But first, tonight, the February
issue of Downeast magazine is now out,
and it features articles on pond hockey,
winter in Acadia National Park, and more.
We talked about it with
editor in Chief Brian Kevin,
and the first thing we discussed was
a story on a restaurant in Dover,
Foxcroft, with one of the great names
of any dining establishment in Maine,
peace, love and waffles.
Michael Bagley, who runs peace,
love and waffles, credits his mom,
who helped him start the business
a little over a year ago,
or early in the pandemic,
who's not involved anymore.
But with coming up with that
name with the decor of the place,
which is very homey and kind of feels
like sitting in someone's breakfast nook.
It's a tiny spot on a beautiful property,
a little bit outside of town,
and the menu is almost entirely waffles.
Waffles of every
sort they are clearly doing. The Lords work.
I went there with the family a few weeks ago.
We had an amazing breakfast.
I recommended to anybody in the neighborhood.
Well, let's move on to a story that
you've got in this issue on pond hockey,
and it's basically kind of a love
song to pond hockey, especially
when it's played in a tournament,
of which there are two.
Coming up in February,
it looks like February and 3rd
through 5th simultaneously.
The the Rangely Pond Hockey festival and
then what's known as the get this right,
the main pond hockey Classic,
which happens in Sid Sydney on Messalonskee
Lake and I think what the author Joel.
I pretty really got here was the
notion that people, you know,
there's this line about the
Grateful Dead that I love.
The people who like the Grateful Dead
are like people who like licorice.
Not everybody does,
but those who do really do.
Pond hockey I think follows that
licorice Grateful Dead model.
It's like a little subculture of
people who live for this stuff.
It's fast-paced, it's fun.
You don't have to be a pro to play,
although some pros or sort of
semi pros are very experienced.
Players show up to some of these main
festivals which makes it kind of fun.
Speaking of outdoor activities that are fun,
you have a lengthy piece on.
Winter in Acadia National Park.
Now, for everybody who's complained
that Acadia is too crowded,
there are too many people there,
winter is the time to go.
Yeah, it's a valid point.
And we know the park is taking some
steps to try and curb that during the
summer and even the shoulder seasons.
But in the winter, it's it's just
a spectacular place to explore.
Photographer Benjamin Williamson
and writer Anne Pollard Ranko spent
some time up there last year and did
really kind of a deep dive on not
only some terrific places to explore,
see the sunset, see the sunrise.
Go skiing and snowshoeing the carriage roads,
you know, as some people may know,
when they get good snow on MDI,
they were built to be accommodating
for horses but also maximize scenery.
So they're one of the best places
in the country, I would say,
for Nordic skiing.
And the photography that Ben brought
back really just sort of shows.
What's so magical about this time of
year up there when you're going to
have it comparatively to yourself.
And let's finish with the profile
that you have of a main painter
who died about 25 years ago, who?
All of a sudden, he's enjoying popularity
that no one really expected us.
He's on Lynn reckler.
And what did you find when you
had a writer look into this?
You know? So Will Greenwald did
a terrific job reporting out
this profile of Lynn Drexler.
He spent time with the folks
who knew her on Monhegan,
where she spent much of her life.
He slept down to New York City and met
some of the artists that she lived with
in an earlier part of her life there.
The gallerist who worked with her and
the folks who have really seen her work,
she passed away years ago.
But in more recent years,
her work has come to be discovered
by a whole new audience.
In the art world.
It is selling for 7 digits worth of money,
when not so long ago it was selling
for 3/4 digits worth of money in Maine.
And I think he not only found what
was so enigmatic and marvelous about
this abstract expressionist and more
and the community that she evolved on,
Monhegan and the the group of
collectors and folks who appreciated
her friendship and her work,
but also the mechanics about how.
Art comes to be appreciated sometimes
decades after it was created.
And what happens behind the
scenes to make that happen?
It's a it's a really fascinating read.
It's I opening to hear about
a main artist who most folks
probably aren't familiar with,
whose work is going for $1,000,000, and
I think, you know, it's a matter of taste.
But I think the folks who have new
Drexler and the folks who appreciated
her work over the years say this is
much deserved that we're friends saying
that she's looking down somewhere,
saying it's about time.
And I think that probably encapsulates
a little bit of her attitude.
She was somebody who was good for a laugh.
It sounds like somebody who
was a great friend,
a great member of the community on Monhegan,
and just A and just a
exceedingly talented individual.
Again, those stories and more
are all in the February issue of
Down East, which is on sale now.
I'm still thinking about those waffles.