|
Peter Noyes introduced his longtime friend and favorite brother in law, Ford Reiche. Ford’s grandfather, Howard Reiche, Sr., was a fixture of Portland Rotary for many years and also Principal of Portland High School. Additionally, Ford was also a past member of Portland Rotary and sponsored Peter’s application. 
(Photo L-R: Peter Noyes, Ford Reiche and President Don Zillman.) Ford has had an interesting professional career as a lawyer and as a businessman. Moreover, he has acquired and restored several buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ford presented an overview of the 3 year restoration of Half Way Rock Light Station, located on a two acre rock ledge in Casco Bay. Lighthouses were once essential to navigation along the coast of Maine in the years before railroads became the essential to commerce; but technology and GPS have replaced their functions. Navigators followed the lighthouses into Casco Bay with the sequencing “First Monhegan, then Sequin, Halfway Rock and then you’re in.” Three people were assigned to the lighthouse, but two lived on the rock while a third would be given shore leave. It was very tough living with dreadful weather conditions. Their primary job was to keep the glass on the light clean so the beacon could shine bright during storms. They worked to keep the glass clean even during icy weather. Lighthouse keepers also kept detailed written hourly records about weather conditions. Every day of work was involved in doing maintenance and chores. In 1975, technology allowed for automation of Halfway Rock lighthouse although a crude weather monitoring station was installed. In 2005, Halfway Rock Lighthouse Station was listed as one of the historic places in Maine most in need of restoration. Indeed, the granite structure and living quarters were devastated by erosion caused by severe weather conditions over time. His story about the lighthouse restoration has been featured on Bill Greene’s Maine and online videos and as part of the online Building Off the Grid DIY series.  Ford presented a slide show to demonstrate the progress of the lighthouse restoration. Achieving the goals of the restoration to be consistent with the National Historic Places requirements was a challenging and daunting process. First of all, it took him 18 months to finalize the purchase of the abandoned lighthouse due to confusion about how the paperwork for the site had been filed in Massachusetts rather than in Maine.
Restoration must be done in compliance with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) meaning the paint finishing and window types must be approved. Building permits were needed but determining what town to obtain one was unclear. Eventually, Yarmouth became the town where the permits were obtained. Restoration style is consistent with how the lighthouse looked during the historic period following World War II. During the restoration, a bottle of liquor with the dated inscription “Christmas 1938”, was discovered behind one of the paneled walls. Access to the lighthouse is dangerous. The Coast Guard uses helicopter transport to visit for light maintenance and to change the LED bulbs. Ford travels to the rock in a pea pod dinghy, during calm seas. He receives communications from people who have a personal connection with the lighthouse, including from former lighthouse keepers. Information about Halfway Rock Light is available in Lighthouse Digest: www.lighthousedigest.com/ and with the American Lighthouse Foundation: www.lighthousefoundation.org. Ford is also composing a book. The website is www.HalfwayRock.com or contact Ford at the email Ford@FordReiche.com.
(Halfway Rock Lighthouse)  (Halfway Rock Lighthouse)
|
Catherine joined the IFOB in 2014 as its executive director. Prior to joining, she was the executive director of the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce where she oversaw the 50th Anniversary of Windjammer Days, developed the Claw Down Lobster Bite Competition, and annually produced the region’s definitive travel guide. She is a graduate of the Maine Association of Nonprofits’ Executive Leadership Institute. .jpg)
Jennifer Nemi is a member of the third generation of a family-owned printing business, Franklin Printing in Farmington, Maine. Her grandfather Joseph Nemi started the company in the late 1960’s by purchasing the Livermore Falls Advertiser and Franklin Journal. In the late 70’s, early 80’s Joe’s two sons came on board, Greg and Dick. The business expanded throughout the 70’s and 80’s by continually increasing its commercial printing sales. In 1986, at the urging requests of his sons, Joe decided to sell the newspaper business and focus solely on commercial printing. Over the years Franklin Printing has continued to grow and reinvest its profits into the most advanced equipment in technology. In 2008 it moved into the digital printing business adding another market segment to the mix. Today their services range from offset printing to wide format and they are one of the top 24 finalists for the Maine Family Business Awards.
Our club continues to reach out to the veterans in our community. Charlie Frair and Paul Tully are hard at work putting together our Veteran’s Day luncheon, which offers recognition and provides a $1,000 donation to two Veteran-related organizations. This year our two recipients will be "The Betsy Ross House" and "The House of Hope."" Although our funds limited us to those above mentioned organizations, we have a number of generous members who were wanting and willing to contribute to the cause and we raised enough to give $500 to “Horses For Healing” and “Veterans Count.”.JPG)
The Maine Outdoor Challenge has long been associated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. The Clubs are a fabulous resource for the children who need a safe place to go when they aren’t attending school. To help our Rotary Club better understand what the Clubs do, we are holding our next meeting (April 27th) at their clubhouse located on Cumberland Ave, in Portland, across the street from the Portland High School. The meeting will be all the more meaningful because the food will be catered by the Culinary Arts group of the Long Creek Youth Development Center. Please plan on attending, bring a guest, and see a couple of the organizations our efforts support. You will enjoy a delicious luncheon and gain insight all in one sitting..JPG)
Past President Dick Hall introduced the club to a “beta” program our local Rotary Clubs are sponsoring to bring High School students to the United States for a few weeks during the summer. While the concept of a Youth Exchange is nothing new to Rotary, this program brings a new twist to it. Typically the exchange is during the school year and involves a protracted time commitment, which can be a challenge. Consequently, we have come up with the summer program, similar to a summer camp experience, to make it easier and more inclusive. The kids will be here for 3 or 4 weeks and will visit local clubs while in local homes. Initially, the students will come from France, Italy and Equador.,
