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Marty’s Memories - Something Back by Marty Trower

There is a constant on an island.The tides - the sounds of each on the rocks, tumbling or slapping differently on the beach, - and the winds, so easily felt, so changeable. I guess I should say two constants, but they seem to go together and yet they are each so stubbornly independent. Come to think of it, constant isn’t a very good word to use for either, or is it? It’s hard not to be aware of these forces or rhythms of nature when you live on an island. It is when I am touched by a morsel of memory that I realize they are often weather related, and they have a lot to do with the subtle senses. But It is the other rhythm, the lift and slide of a fiddle that is as strong for me as the pull of the tides. It’s the feel of the stone fireplace and the heat it tries to hold at the hotel - when it was called the Hillcrest- a wood fire is slowly crackling: I tip-toe across the shiny wood floor of the lobby and hug the edges of the great room. So shy. I am not quite a teen. I see the rotund shape of Mr. Johnson, the square dance caller leans down and put a record on the player. He grabs a microphone and his booming, enticing voice fills the room. The beat, the sway and repetition of the reels on the record joins Mr. Johnson’s soothing welcome.

Soon he is telling us to circle left and ’a la main‘ right and ‘promenade’ and ‘dos-y-dos’ - who says I don’t understand French, I think. The strings of the fiddle on the gramophone soar and I relax and stumble. I am giddy, pre-teen, happy to at least be a part of the spinning, pulsing whirl of dancers. We sing along to the memorable refrains of B-I-N-G-O and then-remember when you got to the ‘O’? - you got hugged by the person you were facing! That is, IF you were lucky enough to get into the circle at the right time. The square dances at the hotel are long gone but the Inn now burns a cozy fire on damp days, its scent a nostalgic comfort as I walk up my hill. Soon I am at the dried driftwood fires of ago when we could feel the other rhythmic element, the bonfire roar, spewing its temporary sting of heat and smoke into our faces. The watch for safety; the smell of saltwater and fog smacking our cheeks, the air moving, daytime or twilight or midnight on Hamilton Beach, Sunset Beach, Rose’s Point, Capp’s Point, Chandler’s, Deer Point… our places. We are hooked. There’s the constant.

Don’t Miss The Red Studio’s Big Tent Sale and First Ever Country Auction on Saturday August 3!

Browse the Big Tent Sale from 10:00 to 11:00, and then grab a seat and bid, bid, bid on all the incredible items in our old-fashioned auction! The auction will include rare Chebeague items, such a graffitied vintage CI schoolhouse desk and a 100+-year-old friendship quilt with island motifs, as well as one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture decorated by our Transformer crew, and a fabulous mix of ephemera, antiques, and mystery box lots! Such fun! The auction starts at 11:00. Come and bid on your family’s Transformer entry! Outbid your neighbor! Bidding wars encouraged! Fisticuffs discouraged. Seating is limited, so please bring your own chairs to the auction.

The Red Studio is still looking for Transformers eager to take an underloved item from our inventory, transform it into a unique work of art, and donate it back to the Red Studio by July 31, so that we can include it in our August 3 auction. You may also donate antiques and your own works of art for inclusion in the auction. All proceeds benefit Island Commons!

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JULY 2019 CHEBEAGUE ISLAND COUNCIL CALENDAR