Editorials - Fiddlehead Focus

Editorials

Kindness always counts

I was loading groceries into the back of my SUV and quite unexpectedly, a plastic jug of raspberry tea decided to make a run for it by rolling rather clumsily down the gentle sloped grocery store parking lot, stopping only by the grace of the cart corral.

Resources in Maine

I recently received my latest issue of American Ancestors magazine published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. This issue features “The Best Genealogical Resources for Maine” and it’s excellent.

Individual rights and responsibility

In the 2020 election, 360,737 voters in Maine’s Second Congressional District delivered one electoral vote for the Republican candidate for president, a 7.5 percent margin of victory.

Paying tolerance forward

I watched her carefully position her late-model SUV into the parking space in front of me, her eyes shielded with brown tinted, cat-eye-shaped sunglasses. She removed the glasses and immediately put a white paper mask on.

Feeling the loss of Tourney Time

As local schools shut down for their annual February break, students are sure to be excited about getting some much-needed rest and relaxation during these crazy, COVID-19 times.

DNA changes

I recently was notified that my DNA origins had changed. If you’ve opted to have your own DNA tested for your ethnic origins, you may be surprised by a similar email someday, and your first reaction will probably be something like, “How can this be?”

$200 million to help loggers facing COVID-19 economic crisis

Throughout Maine’s history, our forest products industry has supported good-paying jobs, driven local economies, and strengthened rural communities.

Moose hunt 2020

I had the good fortune of being drawn for a moose permit in 2020. My permit was for a bull in zone four during the second week in October (my first choice). Zone four is a huge zone that lies north of the Golden Road, south of the Reality Road, west of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and goes all the way to the Canadian border.

Lessons learned from a four-wheeled marvel

My car is way smarter than I am. In fact, it’s an idiot-proofing marvel with all kinds of features designed to keep me from doing stupid things.

Weddings

I recently saw a reference about using wedding announcements in genealogical research. While I’ve written about using newspapers before I thought I might review the family announcements you’re apt to find. Not so many years ago newspapers devoted pages to engagements and weddings.

Lessons

I cannot express how much I worry for our country. Fortunately, I feel relatively safe, because I am far to the north of the trouble that is tearing the heartland apart and bringing pain and suffering to our places of power.

Virtual conferences

We all hope to see the end of COVID-19 sometime this year and, we hope, a return to something approaching normalcy.

Farewell to 2020. Cheers to 2021.

Have you ever seen a New Year’s Eve pass so quietly yet carry such a huge impact?

Good riddance to 2020

2020 is finished. With finality it is possible to look forward to a new, prosperous new year. In front of us, a page white and pure, waiting for the midnight ink to begin to flow. Its mission: to tell us the story of 2021.

Patois, dictons, metaphores: fin de la lettre B

Bonne et heureuse nouvelle années, mes amis. J'espère que ç√a va aller mieux que la vielle année. Some assume that these expressions are unique to the Saint John Valley but the vast majority aren't.

A year that had it all

Time is flying by and as we near the end of this year and face a new one I usually do a column about genealogical resolutions including making more time to research, entering your research in your software, taking care of your family photos and labeling them, filing documents if you do that, exploring a new genealogical website, and trying to attend a local genealogical group or a conference.

Come together to slow the spread

The last time our nation endured a public health emergency was during World War II and the Spanish flu pandemic. Although less resources and aid were available, people got through by coming together.

One for the books

In each of the past two months, November and December, both Houlton and Caribou recorded their warmest high temperature on record for each of those months. First, on Nov. 10, Caribou reached a jaw-dropping 75 degrees.

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