stonington

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs host Peter Neill sits down with Kristie Billings. A wearer of many hats, Kristie is a long-time DJ for ‘Daydream Nation’ on the WERU Community Radio in Orland, Maine. From small-town grocery clerk to working in a fish market, owning her own shoe store, being an Arts Educator at a local theater, a lobster fisher, and an antiques seller, Kristie has done it all. Kristie comes from a long line of lovers of the sea: fishermen, clamdiggers, and sardine packers. The ocean is home. She is a poet, a photographer, and a year-round swimmer. She is currently living in Ellsworth, Maine, and a native of Stonington, on Deer Isle in downeast Maine. A great lover of music, art, and life, Kristie is drawn to beauty, even in the ordinary, the mundane and the unnoticed. Her latest book, "Sea Witch: Photographs, Poems and Forget Me Nots from a Mainer Growing Up" (Seaport Books, Nov 2023) is filled with images and words of the sea, nature, folk art, dolls, loss, grief, love, acceptance, rage, music, and life. 

The Bois have another special treat for the WN2T Family this week! They have not one, but TWO interviews with two amazing local candidates who are running for seats in the State Senate. The first interview is with Victoria Gu, who is running for the Rhode Island State Senate in District 38 (10:28). Ms. Gu is also Chair of Charlestown’s Climate Resiliency Commission. The second interview is with Farouk Rajab, who is running for Connecticut State Senate in the 18th District (59:35). Mr. Rajab is also Chair of the Stonington Board of Education.

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Joining the conversation will be John Thornell, head of Stonington Community Rowing and girls head coach @stoningtoncrew, who has been working closely with Jim Dietz since he came on board the project earlier this year.

"When we complete the Jim Dietz Rowing Center in early 2024, we will be able expand from a competitive junior team of 50-60 kids to offer a range of programs to younger and older people," Thornell said. "Middle-school kids will see a path to row in high school. High school rowers will see alumni (rowing in college) return for summers. It will open up coaching opportunities for those alumni, too. Younger rowers will also see masters rowers and know that this is a lifelong sport for them. It'll be a multi-use center, with a rowing component of up to 500 members." 

In this episode, Debbie talks to Kathleen Billings, town manager of Stonington, Maine, the small coastal village on Deer Isle that she and her husband now call home.

Debbie wanted to talk to a local leader about the challenges of this election and pandemic year and Kathleen was the perfect person. She is matter of fact, deeply knowledgeable, and forthright.

Kathleen, 56, has been Stonington’s Town Manager for almost 20 years. She tells us how the town’s twin industries of fishing and tourism have fared and how she began to prepare for COVID back in February.  She and Debbie talk about the friction between People From Away (PFA) and locals and how it was exacerbated by COVID. 

They also talk about the political tensions that Kathleen has had to face this year and how she‘s handled them. On a side note Kathleen talks about the very real issue of rising sea levels and how the town is addressing that.

They end by reflecting on the year 2020 and how Kathleen has focused on maintaining a positive atmosphere so that everyone can get through this time without being "ground under," as she puts it. She expresses gratitude for the many nonprofits on the island that address community needs.

PHOTO CREDIT: Debbie Weil

Mentioned in this episode or useful:

• Town of Stonington, ME
• Town of Deer Isle, ME
• Hancock County, ME
• Manager embraces town's waterfront way of life (Ellsworth American, July 17, 2019)
• Maine's attitude towards outsiders ignites fears during pandemic (Bangor Daily News, April 13, 2020 )
• Stonington's little houses removed after one is vandalized (Island AdVantages, July 30, 2020)
• Maine's Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-level Rise (University of Maine)
• Obit for Kathleen's legendary uncle, Neville Hardy 
• Island Women Speak and the podcast episode
• Frank Weil's blog on liberal politics

Some of the local groups on Deer Isle that work together:

• Healthy Island Project (HIP)
• Salt Air Seniors run by Barrett Gray
• Opera House Arts
• Stonington Library
• Island Ad-Vantages (the local newspaper)
• Deer Isle-Stonington High School

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JC Tetreault, the fated farmer himself, somehow wound up in Milo for a night. Even weirder, he spent most of his night talking to Matty and Noah. Considering Trillium's worldly prominence, it'd be easy to assume you know enough about the brewery's founder...but you'd be wrong. In this conversation, JC and the guys talk hops and hospitality, leadership and lager, cultivation and cooking, and just about everything in between. He also shares a huge amount of insight into how he balances his work and home lives with the present, future, and even a little of the past. Hell, the guy even recorded this podcast immediately after a long nap AND he does what he does without the aid of coffee. If that's not enough to prove you're about to listen to a real demigod, or at least a very handsome alien, then you probably need to go back to school.