In 1975, with $3,000 in savings
Roxanne Quimby and her boyfriend moved to Maine. They bought a tract of land on which they built a cabin and an outhouse. Near her Guilford homestead, Quimby later met beekeeper Burt Shavitz and used his beeswax to create candles (making $20,000 in her first year selling at local crafts fairs) -- and later their (yes, the two
cofounded a company together) best selling product
Burt's Bees Lip Balm (it's
Burt's image that still graces many of the company's products). With the phenomenal success that followed, she
sold 80 percent of her shares in the company to New York investors in 2003 (
eventually the company was sold to Clorox) to help
fund significant land purchases. For years Maine sportsmen have been outraged with Quimby for forbidding hunters, loggers, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles on the 120,000 acres of woodlands she now owns. Quimby has recently offered a compromise. She wants to
donate 70,000 acres to help create a new national park (
Maine Woods National Park) while "
setting aside another 30,000 acres of woodlands ... to be managed like a state park, with hunting and snowmobiling allowed."
[more inside]
posted by ericb
on Mar 28, 2011 -
49 comments
The American Image: The Photographs of John Collier Jr. at the University of New Mexico. "
In 1941 to 1943, Collier worked as a photographer with the Farm Securities Administration and the Office of War Information under Roy Stryker and documented many areas around the eastern U.S and northern New Mexico." The full photoset is at flickr
here.
posted by dersins
on Nov 11, 2009 -
2 comments
Science & technology funding has an enormous long term impact on the economy, a fact that has not escaped China. Yet, Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have
proposed cutting all National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Office of Science funding from the
Senate American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, along with almost all other proposed funding of the sciences and technological development, as a part of a $77.9B reduction effort. Why? Well, you'll notice that Nebraska & Maine don't contribute much to science & technology in the United States, nor win many grants, and hence no bacon for Nelson and Collins.
[more inside]
posted by jeffburdges
on Feb 6, 2009 -
86 comments
Mounted 70 feet up in a white pine tree on the coast of Maine, the BioDiversity Research Institute's
live eagle webcam provides, "live video of a nesting pair of bald eagles, 24 hours a day. These eagles are the most successful pair in the state. They have nested at this site for 13 years, and raised 20 offspring."
Warning: the live stream can be habit forming (especially when waiting for the eggs to hatch).
posted by VicNebulous
on Mar 27, 2008 -
14 comments
It's that time of year - time for thru-hikers to start the Appalachian Trail! Last year, over
1700 hikers started the hike with only 352 completing the 2,200 mile walk from Springer Mtn, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine. Given that walking the AT takes about six months, most hikers start in March and April so they can finish before winter sets in.
With town spread out along the trail, many hikers keep
online journals - probably some of the few blogs where what you had for breakfast and what the weather was like make for interesting topics.
posted by borkus
on Feb 29, 2004 -
23 comments
6000 breathtaking aerial photos of American towns and other sites, with particularly good coverage of towns in New England (
MA,
VT,
CT,
NH,
RI,
ME). All of this by one photographer, Joseph Melanson, whose mission in life is "to show you facets of your environment that you never realized no matter how long you lived there."
posted by dougb
on Aug 6, 2003 -
23 comments
Got Sprawl?
This story from Maine’s Portland Press Herald about a rich widow “from away” (as we say) who wants to build a high-end subdivision on her land in scenic
Falmouth against objections from the Town Council -- which is citing her property as the most valuable undeveloped tract in the town -- illustrates on a very human level (complete with affluent in-family spats) what rural towns in
New England and
the rest of the country feel is at stake in their fight against unplanned development.
(more inside)
posted by damn yankee
on Mar 9, 2003 -
34 comments
The Appalachian Trail is a continuous marked footpath that goes from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, a distance of about 2160 miles. It passes through 14 states and takes about 5 to 7 months to hike through. Hey, if a
blind man could do it, so can you. If you are not actually up for hiking right this moment, you could always...(more inside)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy
on Oct 8, 2002 -
22 comments
"To this day, the illustrations march right off the page" describes a rare book published in 1493 found in a Maine farmhouse. The book is illustrated with more than 1,800 exquisite pictures made from woodcuts. Where will they find my rare digital photo in 500 years and will they say "it marches off the CD-ROM" or "data-error.. should have used wood block"
posted by stbalbach
on Mar 10, 2002 -
5 comments
The National Toboggan Championships will be held this coming weekend in Camden, Maine. As a past resident of the area I can say that this event, and toboggan runs in general, are a blast.
Read About or
Listen to (about 40 minutes into the Real Audio File), descriptions of the event.
Any toboggan runs or similarly impressive downhill snow events in your neck of the woods?
posted by dhacker
on Jan 30, 2002 -
10 comments
Maine man hits moose at high speed on I-95, three other people die. Once again, the Wheel of Fate is a steering wheel, and the story a warning to all Good Samaritans out there.
posted by LeLiLo
on Dec 19, 2001 -
19 comments
Advice for Maine: Piss poor education technology planning
yields
piss
poor
results.
Is anyone aware of a large scale "computer per student" education initiative
that has worked well? Teachers still need better wages don't they? (more inside)
posted by machaus
on Dec 3, 2001 -
16 comments
Murder on Swan's Island Not a Stephen King story or a
Murder She Wrote episode, but a real tragedy in a real small town in Maine (not far from my home town) where the deaths of two people change the lives of an entire community forever. It set me thinking ... how would this story be different if set in Boston, or LA, or London? Would the pain and loss for those who knew Jamie and Stacy be the same? Or is it magnified by the close-knit family that makes up a rural island township?
posted by anastasiav
on Jul 29, 2001 -
4 comments
Great, but will it work in larger states? "Maine’s Clean Election Law goes into effect for the 2002 governor’s race, establishing public financing for candidates. Political observers are beginning to realize it may cause a revolution. "
A green governor? I almost feel ... Canadian.
posted by foist
on Mar 13, 2001 -
6 comments
Liar, Liar
If you can explane away the DUI (DWI, OUI) arrest, then you will have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Bush used his family's power and influence to first restore his Maine license on 7/25/78, in the middle of his Congressional campaign. Then, 15 years later had his Maine driving record updated with "violation free credits" on 12/31/93 at right around the time Bush was gearing up to run for Governor of Texas. Read more
here.
posted by DragonBoy
on Nov 3, 2000 -
11 comments
