the comic strip was renamed Kevin the Bold.

The story goes that the young shepherd Kevin became a trusted employee of King Henry VIII.  He and his cohorts Pedro and Brett had many adventures that lasted a couple decades.  Many of the strips echoed Mr. Collins own life.  The Collins family took a year off and spent it sailing, and the youngest of the four sons was named Kevin.

Mom either really liked the name or hoped I would end up working for the King.  Obviously any resemblance to the picture above is only accidental. 

Kevins Story, Part 3

Maggie’s world in the 1940's was probably full of war.  America needed hope but that was taken over by rage at our attackers.  That gave focus to life in America.  From rationing, to scrap drives to collect steel, rubber, and what ever they needed for the troops.  They still sat around the radio, but they listened to news of the war and not as much baseball.

It is real important to understand how hard life was in America.  American’s came from somewhere then.  Your family was from Italy or Poland, maybe Germany or England.  You were Jewish, Catholic, or of some faith.  You knew your roots.  You were proud of your heritage, your country, your town, and your team.  Dad wore the pants in the family.  He didn’t give too many atta boys.  You knew were you stood and if you messed up, you knew it was going to be bad.   You tried to avoid trouble if you could but, knew that you had better tell the truth when asked or it was going to be much worst.  Talk about family values, no they didn’t talk about anything.  If it had to do with boys and girls, you better learn the facts from a friend because you weren’t going to learn it at home.  Unless you made a mistake.  And then it still wasn’t talked about.

As Maggie became a teenager and the war started to wind down it was a great time to be alive.  American’s had jobs, they had hope, and manufacturing revolution fueled by war innovations was about to explode.  The advancements in medicine like Penicillin changed everything in the 1940's.  Note: The first electronic computer was made in the 1940's and it wasn’t called a PC.  It was called ENIAC and weighted 30 tons.  http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/ENIAC.Richey.HTML .

To be continued . . .

Heirloom or Junk

What is an heirloom.  When I got married twenty years ago we found ourselves integrating family, friends, and stuff.  If you have two houses full of stuff and you have to fit it all into one bucket, what do you do?  So we went about making some really tough decisions.  We decided to keep all the family and friends.

I asked, “Are you bringing all three cats?”  With my three cats and two dogs I wasn’t sure they were all going to make it.  They did!  She said, “Your dishes are all chipped, maybe we should just use mine.”   I asked, “ What should we do with your bedroom set”.  She said, “I can’t possibly get rid of any of those pieces”.  I asked, “Do you want to put the area rugs over the carpeting like that?”  She said, “That couch is an antique”.  I asked, “Can I keep my favorite chair?”  She said, “Most of the things I am bringing are heirlooms, your stuff is just junk.”

I didn’t like hearing that at all.  I loved my chair.  So what if the cats had clawed it up a bit.  A man has the right to be comfortable in his own chair.  I wonder what happened to that chair?  Between you and I, what did I know about heirlooms or what was of value?  I had no idea what might even be of sentimental value. As you research your family history, take the time to inventory the things you would like to pass down.  Go do it now!  (Not if your driving, wait till you get home.)  Open you favorite word processing program and make a list of the items that may possibly have value.  Take a picture and put it on the same page.  List where it came from, the date, any story behind the piece, who you want it to go to, and anything else you can remember.  Email the file to yourself and another family member in case your computer crashes.

I need to put in a plug for another one of my favorite tools in my tool box.  Family Tree Magazine.  After opening my big mouth and told you what to do about heirlooms, I thought that it would be better to organize the mess as you go.  I thought I would look to see if they have any recommendations.  They have a form for that, http://www.familytreemagazine.com/upload/images/pdf/artifact.pdf.