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Hometowns
Spotligjj
by VIRGINIA WRIGHT
Ted Panayotoff strides from boulder to boulder
on his way to the tidy brick lighthouse sitting at the tip of a mile-lcmg jetty in
Rockland, Maine (pop. 7,609). For 104 years, Rockland Breakwater Light has
flashed in concert with its sister, Owls Head Light, perched high on Rockland
Harbors opposite shore.
“You can’t imagine how many people
come out here and say, ‘l’ve lived in Rock
land all my life; I’m so excited to be able to
go inside,”' says Panayotoff’, historian for the
Friends of Rockland Breakwater
Light, which assumed care
of the lighthouse after the ,
U.S. Coast Guard trans
ferred ownership to the
city in 1998. § Qg
At nighttime and dur- | 1
ing inclement weather, the s O.
lighthouses flash warnings s-
to pleasure and fishing ves- '‘-t,
sels, including the hundreds
of lobster boats that ply the icy
waters of nearby Penobscot Bay. Lobsters
and lighthouses are plentiful along Maine’s
3,478-mile island-dotted coastline, but no
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* Lobsters and
Lighthouses
town has the brine to challenge Rockland’s
claim as “Lobster Capital of the World"—
or as a base for lighthouse exploration.
Rockland is the lobstering hub of
CoSiirf*
■W r m-W * ' “
S ter Festival
ring—than anywhere else.”
Rockland native Richard Whitman,
42, lias been fishing Penobscot Bay as long
Knox County, which harvests 20
million pounds of the crusta
cean yearly, fully one-third
of Maine’s total catch and
more than any other place
122 on earth.
"y
> ‘‘Most of those
lobsters end up being
•• shipped through Rock
land," says Harbormaster
Ed Glaser. "And Rockland
lands more lobster bait—her
—-- ui
m ZsSm i
Historian Ted Panayotoff at the 1 902 Rockland (Maine) Breakwater Lighthouse.
as he can remember. “It’s a way of life,"
says Whitman, who harvests 20,000 to
25,(X)0 pounds of lobster from August
to December. “I get up around 4:30 in
die morning and go to early afternoon"
checking hundreds of lobster traps.
As a member of the Rockland
Harbor Commission, Whitman repre
sents the city’s 162 commercial fisher
men, half of whom drop baited traps
onto the sea floor in hopes of hauling
up boatloads of valuable lobster.
Rockland celebrates its hard-work
ing fishermen and the coldwater crus
tacean each summer during the Maine
Lobster Festival, a rollicking waterfront
party where 25,(XX) pounds of lobster are
devoured by up to 90,(XX) people. This
year's event is scheduled Aug. 2 to 6.
A stroll down Main Street any time
of year finds restaurants serving lob
ster steamed, stewed, baked, casseroled,
stuffed into ravioli, and layered with
bacon, lettuce and tomato in three-deck
er club sandwiches. Fanciful chest-high
fiberglass lobsters stand like doormen
at restaurant and store entrances. In one
art gallery window, 18-carat gold lob
ster claw pendants clasp diamonds and
pearls. Across the street, a jewelry store
sign advertises “The World’s Most Valu
able Lobster." Tie 34-pound solid gold
crustacean with green tourmaline eyes
is modeled after a 4-pounder caught in
Rockland in 1999 and bears a price tag
of $100,(XX).
One of the Northeast’s major fishing
ports, Rockland was hit hard by the col
lapse of the New England fishery in die
1980 s, but lobstenng helped keep the
city afloat. With few cod to eat young
lobster, landings actually increased.
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In the 19905, an expansion of the
Farnsworth Art Museum, renowned for
its collection of Wyeth family works,
ignited a downtown renaissance, attract
ing art galleries, restaurants and specialty
shops. Long known for its commer
cial harbor, Rockland’s reputation now
includes art, fine dining and, with last
summer’s opening of the Maine Light
house Museum, an insightful and com
prehensive look at lighthouse history.
Boasting a large collection of light
house lenses, the museum overlooks
Rockland Breakwater and Owls Head
lighthouses and is within a half-day’s
cruise of nine other beacons along
Maine’s coast. Founder Ken Black—
whose nickname is “Mr. Light
house"—began collecting maritime
and lighthouse artifacts after he took
command of Rockland’s Coast Guard
Station in 1968. Through the years,
he’s amassed 750 items, including
navigational instruments, buoys and
rescue equipment, which are exhibited
at the museum.
"Ken got the lighthouse preserva
tion movement going long before it
became fashionable," says Panayotoff,
a lighthouse enthusiast who lives in
nearby Camden (pop. 5,254).
Pleased with Rockland’s revival, local
residents are dedicated to preserving and
honoring their maritime hentage, which
includes a bustling harbor, ferries and
fishermen, lobsters and lighthouses.
Visit www.therealmaine.com or
call (800) 562-2529 for more
information on Rockland.
Virginia Wright is a freelance writer based m
Cumberland. Maine.
Page 10
American Profile