Golden Harvest named Employer of the Year by Center for Entrepreneurship

By Devin Beliveau
Staff Columnist
KITTERY—
For an old business, a new accolade.
Golden Harvest, a local produce market and specialty foods store, has been named Employer of the Year at York County Community College’s 5th Annual Entrepreneur Awards.
“I was really shocked. It was wonderful. We were flattered,” said co-owner Carla Spencer, who has owned and run Golden Harvest with her husband Jim since September 1998.
The Spencers received the award from the Center for Entrepreneurship at a ceremony at The Coastal House in Wells on Nov. 4th. Other finalists for the award were Province Automation in Sanford, and this newspaper, The Weekly Sentinel.
Eligibility for the award required that a business “maintained or added to staff levels in the past 12 months, and demonstrates stability as an employer.”
“We have a lot of long-term employees, some that have been with us 30 years,” said Jim Spencer. “We don’t turn over a lot of people. We bring people in, they stay with us. We bring them along. That’s been really good for us. That’s the key to what we do.”
Golden Harvest has continued to add employees over the past year despite the difficult economy. “We’ve added a couple of management positions and a couple of wholesale positions,” said Jim.
Since May 2006 the Spencers have also owned Carl’s Meat Market, which is located next door to Golden Harvest. “Between the two places it’s about 50 employees right now, and around 55 or 58 in the summer,” said Carla.
The economy has been a concern for the Spencers. “The economy effects the way things are. People spend less money,” said Carla. “But we are consistent with our numbers from last year, which is good,” added Jim.
Golden Harvest is a landmark business in Kittery’s “Gourmet Alley” on Route 1. “The community is very supportive, and they tell us what they think frequently, which is nice because it tells you how you’re doing,” said Carla.
Golden Harvest was nominated for Employer of the Year by Sen. Peter Bowman (D-Kittery). Jim Spencer believes that Golden Harvest’s willingness to go the extra mile for customers is what inspired Sen. Bowman’s nomination. “If you want something special, a unique bottle of wine, we’ll bring it in. People will ask for this and that and we’ll try to accommodate them,” said Jim.
Golden Harvest has been around “since the late 50s,” according to Jim. The Spencers purchased the business from Dominick Peluso, who started and ran the business for its first 40 years.
Carl’s Meat Market has been in and out of Carla’s family since the 1930s. “Carl Peschel, my great-grandfather, started it,” Carla explained. “After Carl Peschel passed away his son Ken took the business over. Then he sold it to Frank Belleville, who worked for him. Then we bought it from Frank.”
The Spencers are clearly proud of the long local histories of these two community markets. “Our goal is to always maintain what the Golden Harvest was, but also keep changing with the times,” Carla said. Jim nodded in agreement, and also added that as Employer of the Year, “We’re happy just the way it is.”
Golden Harvest and Carl’s Meat Market are located at 47 and 25 State Road (Route 1) in Kittery.
Photo caption: Carla and Jim Spencer of Golden Harvest in Kittery. (Devin Beliveau photo)

Collaboration in the Air with Libraries in the Berwicks

By Jim Kanak
Staff Columnist
THE BERWICKS—
In the face of shrinking resources and a desire to maximize library services for their constituents, Librarians Sandy Broomfield (Berwick), Mamie Ney (South Berwick) and Beth Sweet (D.A. Hurd, North Berwick) took an historic step recently. They agreed formally to a reciprocal arrangement that allows legal residents of each of the three towns to sign up for free library cards at all three libraries.
“We have been collaborating, but not formally,” said Ney.
“We decided the three of us could have patrons from each town share the library,” said Broomfield.
It wasn’t a simple matter, however. To complete the agreement, the librarians had to get their boards (in the case of Berwick and D.A. Hurd) and town officials (in the case of South Berwick) to go along with the idea. The different organizational structures of the three facilities complicated things. Only the South Berwick library is a town department; Berwick and Hurd are non-profits directed by boards of directors.
They convinced folks that collaboration was a good thing.
“For example, it saves us from inter-library loan costs,” Sweet said. “Usually, books are mailed between libraries and $2.45 is the average mailing fee. So giving people cards helps with that. We’re also all small libraries, so jointly hosting events can draw larger audiences.”
In fact, joint events are already on the drawing board, thanks to a grant the group got from the Maine Humanities Council to support the formation of a book discussion group.
“The grant will provide a facilitator to run five book discussions,” Sweet said. “It will also provide the books to lend.”
“The Council was looking for libraries to work together, so that worked in our favor,” said Ney.
“The hope is that we’ll alternate the discussions among all three libraries, so people will get familiar with (ones outside their towns),” Sweet said.
The discussion groups will likely begin in March. But that’s not the only shared activity. Museum passes is another area of collaboration.
“We got a $2,500 grant from Kennebunk Savings Bank for all three to get museum passes, to places like the Maine Children’s Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Portland Museum of Art, Strawbery Banke and Willowbrook,” Broomfield said.
The trio continues to explore other possibilities. “There are so many ways to cooperate, like ordering supplies together (to get better prices),” Ney said. “There’s a lot we can do internally and externally. It also gives us a good excuse to get together, to see how we’re dealing with similar things.”
Sweet agreed. “We could do staff training together and fundraising,” she said. “Maybe we could do an annual golf tournament. If we combined forces, we could see larger fundraising events.”
Like many industries, the landscape for public libraries is changing and that motivates the need for creative thinking.
“Our mission is changing,” said Ney. “We’re becoming an information town commons. That’s been important to all libraries.”
And that also drives the desire to collaborate. “We’re trying to unite so that we can present the greatest opportunities for all our residents,” Broomfield said.

New Owners Re-Open Litchfield’s

By Jim Kanak
Staff Columnist
WELLS —
There’s a new dining and entertainment venue in Wells at a familiar old location. Litchfield’s Bar and Grill, under new owners Elaine and Bob Stone and Execuitve Chef Tom Perron (Elaine’s brother), opened its doors on Nov. 18. Located at the site of the former Litchfield’s Restaurant, the new operation offers not only an extensive dining menu and full bar, but also a video game room and pizza parlor that offers a variety of pizzas, subs, appetizers, salads, and Italian dishes.
“We make almost everything from scratch,” Perron said. “We make our own burgers, pizza sauce, ribs, even the batter for fried chicken. All our soups and stews are homemade. We try to do as much as we can.”
Indeed, the dinner menu is five pages long, and offers everything from soups to salads to sandwiches to steaks, chicken and seafood. And the menu is reasonably priced, with no entrée above $20.
And there is full bar service as well. “We have a new tap system, with 14 beers on tap and two separate taps,” said Perron, noting also that the bar was fully stocked with wine and other spirits.
Separating the dining area from the pizza parlor is a game room, with a multitude of game options. “It’s a full game room,” Perron said. “There’s Guitar Hero, poker, classic Pac-man, NBA Showtime, things like that.”
There’s even a game that offers an opportunity to win Coach bags.
The pizza parlor also offers specialty pizzas like shrimp and sweet sausage, clams casino (clams, bacon, and bell peppers), eggplant and feta cheese, and Hawaiian ham and pineapple, to name just a few.
“People can dine in, carry out, use curbside pick-up, or have delivery,” said Perron. For now, delivery is limited to Wells only, though that could change in the future.
The operation uses the shell of the former restaurant, with the interior fully renovated. The dining area seats 150, with the familiar atrium room still an attractive feature of the dining room, giving it a bright and airy feel. The bathrooms were completely redone also and are handicap accessible.
Perron said there are plans to expand in the future. The plan is to use the land to the rear of the building to put another, adjoining structure with a capacity of 150 that would allow the restaurant to handle functions, and offer music and entertainment.
Perhaps the most unique feature of the restaurant, though, has nothing to do with food. There’s a memorial to the victims of the 9-11attacks – a fountain – that sits between the entrances to the restaurant and the pizza parlor. Perron said it will be dedicated on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, at 2 p.m. The dedication will be attended by firefighters from throughout southern Maine.
Litchfield’s, 2135 Post Road in Wells, is open seven days a week from 11 a.m.
Photo caption: Bartender Deb Vaughn at the new 14 beer tap system at Litchfield’s Bar and Grill in Wells. (Jim Kanak photo)

$1 Million Federal Award advancesConservation of York River

YORK—
York Land Trust (YLT) and the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea conservation partners (MtA2C) announce the protection of an ecologically significant property on the York River in York. In 2005, aided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf of Maine Program, the partners made a “federal case” for supporting York River conservation and won a million dollar North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) award. It was recently used to purchase 240 acres of pristine saltmarsh, shorelands, field and forested uplands from the Davis family, one or York’s founding families and long time supporters of community conservation.
“Our family settled this land in the 1600’s and lived on it continuously until 1963, when our great aunt Alice R. McIntire died and our mother Mary McIntire Davis inherited the land. Before her death, it was our mother’s fondest wish that the land remain undeveloped and in its natural state in-perpetuity. We believe conveying the land to the good stewards of the York Land Trust will ensure our mother’s legacy and provide for the enjoyment of the citizens and visitors of York. My brothers, Dan and Jim, and I are pleased to be able to continue our family’s affiliation with the York Land Trust,” said Mal Davis.
“We are grateful to the Davis Family for working with us to protect this spectacular property and for their generosity in selling the land for less than its market value, as a donation to the York Land Trust. The success of the project was due in part to this important gift,” said Doreen MacGillis, Executive Director of York Land Trust. “In addition, the value of a partially donated conservation easement to Maine Coast Heritage Trust by the Delano family on a 390-acre parcel on Gerrish Island in Kittery last year provided critical match necessary to secure the federal NAWCA grant.”
The NAWCA proposal was a rigorous process that focused national attention on the York River System’s distinctive preservation arguments including 1) that the River’s estuary, shoreland and contiguous forested uplands provide priority habitat for 100 types of waterbirds, or nearly every species regularly seen in the entire Atlantic Flyway, 2) that conserving the lands connected to the River and its source wetlands and streams protects many non-bird species including half of the entire possible diversity for estuarine fishes in Maine, rare turtles, amphibians, invertebrates, and mammals, and 3) that the rich marshes of the York River comprise one of the largest intact coastal wetland areas in southern Maine. Project leader Stewart Fefer with the USFWS Gulf of Maine Program said, “This York River project protects forever a diversity of nationally significant coastal wetland habitats for fish, wildlife and people. We are delighted to have been able to assist in this important conservation partnership.”
According to aquatic biologist Michele Dionne, PhD. director of research at the Wells Reserve (WNERR), “from harbor to headwaters, the York River, an exemplary New England coastal watershed has retained an impressive degree of ecological integrity. The ecology of the River is directly connected to the ecology of its surrounding landscape. If the shorelands lose their natural functions, so do the brooks, streams, creeks and channels of the watershed and estuary. As an aquatic scientist, I greatly appreciate the timely and critically important work of the Mt A to the Sea Coalition in protecting the lands that protect the River. As a local resident, I understand the depth of commitment required to pursue this far-from-simple mission. As a parent, I am truly grateful for the Coalition’s growing natural legacy - a gift beyond measure to us all.
This is one of 45 projects, representing a total of 2,746 acres that the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Coalition has completed since its inception in 2002.
Photo caption: Conservation lands conserved by the Mt. A to the Sea project (Courtesy photo)

Master Yarnspinner’s Latest Yarn

By Chip Schrader
Book Review Editor
Joyce Tracksler has made for herself a loyal readership and a place in Kittery lore with her mysteries that often feature local personalities and a smorgasbord of evil plots from criminal masterminds. Her eagerly anticipated tenth novel, Home of the Brave, stretches the mystery genre to historical fiction that buzzes with World War II era lingo, and laughable old world etiquette that is juxtaposed by Portsmouth’s infamous red light district.
In the opening chapters, we are introduced to a colorful array of characters from ladies of the night to upstanding locals who work together to put on a USO show for the homeward and war-ward bound troops. But, we are also introduced to a puzzler involving the charred remains of a dog name “Pal” found on Seapoint Beach by a runner.
Dodging through the Atlantic, a ship full of injured soldiers and love struck nurses makes its way toward the Naval Yard. Among the passengers is the handsome and heroic Joe Martin and a plain Jane nurse Eunice, who burned her re-grown curly red locks saving soldiers from a blaze. Nurses Michelle and Carol do some creative paperwork to tip the scales to their comrade’s favor hoping the blinded soldier will see love in Eunice. As a result, rather than going across the country to be treated, Joe happens to have been reassigned to receive his treatment right in York hospital where Eunice would be by his side.
As the arsons claim more lives, and more of the street walkers turn up missing, an unhappily married police chief, Randy, teams up with Inga, a criminal psychologist, to profile any suspicious locals and to trace the patterns within the crimes. The town of Kittery holds an assortment of motley and curious characters, many of whom could be just cagy enough to commit such heinous crimes.
Tracksler adopts some playful uses of text by starting each chapter with news headlines from local and national papers regarding the war, the arsons, a prison escape, and the USO show. She nicely plots a firm historical context with these headlines, and inserts several USO playbills that feature the name of actual modern day Kittery residents. Tracksler successfully fleshes out the bawdy and prudish characters in all their glory, and weaves a very believable World War II era Seacoast using some local history as a weapon in her arsenal.
The only piece of this work that readers might struggle with is the barrage of characters. The first fifty pages might make the reader feel like the new kid in school, but as each character returns in later chapters, the reader will find themselves thoroughly rewarded as they are acquainted and acclimated with this little town. Furthermore, once the ship comes in to port and the soldiers file in among the locals, the story begins to flow into a single narrative and the fun begins.
In Home of the Brave, Joyce Tracksler shows she has paid her dues writing good yarns about eccentric characters that seem too much fun to be true, and masterfully plots them into an entertaining read that gets deeper into your skin with every page.
Photo caption: Cover of Home of the Brave by Joyce Tracksler. (Courtesy photo)

The New School To Help Winterize Homes of Those in Need

KENNEBUNK—
The New School devotes two days in November to community service called Giving Back Days. This November, the days are the 23rd and 24th. Teachers, students and volunteers will work in the Kennebunk area winterizing the homes of older or disabled people, or low- income families.
Students and teachers worked with United Way several years ago with the Keep ME Warm program, which distributed and installed winterization kits to low income families in York County. The kits contained shrink-wrap for sealing the older style, single- paned windows, weather stripping for doors and windows and insulation for electrical outlets. Thus many of the students and teachers have been trained in weatherization. There will be five New School teams made up of a skilled volunteer leader, and five students.
For those who live in older homes and can’t afford to purchase new, insulated windows winterizing the house is the way to save energy this winter. An Indoor Window Insulator Kit costs about $16, will insulate five 3 x 5 windows and can increase the R-value of a single pane of glass by 90 percent. Felt or foam weather stripping is inexpensive and saves a lot of energy when applied to cracks or crevices between doors and doorjambs – a 1/8” space between an exterior door and its threshold is equivalent to a two square inch hole in the wall so imagine the amount of heat that escapes. Another inexpensive and easy way to reduce heating costs is to insulate the electrical outlets on your exterior walls. While most people don’t consider this to be a major source of energy loss, keep in mind that behind every faceplate that covers a light switch or electrical outlet is a hole in your wall. Adding a foam insulating gasket allows you to create a tight seal between the wall and the faceplate without altering the appearance of the socket.
The New School expects to be able to winterize between 15 and 20 homes during the two days. With donations from the Town of Kennebunk, the Southern Maine Church of Christ, Lowes and Home Depot, there are some kits available at no cost for those who can’t afford them. If anyone would like to volunteer to help with the project or donate materials you can contact The New School. Regardless of whether you can afford to buy the materials, the teams are willing to do the labor and can provide some materials. If you’d like help winterizing your home on November 23rd or 24th please call 985-3745.

Kittery celebrates the livesof the Pepperrells

By Devin Beliveau
Staff Columnist
KITTERY POINT—
275 years later, the Pepperrell Family was once again at the center of attention in Kittery Point.
Local residents gathered at the tomb of Colonel William Pepperrell in Kittery Point on Saturday to see the work that has recently been completed by the Pepperell Project. Led by former state senator Steve Estes, The Pepperrell Project has cleaned up the area surrounding the tomb. “It’s to make the site more visible. People couldn’t find it,” Estes explained in his opening remarks to a crowd of several dozen.
The event began with several songs by maritime folk performers The Dog Watch. Estes then welcomed the crowd, and stated that the goal of the Pepperrell Project was to “reveal again for the first time in 30 years this wonderful site.” Estes noted that 2009 is the 275th anniversary of the death of Colonel Pepperrell, and asked if there were any Pepperrell descendants in the crowd. About 6 people raised their hands.
After a blessing by Reverend Jeff Gallagher, historian, author, and former state legislator Neil Rolde took the podium. “Today we are celebrating once again the lives and the contributions to American history of the two Pepperrells,” said Rolde, referring to Colonel William Pepperell and his son Sir William Pepperrell. Rolde is the author of the book Sir William Pepperrell of Colonial New England.
Colonel Pepperrell arrived at the Isles of Shoals in 1676 from Devonshire, England. He married Margery Bray of Kittery Point, the local tavern keeper’s daughter, and the couple had 8 children, including William Jr. “The William Pepperrell Company” found success in shipping, trade, forestry and especially real estate.
“With his father’s help, William Jr. went about acquiring Maine real estate,” Rolde explained. “From Kittery all the way north to Scarborough. It was later said he could get on his horse here in Kittery Point, ride to Scarborough, and never get off his own land.” At one point William Jr. was known as the richest man in Maine.
William Pepperrell Jr. went on to serve in the Massachusetts Legislature. “He seemed to excel at everything he did. He was apparently extremely personable,” said Rolde. “Everybody liked him.”
William Pepperrell Jr.earned his fame for his leadership in capturing the French Fortress Louisburg on Cape Breton Island (Canada) during King George’s War in 1745. “He was chosen to lead an armada of colonists against the French,” said Rolde. “Pepperrell’s leadership led to the capture, after a short siege, of a supposedly impregnable French fortification.”
“Pepperrell’s victory was wildy celebrated in England. And he went there, not to be knighted by the king, but actually ennobled, which means he was made a Baronet, which is a much higher rank than a knight,” Rolde explained. William Pepperrell Jr. thus became Sir William Pepperrell.
After Rolde’s history lesson, Shapleigh School eighth grader Jackson Yeaton read the poem “With Pepperrell’s.” The restored memorial tablet was then unveiled, and the “Pepperrell Brigade” colonial re-enactors fired a musket salute over the Pepperrell tomb.
Work on the Pepperrell Project began in the summer and benefitted from the time given by several volunteers. Additional support for the Pepperell Project was given by The Friends of Fort McClary, The Kittery Cemetery Committee, and The Kittery Historical and Naval Museum. The museum also hosted a reception following Saturday’s celebration.
The Pepperrell Tomb and Memorial can be found on Route 103 in Kittery Point, across the street from Frisbee’s Market.
Photo caption: Part of the ceremony in Kittery Point on Nov. 7 celebrating restoration of the Pepperrell Tomb and Memorial. (Devin Beliveau photo)