The Newsletter of Brooksville Friends & Neighbors Fall 2011

Have you ever wondered how a rambunctious puppy becomes a lifeline to the world for the blind? Or how a canine learns to sniff out a miniscule amount of dynamite hidden in a suit-case? Or what a trained, watchful dog could do for the lives of a family facing a lifelong diagnosis of autism? We have in Brooksville a couple who know the answers to these ques-tions and were willing to share their story of their “puppy raising” passion. And during most of the interview in their kitchen on Mills Point Road, Petey, their newest Guiding Eyes for the Blind puppy, lay obediently on the

from his raiser, Kathleen, as well as an intermittent doggie treat for good behavior. Kathleen and Stephen Hayward moved to Brooksville full time in 2006, but it was in 1978 that they had purchased a Tapley house and spent summers here. Then in 2002, Kathleen

working at Surry Gardens while her husband continued his Episcopal min-istry at St. Peter’s Church in Poolsville, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. In Maryland, they learned about the Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) organization, caught the “bug,” dove in, and eventually Kathleen became a vol-unteer regional coordinator for the pup-py raisers in Maryland. In Maine, she is part of the region leadership team. Most of us have referred to these dogs as “seeing eye” dogs, and it’s no

Puppy Love—West Brooksville’s Puppy Raisers

wonder, because The Seeing Eye orga-nization is the oldest guide dog service, started in 1929 and modeled after a program in Switzerland. There are now several guide dog training programs in the United States. Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) has been in existence for

-credited, and is “dedicated to enriching the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, there-by assuring greater independence, dig-nity, and new horizons of opportunity.”

is in Yorktown Heights, NY, in northern Westchester County. Petey sat up when the TV repair-man arrived but immediately lay down again with a gentle command from Kathleen. She then enthusiastically

listed the eight guide dogs that have come into their lives. Each labrador has his own journey, and Kathleen talks about them as children, who are nur-tured and then must be let go off to the world, like you would with your own children as they head off to college or elsewhere. These puppies have their own personalities and temperaments, she pointed out. Some will make it through the rigorous training to be a successful guide dog. As Kathleen said, “Not every kid wants to be a hockey player or a rocket scientist.” Approxi-

every year by Guiding Eyes, and about one hundred and eighty complete train-ing, graduate, and match with a blind person. Some fail the puppy test, which looks at early temperament and con-

for adoption. This is one of the ways the organization raises funds for the program. Others may be too distract-ible or lazy, wanting to chase squirrels or lay around all day. Guiding is hard, demanding work. Some dogs may be well suited for alternative careers, lik-ing to get their nose into everything. Those may be released and trained by the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Agency to sniff out explosives or ac-celerants in arson cases. Kathleen recalled Uri, the energetic puppy, who graduated from the ATF training classes and ultimately went to Italy as a bomb sniffer; perhaps, she imagined, protect-ing the Pope. Two others have joined policemen in the U.S. Since 9/11, these

© 2011 LESLIE MOORE

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Page 2 The Brooksville Breeze

well-trained dogs have done our nation and world a great service. Petey was given the command to stay as Kathleen disappeared for a mo-ment, returning with two photographs. Two of the puppies the Haywards have worked with have successfully matched. Puppy raisers can attend the graduation and meet the new matched blind owner. Kathleen glowed as she told of how these dogs are now work-ing as Guiding Eyes dogs for their owners, and she occasionally gets up-dates. But she loves all the eight dogs she has worked with. The puppy raisers are given the option to take back the dog if it is not successfully placed or has a medical problem, prohibiting the dog from working. GEB watches over all their dogs. It takes a community to breed, raise, and train these talented and faithful dogs. Here in Maine, there are volun-teer puppy raisers in Portland, Belfast, Ellsworth, Blue Hill, and Brooksville. The puppies and raisers get together for training sessions at least twice a month. Sometimes the puppies are swapped within the raiser families to get expo-sure to kids or cats or both. Locally, Ellsworth is the big town where Petey

truck noise. Eventually, they must be able to handle a much larger city such as New York, travel on an airplane, and, amazingly, eliminate and void only when given permission. Raising these puppies is hard work, demanding consistency and love and a lot of time. Experienced puppy raisers will train more puppy raisers. Kathleen joked, “I would have been a much better parent

The newest program at GEB is “Heeling Autism,” a program that trains the dogs to provide safety for children with autism. This new and currently regionally limited project matches the dog with the child. Results have

Puppy Lovecontinued from page 1

included reducing parental stress and sleepless nights and increasing the

social acceptance. Medical research has shown that the stress hormone cortisol

when in the presence of the dog. The need in the United States is great, but this is an exciting new beginning. Pres-ently, the autistic child must live within two hours of the GEB training center in Yorktown Heights, NY. Petey came to Brooksville at nine weeks of age. He is now eight months old and will stay until he is about 15 months old. If all goes well, he will be sent back to training school in New York. You might see this handsome light yellow lab around with the Hay-wards. As Kathleen pointed out, these guide dogs are being trained to work and follow directions. If you someday see a guide dog working with his blind owner, you can comment to the owner about his lovely dog, but never ask to pet them, for they are at work being the eyes for their owner. GEB is always looking for puppy raisers. Check out the website www.guidingeyes.org to see the requirements for volunteer trainers. If you are so in-

it in. Eventually, you will meet up with Kathleen, who will warn you that it is really hard work, but in the next breath will say that it is so worth it. JM

Bill Henderson’s new book, All My Dogs: A Life, illustrated by Brooks-ville’s Leslie Moore, published by David R. Godine, 2011 is now avail-able at our farmers’ market and local bookstores.

As in many nineteenth-century novels, circumstances conspired to bring about the happy conclusion to

the impromptu reunion of the Brooks-ville Grammar School Class of 1941. All two of them! Robert Tapley, whose family were Brooksville residents for generations, was a lonely member of the class un-til the sixth grade. When a youngster living across the road from the West Brooksville school, now the residence of Ursula Dyer, Robert would wan-der over to the school and peer in the windows to get a glimpse of his older brother and sister. After many such in-terruptions to the classroom routine, the lower grade teacher, Hattie Hopkins, said: “If you are so interested in what is going on at school, you might as well come in.” In March of 1941, he was joined in the sixth grade by Philip Curtis, Jr., whose family had just moved into the homestead of Capt. Thomas Tapley, Robert’s great uncle. The Curtises had just acquired the property from the estate of Capt. Tapley’s daughter Lucy H. Tapley, who retired as president of Spelman College in Atlanta. Phil was fond of telling people, “When I en-rolled in the Brooksville school, I in-creased the class size by 100 percent!” Even as late as 1941, the school experience hadn’t changed much in 100 years. The school had two classrooms for all eight grades, was heated by a central wood stove, drinking water was carried in pails by the older boys from a roadside well in front of the school, and the bathroom was a “two holer” in the woodshed. The four upper grades at that time were taught by Beth Condon. She was by all accounts an excellent

An 8th-Grade ReunionAfter 70 Years MYRON CURTIS

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Fall 2011 Page 3

Never having met a famous poet

Laureate of the United States (1973-74), I was a bit apprehensive and yet excited to interview a talented member of our community at his home on Cape Rosier. I’d done a little homework on-line and discovered our lives actually had some small similarities, so thought to start by mentioning them. And be-

Fourth of July Parade in Harborside, just before he read Ralph Waldo Emer-son’s Hymn on Concord Bridge, a tradi-tion of the ceremony, and his friendly face had put me at ease. He welcomed me into his clapboard house above the

chatted for over two-and-a-half hours about many topics. By the end I felt like I had met a new friend.

-thor of twelve books of poetry and half a dozen of literary commentary, the best known titled Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe, as well as a novel in verse, Middens of the Tribe, a memoir about his wartime service, and a collection of his essays and reviews. He told me he is pleased to have a new book of poems, Next to Last Words, coming out in April 2013, for his ninetieth birthday. His study of Poe and Brotherly Love, a book-length poem on William Penn’s visionary founding of Pennsylvania,

On Meeting Daniel Hoffman JOAN MACCRACKEN

Book Award. In 2005, the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him the Arthur Rense Prize “for an ex-ceptional poet.” The other side of his career has been teaching, a great reward. He taught in the English Departments of Columbia University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Penn-sylvania and had “wonderfully talented and dedicated students” in his poetry-writing seminars. Many of them have published books and won prizes. In all honesty, I admitted to having had prob-lems in junior high school with poetry

the meaning of many poems. I com-mented that my teacher had us dissect the poem, line by line. He exclaimed, “Wrong, wrong, wrong. A poem is not a code to be cracked. It should be read for pleasure—and the poem offers pleasures of several kinds: pleasure in the sound of the words, in the ways its comparisons enrich our experience.”

To the question, “Where do you get your inspirations for a poem?” he replied, “Sometimes a spark or phrase kindles it, sometimes a sense of rhythm….and some days I wake up, hoping for a poem, but none come.” Dan enjoys writing and believes the

what you do, if possible. And luckily, as one ages, one is not forced into re-tirement from poetry writing.

seven years. His wife was the poet Elizabeth McFarland, who worked from 1948–1961 as Poetry Editor of The Ladies’ Home Journal. There she raised the level of poetry by publishing such famous American poets as Mari-anne Moore, W.H. Auden, Mark Van Doren, Richard Eberhart, May Sarton, and Walter De la Mare, thus placing their poems in more than six million households. Liz wrote her own poems, publishing posthumously in Over the Summer Water (2008). I asked if they shared their poems with one another. “Yes, but not while writing them,” he replied. “A poem isn’t created by a committee of two, but once drafted, it can be improved by knowledgeable suggestions.” We spoke of marriage in general, and he commented that mar-riage is strengthened by both sharing common interests as he and Liz did. Dan and I looked out the loft’s

of Pond Island and a dozen others farther in the Bay. I asked how he and his family came to Maine. “We had

grandeur of Maine.” So after marriage in 1946, the young couple came to Castine, where Liz’s family had owned a summer cottage, lost in the Depres-sion. Her great-grandfather was born

Dan Hoffman in costume for the Harborside Fourth of July celebration.

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Volunteers Needed

The Friends of the Library are looking for volunteers to help with the After School Reading Program, starting in October..

For information, call 326-4560.

Page 4 The Brooksville Breeze

in Blue Hill. Castine was too posh for the young poets, so they looked else-where. They rented a cottage from the Blodgetts—just off the Ferry Road in Brooksville—for a summer. While driving around one summer afternoon, they discovered Cape Rosier and Un-dercliff, where they, met by chance, Richard Eberhart, a famous poet, who happened along in a skiff, just as they were sitting on a beachside log. Eber-hart summered at Undercliff. For the next decade the Hoffmans rented a cot-tage there. In 1965, they learned that local builder Dick Clifford was reno-vating the abandoned farmhouse above Bakeman’s Beach. They bought it and have spent summers there ever since. Dan and Liz with their two child-ren enjoyed the waters off the beach in The Bayberry, a historic, 13-and-a- half-foot hourglass pulling boat built by Elwin Dyer of Brooksville. But, after many years of caulking and repairing

Daniel Hoffmancontinued from page 3

the ancient craft, Dan donated it to the Brooksville Historical Society, after Craig Dyer validated that his grandfa-ther had built it. Currently, Dan resides in Swarth-more, Pennsylvania, and lives near his son, a landscaper, and his daughter, a social worker. He wants to sell his three-story house and move to a retire-ment community in Haverford, where he has found stimulating residents. Dan hopes to continue to return to the Cape for the summers and join in the Fourth of July celebration. His children visit him each summer and his study, “the room without the view,” is, he says, an ideal place to write. Solitude helps, but company helps too, and over the years he has made good friends among his neighbors. In closing our conversation, we spoke of his dozen years as Poet in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City where,

The Varnumville Memorial Walk to honor and remember our Brooksville residents who had died in 2010 took place on the clear blue-sky morning of Sunday, July 31. We met at the northern end of the Varnumville Road at 8:30 a.m. Small groups stood around wait-ing, and sharing happened right off.

to the bend in the road where Michael Bernal had died two years before. As we walked, people chatted. The Breakfast Shed folks, Shirley and Fred, put out lemonade and cups and a trash pail so that we could stop for a brief drink and allow the group to

with a board of distinguished poets and writers, he administered the Ameri-can Poets’ Corner. In the corner of the cathedral, stone plaques are engraved with the names of these honorees and brief quotations from their works. I asked the twenty-third Poet Laureate of the United States what line he would place on his own plaque. Quiet for a moment, he replied, “What is an island without the sea?” It was clear to me he was thinking of his wife, Liz, who died in 2005. Theirs had been a special marriage.

poetry that he gave me as I was leav-ing, Dan inscribed, “Joan, How I wish you and Liz would have known one an-other.” I left with the joy of having met this man—a poet, a teacher, a husband, a father, and a neighbor. Brooksville has among us many gems to cherish.

come together before heading down the

had come from the south end. A short informal ceremony took place. Names of the deceased and their date of birth and death were read indi-vidually by a community member. A family member or friend or acquain-tance who knew the person spoke just

little history of their place in the com-munity: “He was a great plumber…He built the log homes in the region…She was a feisty lady…She was my neighbor….my Hospice client…my mother…my father…my grandmother.”

Some family members could not speak and tears fell, so friends spoke and tossed a red, orange, or crimson zinnia into the stream as a token of love and memory. Dan Hoffman read an Em-ily Dickinson poem. We listened to a serene duet of violin and tuba and a lovely song with a ukulele. Many folks walked on to Tinder Hearth and shared coffee, tea, and muf-

-borcare. The sentiment from bereaved family members as well as community members was to continue this as an an-nual event. JM

First Annual Varnumville Memorial Community Walk

Fall 2011 Page 5

A new program was introduced to Brooksville School this past year. Each month, or thereabouts, an assembly of students, staff, and guests gathered to be entertained by various performing artists from our community. While most of the artists were musicians, the program did involve dance and theater. Artists included Lake Larsson’s ukulele

Community of Performing Artists Program a Success in 2010/2011 ROBIN BYRNE

Our Library Is Changing

shelter so you can sit out of the sun and rain while being online. With the help of volunteers, the library installed a second high-speed router to create high-quality, fast internet access in the new shelter and parking area. No longer do you need to

The Library Board is also working to develop plans to expand the library by build-ing over the deck area, which will provide 25% more room to meet current and future community needs. In addition to expanding our library area, this project will

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tion in the spring of 2012. — Harry Madson

student group, Unleashed Remedy, Kevin Campbell’s NGOMA, Kim Peralta’s HOOT!!, Robin Jones’ Radio Show, Brooksville’s own Atlantic Breeze, the George Steven’s Academy Jazz Combo (with Brooksville grad Nicole Bakeman), and, last but not least, Brooksville grad and Brooksville residents Tynan Byrne and Vita Poole.

A survey presented to students, staff, and guests revealed that more dance and drama are desired. Many students enjoyed the opportunity to dance to the music, while others found an hour too long to sit on the hard bleachers. A number of comments expressed appreciation for the chance to leave class time to be amused for an hour! The goal was to educate while entertaining the students and for the most part that was achieved. While reviews were mixed, the overall consensus was positive. Plans for the upcoming school year include the dancers from Alison Chase/Performance, Brooklin Community Band, Nigel Chase’s steel drum students, Paul Sullivan, and the return of NGOMA, HOOT!!, GSA Jazz, and possibly more. Keep a lookout for the Brooksville School Newsletter announcements. The public is welcome to these events.

Above: GSA’s award-winning jazz combo, Sam’s Soul ChildrenRight: Tynan Byrne and Vita Poole on keyboard and pan. Vita, a 2011 graduate of the Harbor School, was inadvertantly left out of our article about high school graduates last spring. Sorry, Vita, for the omission. May your life be full of rhythm and joy!

Page 6 The Brooksville Breeze

Activities for One and All

Brooksville Elementary SchoolThe schools’s website has complete information on sports, concerts, fund

Brooksville Free Public Library

-

After School Reading Program begins

brooksvillelibrary.org.

Brooksville Historical SocietyMeets every second Wed. of the month at 7 pm at the Town House. All are wel-

myfairpoint.net.

NeighborcareNeighbors helping neighbors.Volun-teers pro vide free health-related ser-vices, respite, transportation, errands, etc. Call for assistance or to volunteer at 326-4735.

Get Strong, Get HealthyCome join us for exercise at the Com-

326-4801.

Majabigwaduce Chapter DARmeets the 2nd Monday of each month,

com.

Labyrinth WalksCheck Compass calendar in local papers and community bulletin boards

Farrow, 326-8930.

326-4518 Monday 9 am–2 pm Wednesday 9 am–2 pm Thursday 6 pm–8 pm Selectman John Gray Richard Bakeman Darrell Fowler Town Clerk Amber Bakeman Treasurer Freida Peasley Tax Collector Yvonne Redman Burn Permits at Fire Station Thursdays from 7–8 pm Harbormasterr Sarah Cox 326-9622

Library 326-4560 Monday 9 am–5 pm Wednesday 9 am–5 pm Thursday 6 pm–8 pm Saturday 9 am–12 noon

Mon.–Fri. 9 am–12 noon 1 pm–4 pm Saturday 8:30–10:30 am

Mon.–Fri. 7:30 am–4 pm Saturday 8:30–10:30 am

326-8683 Mon.-Fri. 7 am–6 pm Sat. & Sun. 8 am–6 pm

To List Your Event

Call or e-mail information two weeks before Sept. 1, Dec.1, March 1 & June 1 to:

Joan MacCracken, 326-0916joanmacc@aol.com

West Brooksville Congregational ChurchJolly Helpers Luncheon: Sept. 28, noon; take-out available, 11:30 am

7:30–9 am; watch sign in front of

service: Dec. 24, 7 pm Sunday School: 9–9:45 am, directed by Joyce Slater

Info: 326-8283.

Brooksville YogaUnique combination of yoga and Ya-

Alison Chase, 326-4205.

Brooksville Community CenterCall for information about events or

MeditationThe Tibetan Buddhist meditation group is moving to the Pure Pilates studio in

Brooksville Friends and NeighborsMeets 1st Wed. of every month, 6:30–8

Brooksville United Methodist ChurchBuck’s Harbor Sanctuary: Sundays,

Farmers’ MarketLast day: Tues., Sept. 27, 9:30 am–12 noon , across from the Brooksville Community Center on Cornhill Rd.

tamusafaris.com.

Reversing Falls Sanctuary

to vote on a warrant to authorize expenditures for Harbormaster boat: Sept. 15, 7 pm.

Informa-tional Meeting: Sept. 15, 7 pm; Public Hearing: Sept. 29, 7 pm; Referendum Vote: Nov. 8, 10 am–8 pm.

Fall 2011 Page 7

Brooksville Elementary School’s ten and the Bay School’s four shared this spring as the time to leave grade school

be a dedication to them as a class and each of them as individuals.

The following students from BES will be attending George Stevens Academy. is looking forward to high school, although he is sure there will be lots of homework, but he’s sad to leave Brooksville Elementary School. What will he be looking forward to most? He said, “I am really excited for all the new and old athletic departments in high

is also looking forward to the Athletics Department, especially the soccer program. When I asked him what he will miss about BES, he said, “I think I will miss

Adrian Van der Eb is anticipating a bigger school with more people and making new friends. Adrian will miss knowing her teachers a long time before being taught by them. Sven

hopes to spend time with new and old friends. “I think GSA will have a better sports program because there

Kayla Bulleman also anticipates good sports activities. She will miss her friends, although most of them will be going to GSA with her. will be looking forward to a new place, a new setting. Although she

at BES. is excited for the open campus of GSA in the fall. He is sad about leaving the small school, BES, but excited for a larger school. “I’m excited to have

the opportunity to reach out to a greater community and Anna Ludlow is excited to meet new

people and a new school. Even though she will miss a smaller school and some of the teachers, she’s eager for more after-school activities like tennis and theater. Abby

Andrews plans to see more of her Peninsula friends at GSA. Basketball is her sport, and she is eager to play in high school.

, who attended BES, is happy to be going to Bucksport High School, but sad to leave her friends behind. She is looking forward to the sports there.

Of the four graduating eighth graders from the Bay School, three will go to GSA. leaves the Bay School

steel band and continue his basketball passion. attended the Bay School for eight years and is now eager to move on. He hopes to play in the GSA band. wants a faster pace, new subjects, and a new environment.

Evan Landon will attend Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. Choir and the ski team are major draws. What will he miss most about the Bay School?

These fourteen graduating eighth-grade students may

becoming adults.— Emma Weed, 7th grade, BES

Celebrating Our Eighth Graders MOVING ON!

teacher who left many positive impres-sions on her students. She played the piano in her classroom and baseball at recess with the boys. Robert recounted how the students would try to get her to play something on the piano, as then the rest of the day would be more en-tertaining than multiplication tables. It must have had an effect on Philip, as he went on to take piano lessons and mu-sic remains important in his life. After graduation, the effects of World War II separated the two

classmates. Philip returned to Rhode Island and future studies that led to an academic career as a mathematics

only diploma displayed was that from the Brooksville Grammar School. Robert remained locally and lives in Penobscot. Philip has returned most years in the summer months to the family home he moved to in 1939, unknowingly driving by Robert’s door-

time this August since their graduation

seventy years ago. The luncheon re-union was at the Capt. Tapley home, where Robert last visited while haying with his father in the 1930’s. The spirited reminiscences by the two elderly gentlemen at lunch indi-cated that the Brooksville Grammar

members of the class of 1941.

Myron Curtis is the brother of Philip Curtis, Jr. Sylvia Tapley, our librarian, is the daughter of Robert Tapley.

8th-Grade Reunioncontinued from page 2

P.O. Box 101Brooksville, ME 04617-0101Phone: 326-0916

Newsletter By:Joan MacCracken,Sheila Moir, Jean Webster,Katherine Clifford, Judy Tredwell, Gail Page,Leslie Moore

The Newsletter of Brooksville Friends & NeighborsPublished quarterly — Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter

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The Brooksville Breeze originated as a newletter to increase community commu-

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Be sure to check brooksvillemaine.org for updates on town activities

The At Home Downeast Project is still moving along. Membership ap-plication forms will be available very shortly as will volunteer applications.

A Program Manager will soon be employed. Negotiations regarding the home nursing visits are underway. The Steering Committee is hoping to be able to initiate the project within the next few months.

Stay tuned