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Border Outpost: College bound

The shop is cold in spite of a surging fire in the woodstove. The stove is too small for the building’s size; a miscalculation on my part.

Border Outpost: Proverbs

There’s a proverb, probably Chinese, probably by Sun Tzu, about a peasant standing for a long time on the mountaintop before a roast duck flies into his mouth.

Recalling midnight Christmas mass in the St. John Valley

Comme vous savez, on a pu trop-trop de messes en francais pi la messe de Noël de minuit est a 7 heures.

What the epidemics of history can tell us

I recently came across a chart of major epidemics in the United States starting in 1794 and ending in 1918. The author was emphasizing that many people thought to have “disappeared” from records were actually victims of diseases.

How to create an emergency kit

You never know when you might find yourself in an emergency situation. Storms, fires, earthquakes and floods — people around with the world deal with these disasters.

Border Outpost: A history lesson

John Mack Faragher, the author of “A Great and Noble Scheme,” gave a presentation recently at UMFK on the deportation of the Acadians. I read the book years ago and am familiar with its contents, but it was good to hear two particular tenets of his work emphasized again.

Border Outpost: Kabuki

I have to thank Senator Susan Collins for reminding me of the meaning of the word ‘treachery’.

Border Outpost: Flax: a philosophy

There’s an idea behind growing a crop of flax down at the Acadian Cross site in St. David going beyond simply growing the plant for its own sake. It’s an experiment with a rationale behind it I find appealing.

Border Outpost: An errand

I recently thought about someone I knew when I lived and worked in Portland. It was just a passing notion that she could still be alive, though that proved to be only fancy on my part. She died a decade ago.

Impressions on a Saturday morning

It’s morning. He dredges up the red preserves with a spoon from a Mason jar and smears it on toast. Even though he doesn’t know what it was made of, it’s certainly jam, an indistinct flavor and sweet. That’s all that counts; sweet red muck on a shingle.

Finding your foreign roots – Part 2

If your ancestor was naturalized how do you find the records? It’s important to determine where your ancestor was living at the time he was naturalized.

Bronzebacks replace brookies during drought

If I wanted to endure day after day, week after week of humid, hot, sweltering weather, I’d live in Africa, or perhaps Florida.

Naturalized or not?

Were your ancestors naturalized American citizens? Naturalization isn’t something new on our national horizon.

Tracing New England colonial roots

You may have run across the initials NEHGS in a footnote or heard someone refer to “Hist Gen” and wondered what they are.

Border Outpost: Father Empey

I don’t know what inspires me to look things up when they could come back to haunt, but this is different.

Now is good time to hone shooting skills with target practice|

Around the time I turned 8 years old, my father began to teach me about guns, shooting, hunting and especially firearm safety.

Rainy day, dream away

Every day, I walk before work, and I set a fast pace, and go for about 80 minutes. I do it all year long, no matter the weather.

Maine Acadian Day

June 28 is still Maine Acadian Day.

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