There were a number of storms in the last two weeks of February, but our snow plow operators, Corey Alley and Blair Colby, did a fine job of keeping roads clear on both Islesford and Great Cranberry.
For most kids, the dramatic music of a “Storm Center” weather report means that school has been canceled. For Islesford school children, it means just another day of school. They are among a small number of outer island students who do not get to celebrate a snow day. On Islesford, the school children are able to walk to school, and the teacher lives in the apartment upstairs. Only a power outage or plumbing problem will cause a school closing.
When it wasn’t snowing in February, the weather was bright and cold. The full “snow moon” was visible all night on February 23. Dip of the Month Club almost didn’t happen in February. When there was no wind on the 28th, Joy Sprague, Lindsay Eysnogle, Jesse Minor and I decided to brave the 35-degree water to continue our personal records. Stefanie Alley took her dip in a lake in Colorado, and Cindy Thomas took a dip at the home of her mother-in-law in Weeks Mills. Due to some extenuating circumstances, her roll in the snow on the last day of the month was given full credit.
Eight dedicated adults are taking a 60-hour course to complete their First Responder training. Erin Gray, Margaret Blank, Susie Valdina, Courtney Chaplin, Jason Pickering, Lindsay Eysnogle, Amy Philbrook and Jesse Minor will fit the course into three weekends of intense study. Jeffrey Doyon and Dana Knight, paramedics from Brunswick, are their instructors. To offer support for their long hours of course work, Evelyn Boxley has organized several volunteers to provide lunches and dinners for the students during their breaks. From Great Cranberry, Phil Whitney is also taking a First Responder course in Southwest Harbor.
Our annual Town Meeting on Monday, March 14, lasted for seven hours. By the end, we had approved an overall town budget of $1,536,488. Denise McCormick was elected as Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, and Collector of Taxes, taking over positions, which Frances Bartlett has held for the past 31 years. Frances received a standing ovation from everyone at the meeting in recognition of her many years of service to the town. One of the highlights of the day was the meal served at the Great Cranberry Island Community Center. Almost eighty people enjoyed grilled chicken with bacon, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, and salad for lunch. Homemade rolls and homemade pies rounded out the fabulous feast. Many thanks to the members of the Ladies Aid, and anyone else who contributed to such a fine meal.
It was snowing slightly when Ruth Westphal gave me a ride to the boat after town meeting. “Little snow, big snow,” she said. A saying, she explained, that meant when the snow starts out as small flakes, it quite often ends up as a large amount on the ground. The next day, when I mailed a package, Postmaster Joy Sprague looked out her window and said, “There is enough blue in the sky to make a Dutchman a pair of pants.” She recalled it was something Phyllis Colson used to say when the weather was clearing. Susie Krasnow came over to add her memories of seeing swallows sitting in a row on a telephone line near the Maypole. As a child she learned that birds on a wire indicate that precipitation will arrive soon. Erin Gray, picking up her mail, recollected one of the first weather signs she learned as a little girl. When boats in the harbor point toward the Gut, fog is on its way in. My father, George Shirey, was the first one I heard to say, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailor take warning.” With increased curiosity, I headed to Ann and Warren Fernald’s house to seek more weather proverbs. “As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens,” is one that Paul Fernald recalled hearing from Wilfred Bunker. Warren Fernald also remembered hearing that saying about January when he was a boy. Ann Fernald came into the room to say that when cobwebs are full of moisture in the morning, the fog will lift. Karen Smallwood arrived for lunch at her parents’ house. When she was a student at the Islesford School, her teacher, Mrs. Onyett from Frenchboro, asked the children to talk about signs of spring. Robins, melting snow and pussy willows were among some of the answers. “A hole in my mattress,” was the contribution of a young Mark Fernald. The teacher, who was quite concerned with her student’s lack of understanding, explained again that they were looking for signs of spring; things such as warblers and crocuses, “and a hole in my mattress,” insisted Mark. The teacher went home at the end of the day, still confused by the young Fernald boy’s odd remark. She told the class the next day that it wasn’t until 8:30 at night that she caught on to her student’s joke.
With Town Meeting behind us we’re back to weather as a topic of conversation. When a storm on the first day of March resulted in canceled boats, canceled mail delivery and a foot of new snow to shovel, I thought of the Latin proverb, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” I hope it is true this year.
— Barbara Fernald, Islesford
March 15, 2005