Big footprints in the sands of time

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) is written up in an article in the winter edition of Bowdoin, a magazine published four times a year by the college. It says that Longfellow is one of Maine’s most beloved native sons, and one of Bowdoin’s most illustrious graduates (class of 1825).

The 200th anniversary of his birth was celebrated in February. Among the many events, seven professors at Bowdoin read excerpts from “The Song of Hiawatha” in seven languages from translations available in the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library.

Longfellow was an incredibly popular figure in 19th-century America, and was famous around the world – he was the only American poet memorialized in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey, in London. He wrote more than 400 poems, and is remembered especially for narrative poems such as “Paul Revere’s Ride” and “the Song of Hiawatha.” Phrases he coined have become part of our vocabulary, though many may not realize he was the source: “Ships that pass in the night”; “Footprints on the sands of time”; and “Into each life, some rain must fall.” He was in the same Bowdoin class as Nathaniel Hawthorne and a year behind Franklin Pierce, who became the 14th president of the United States.

My friend D. Lee Rich, of Cape Elizabeth, read the article in her husband John’s copy of the Bowdoin magazine, and she went on to read two of his poems, “The Children’s Hour” and My Lost Youth.”

We Portlanders are especially fond of “My Lost Youth.” We know that Longfellow was born in Portland, and though, sadly, his birthplace was torn down several decades ago, we can visit the lovely family home and museum on Congress Street. The opening lines of “My Lost Youth” are:

Often I think of the beautiful town

That is seated by the sea;

Often in thought go up and down

The pleasant streets of that dear old town,

And my youth comes back to me.

The final lines include:

And Deering’s Woods are fresh and fair,

And with joy that is almost pain

My heart goes back to wander there.

And among the dreams of the days that were,

I find my lost youth again.

Duck house tale

John and D. Lee Rich recently took an enjoyable walk through Deering’s Woods, too. We’re glad that that beautiful area remains intact. But where is the duck house that was in the middle of the pond? John Rich said he missed it. I can now tell him that it will soon appear back in the pond. I talked with Roger Knight of Westbrook, who had quite a story to tell.

The original duck house had deteriorated, and the city asked for bids on it. Roger won the bid, as he had a place to display it, one of the stipulations. He made extensive repairs to it, replaced windows, roofing material and various other repairs. The city had a replacement built, but that soon needed repair. When Roger received the old duck house, it was 100 years old. That was in 1987. Twenty years later, Portland asked for it back. The city now has it back, but Roger wanted assurance that it will be properly cared for. He had put in untolled hours of work when he repaired it.

So John Rich and others will be delighted to hear that the duck house will again be back in the Deering Oaks pond soon, this spring. I say that many thanks are due to Roger Knight, too.

Lunch and learn

April 19 was full of activity at Unity Gardens Community Room, on the Tandberg Trail in Windham. Anne Murray of the Southern Maine Agency on Aging led an exercise class, “Exercises for Fall Prevention,” which was very helpful. Those attending sit in small cushioned chairs with metal arms and frame, doing many exercises while seated, such as stretching, raising arms separately, flexing fingers, raising legs up and down. Then more exercises take place as the group stands behind the chairs, holding on for support if necessary.

If those attending can repeat those exercises at home, it will help keep them in shape.

An excellent lunch is served there at noon, for a small fee. The classes are held every two weeks. Reservations should be made two days in advance.

At 1:30 that same day, Dr. Marty Layne, audiologist, whose office is in Scarborough, gave an informative one-hour talk on hearing at Unity Gardens. We have heard her ads on the radio and were pleased to hear her advice. She has been a practicing audiologist for over 25 years.

Three out of 10 adults over the age of 50 have hearing impairment. Brochures were handed out to those attending. This “Hearing Self-Test” was printed in one:

The following questions may help you determine if you should be evaluated for possible hearing loss.

Are you sometimes unsure of what others around you have said?

Do you wish that people around you would speak louder and more distinctly?

Are you often asking family members and friends to repeat themselves.

Do you have trouble hearing over the telephone?

Do you have trouble following conversations in the presence of background noise?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, call to schedule an appointment for a hearing evaluation.”

Several of those present now have hearing aids, but we still found Marty Layne’s advice useful.

Another gift gone

I read in the April 12 New York Times about a portrait given to a Philadelphia medical school by Dr. Benjamin Rand, when he retired in 1877. It was a portrait of him painted in 1874 by the artist Thomas Eakins.

The portrait has been sold to heiress Alice L. Walton for her new Crystal Bridge Museum of American Art now under construction in Bentonville, Ark.

Proceeds from the sale, about $20 million, will go toward the expansion of Thomas Jefferson University’s educational and research program and development of its 13-acre city campus.

I cannot understand selling art given as a gift. Were there no protests from others at the university?

Perhaps the donor could have specified that this gift remain there. This sale came after protests stopped the university from selling another Eakins portrait it owns.

Tart ‘n’ tasty

Today’s recipe is from “Cooking With A Maine Accent,” 1992, by Gorham Woman’s Club and other Maine Federation of Women’s Clubs members.

APPLE TAPIOCA

Fill a 2-quart casserole two-thirds full with cored, peeled, sliced tart apples. Dot with butter. Boil 3-4 minutes (to cook tapioca):

3 tablespoons quick tapioca

1 full cup water

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour over the apples – Add more water if necessary. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Stir gently occasionally. Delicious topped with vanilla ice cream.

Submitted by Gail Reiber

Mount Desert Woman’s Literary Club

“The Village Blacksmith,” poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in his own hand. It was published 1841 in “Ballads and Other Poems.”