A Meet & Greet for class instructors, speakers, students and their families. This is a wonderful opportunity to visit the Rufus Porter Museum and meet other Porter enthusiasts.

Open to the public, no registration required.

Ron Bourgeault has been involved with antiques since he was a youngster when he became fascinated with coins, glass and Currier & Ives prints. After-school hours were spent helping a local auctioneer sell end-of-the-day box lots and by age fourteen Ron was exhibiting at the prestigious New Hampshire Antique Dealers Association Show. At twenty-three he was the youngest dealer to exhibit at the preeminent East Side Winter Antiques Show at the Armory in New York and for thirty-seven years, Ron continued to do these and other major shows across the country. Ron’s first major auction was conducted to benefit a New England museum. Its success led him to continue in the auction arena and in 1987, Ron began Northeast Auctions (Portsmouth, NH) as a full-time business.

With over fifty years in the business, Ron has a wide network of contacts among collectors, dealers and museum staff. He has been a guest lecturer and appraiser at numerous conferences and events and is a member of the Appraisers Association of America and the National Auctioneers Association. Ron also appears regularly on public television’s Antiques Roadshow and was named by Art & Auction magazine as one of the art world’s “Power Fifty: Who Mattered Most in 2002.”

We will study the components of a wall mural, discuss and observe a demonstration of how to paint one using modern materials. Class members will complete a small canvas painting in the style of the early 19^th century mural painters, along with working on a large wall mural canvas, allowing them to get the feel of working on a large surface. The techniques can be used for box decoration, fireboards, over mantles and canvas painting.

Linda Carter Lefko has been a researcher, teacher and painter of historic decorative arts for over thirty five years. She has done independent museum research in the United States and Europe. She has taught and lectured for several organizations and museums including Hitchcock Museum in Riverton, CT; American Folk Art Museum, NYC; Historical Society of Early American Decoration; The Society of Gilders and The Stencil Artisan’s League.

Using historic pieces as inspiration, Linda takes great pride in her historic reproduction work which will be featured for sale at The New Hampshire Antique Co-Op, Milford, NH during the summer of 2008. See www.nhantiquecoop.com for directions and hours.

Her interests are diverse — from teaching classes in historic graining, painting wall murals, portraiture, theorem painting, and decorated furniture to working with architects and designers as a Historic Decorative Consultant. In addition to writing several articles on historic graining, wall murals and bride’s boxes for Early American Life Magazine, The Artistic Stenciler and The Faux Finisher Magazine, Lefko co-authored The Art of Theorem Painting. Her website is www.lclefko.com.

In this class, participants will learn about technique, color and common motifs used by the Porter School of decoration, and will complete a mural in the style of Porter on a fire board. Porter painted many such boards to hide the fireplace during the warm months of the year. Please bring an old shirt to protect clothing and snack, if desired. This should be an enjoyable project to practice basic painting skills and have something lovely and useful to bring home at the end of the day!

Sandy is a local artist featured in the Rufus Porter Museum Gift Shop, Local Color Artisans’ Gallery and other fine decorative arts shops. She has completed over 18 Rufus Porter-esque wall murals in southern Maine homes and businesses. Her works include smaller scale commissioned folk art pieces such as her popular decorated cheese boxes, mantel boards, portraits, and faux-finishes such as graining and marbleizing. Over the past 20 years she has studied and documented many of the remaining original Rufus Porter murals and is very familiar with the history, antiques and art of this period in American history.

Repeating last year’s highly successful class, this will bring the old barns of western Maine alive. The commentary includes style, tools used, and demonstrations of barn architecture. A fascinating tour of local barns finishes out this afternoon class.

In this 2-day class, students will first prepare their raw wood sleigh by sanding and staining. Sleighs are 6 × 18 inches. They will then trace an original design folk art Santa (all designs are by Nelle) onto the sleigh. Students may create their own designs if they choose. On day two, designs will be painted in colors of the student’s choice. All materials will be included.

Nelle Ely is a popular and successful artist living in Bridgton. Her work is on exhibit at Gallery 302 (112 Main St, Bridgton) and her murals can be seen publicly on the south side of Krainin Real Estate (Main St. Bridgton). Her faux finishes will adorn the walls of the new Magic Lantern Movie Theatre scheduled to open in November of 2007.

Repeating a successful 2006 class, the instructor, Barbara Lanfer, has been making these beautiful baskets for many years. She has also studied their history and will share that with you as you are weaving.

You will have a selection of patterns and colors ranging from neutral to bright to create your basket. The baskets are fabric (long strips which are wrapped around synthetic roping and can be embellished in many ways either with the construction itself or appliqué. Baskets are the perfect tool to use in organizing your home. Once you have learned the technique, you will be on your way. It doesn’t matter what decor you have, the baskets can be made to match. What is even more important is rag baskets do not scratch furniture so your treasured antiques will be safe. Very soothing and fun.

Participants will complete an edible herbal wreath made with herbs grown at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community. Herbs will include oregano, thyme, sage, lemon balm and lemon verbena. Floral herbs will include calendula , lavender and basil. Each wreath will become a cherished family heirloom from the last active Shaker Community in America.

For over 15 years, Betsey-Ann Golon has taught herbal programs for the Shaker Herb Department in New Gloucester, Maine. She acts as their commissioned agent, garden manager and director of the garden internship. She is co-owner with husband Dale of Common Folk Farm in Naples, Maine. They research, develop and produce historically correct gift and food items for museums such as George Washington’s Mt. Vernon Estate, The Mansions of Newport, RI and Sturbridge Village. Her passion for history, people and gardening is infectious. She guarantees a day filled with learning and laughter.

Dave Garcia, a fourth-generation Maine native, has been tying flies for over 25 years. He has tied commercially for North Country Anglers and now ties only for his own shop, Naples Bait and Tackle. He is a regular on Dick Pinney’s Fishing Reports sponsored by the Kittery Trading Post. He frequently places in local fishing tournaments and is often seen at the national tournaments as well.

Students in this class will learn to tie the Rangeley Gray Ghost streamer created by Carrie Stevens (1882-1970). Other flies will also be demonstrated and taught. Students will also have beginning (dry) casting lessons on the back lawn of the Community Center. “Casting only takes 2 – 3 moves with today’s equipment”, says Garcia. Through it all, Dave will share his exhaustive knowledge of the best fishing spots in the Bridgton area.

In this hands-on class, students will work with old windows to remove the glass, clean up and repair the casings, sashes, sills, muntins, rails, and reinstall/glaze the glass.

Marc Bagala has been restoring windows and doors since 1988. Over the years he has restored windows and doors in many of Maine’s notable historic properties such as the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House, the Admiral Perry House, and the Blaine House (Governor’s mansion). His website is www.bagalawindowworks.com.

Marc understands and appreciates old windows and doors and believes that to maintain the historic and aesthetic character of your home it’s usually best to preserve them if possible. Your original wood windows and doors have been gracing your home for decades. There aren’t many things these days that last that long.

Genealogical research greatly depends on the condition of our cemeteries. Unfortunately time takes its toll even on stone and many of our grave yards are in need of tender loving care so that they will still be here for generations to come. In this class, students will travel to a Bridgton private cemetery and learn conservation basics including conditions assessment, conservation ethics, stone repairs, cleaning techniques, gravestone recording, bases and resetting, and adhesion and reinforced repair.

Kai Nalenz is the owner of Gravestone Service of New England, which cleans, repairs and conserves gravestones and monuments. Kai has conserved hundreds of markers throughout New England, including entire cemeteries. He specializes in 17-19^th cemetery conservation. He is well known for his use of gentle methods and non-abrasive hand tools to clean, preserve and repair. His workshops are hands-on so don’t wear your finest!.

Broken gravestone	After the repair and cleaning

This program will cover all aspects of historic plaster repair through a power point show, group question and answer period, plus a hands-on opportunity to see and feel the materials used in repair as well as demonstration of repair techniques on actual wall samples to bring the experience into real like clarity. Students will have the opportunity to practice these techniques on actual wall samples.

Since 1990, Rory Brennan has concentrated on the conservation of historic plasters and the preservation of skills and techniques needed to work in historic materials, in the most exacting of client environments. His business, Preservation Plastering, specializes in the re-creation and restoration of lime plasters, renders, washes, and the replication of original lime or gypsum ornamentation. The goal of Preservation Plastering is to repair, restore, and preserve the integrity of existing historic and ornamental plasters.

Projects he has worked on include the complete re-plastering of the Servant’s Hall with traditional materials at Mount Vernon, VA. Ornamental, conservation, and consultation projects include: The Mormon Tabernacle; Colonial Williamsburg; Pennsylvania State House; Massachusetts State House; Vermont State House; New Hampshire State House; Franklin-Adams House in Deadwood, SD; Park-McCullough House, Bennington, VT; The Solitude, Philadelphia, PA; Thomas Wolfe House, Asheville, NC; Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, MI; and the Owens-Thomas House and Isaiah Davenport House, Savannah, GA.

Rory has appeared on three episodes of This Old House (Charlestown 2000), demonstrating plaster conservation repair techniques. He has also worked on various private historic homes throughout the East Coast. During the past sixteen years, Mr. Brennan has instructed at workshops on historic plaster repair for The Preservation Institute and the National Park Service, and has demonstrated his skills at the International Preservation Trades Workshop beginning in 1997. He is a trustee of the advisory board of The Preservation Institute and gives talks on historic plaster preservation at universities, historical societies, and church groups.

Learn how to find out about your ancestors and bring them to life. This workshop presents a basic step by step introduction to the genealogical research process—organizing your facts, collecting family information, researching the records, and evaluating what you found. The materials charge includes the book Family History 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Finding Your Ancestors by Marcia D. Yannizze Melnyk.

Pam Stone Eagleson, CG^SM is a full time genealogist with extensive family history research experience since 1979. She has a BA in sociology and history (Northwestern University); MS Ed (University of Southern Maine); CAS – museum studies (Tufts University). She teaches frequently for local adult education programs. Pam is also a former teacher and museum trustee and administrator. In 2004, Pamela was the winner of the National Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest.

The Internet is the genealogist’s most powerful tool. This session will demonstrate the best practices for the use of the Internet by genealogists and introduce participants to the current top genealogical web sites. Knowledge of the genealogical research process is required. Some time will be devoted to actual Internet research.

The materials charge includes the book Getting Started in Genealogy Online by William Dollarhide.

CG and Certified Genealogist are Service Marks of the Board of Certification of Genealogists used under license after periodic evaluations by the Board.

Old quilts are treasured family heirlooms that may be fragile or damaged from use, or from poor storage conditions. Careful consideration needs to be given to the use and repair of these fragile textiles. This workshop will address the proper care, storage and repair of old quilts. Approaches to repairing quilts will be discussed; appropriate materials and techniques will be presented and demonstrated. Participants will have an opportunity to repair a sample supplied by the instructor. Basic sewing skills are required to execute this activity. Participants may bring an old quilt for assessment and specific instructions.

Bonnie Dwyer has been involved in textiles as a seamstress since 1955 and as a quilt maker since 1985. She lectures on fabrics, quilt making and quilt history (for more information, see her website). She has studied quilt making, quilt history, fabric dating, quilt restoration, quilt show judging and quilt appraising. Each year she advances her knowledge by taking additional classes on these subjects. She owns an extensive library of quilt related books for her appraisal research.

Gourds have been used through the millennia in a wide variety of cultures as storage containers and water vessels. In this class participants will learn how to pick out a gourd for a project, how to clean and cut your gourds, transferring design methods, tips on using various dyes, inks, and paints, important safety tips while working with gourds, and how to add rim embellishments.

Leah Reed is a national award winning gourd art. Although initially self-taught, she has studied with nationally renowned artists. Techniques will include carving, dyes, inks, wood burning, oil pencils, coiling, rim embellishment and beadwork. To see more of Leah’s work, visit her website at www.bluewhalearts.com. Students should wear clothing appropriate for “messy” work.

Class Hours: Wednesday, July 9, 8:30 AM — 12:00 noon
Cost: $75 Materials: $25
Class Maximum Size: 10
Place: Bridgton Community Center

Students will enjoy a lecture with slides showing examples of many styles of country graining. A variety of methods incorporating these techniques into furniture, accessories and home interiors will be discussed. Students will paint several samples of these colorful and rich graining techniques. A final project of a box or frame will also be decorated to take home.

Hugh received a B.A. in music from the University of Virginia, where he also studied art and architectural history, drawing, design, and theatrical painting. Continuing education followed at the Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art with courses in color development, sign painting, and design. Faux finish training was taken at the Finishing School, of Great Neck, NY, under the original master Ina Brousseau Marx. Other seminars included the Day Studio Workshop from San Francisco and The Pierre Finkelstein Institute in New York. Hugh has made a living from painting faux finishes and murals for over 30 years and has been the president of Pine Street Studios, Inc. since 1989. You may see examples of some of his work at his website www.pinestreetstudiosnj.com.

Students will enjoy a presentation of slides showing the use of distressed finishes. Many examples of real and new “old” finishes will be available to study. Techniques will include wiping off glazes, dry brushing, painting over waxed surfaces, crackle and milk paint. Physical distressing will be demonstrated as well. These are great methods to give depth to your furniture or walls and moldings and are often employed over other painted finishes.

Learn the ancient art of shrinking wool fiber to create sturdy wool felt, using soft merino wool. Using the technique of flat felting with a resist (pattern), participants will fashion a dome of their choosing, from simple to wild! Sculptural techniques for shaping, adding texture, attaching spikes, leaves, polka dots and more will be demonstrated. Leave the class with the knowledge of how to apply this technique to other flat felting projects such as mittens, booties, birds, or other sculptural forms. Come create the hat of your dreams! Physical endurance required.

Heather Kerner has been making wool felt for over 8 years. Known for her felted wool vessel forms, her work has been published in How We Felt by Carol Cypher, and has been featured in Interweave Knits magazine. Co-founder of the Spiralworks Artisans Gallery in Canaan, ME, her work can be found in several galleries throughout New England. Heather minored in the studio arts at the University of New Hampshire and has experience in figure drawing, knitting, quilting, beading, basketry, and gourd craft. She is self-taught in the basics of felting with advanced training from international instructors at the “American Felters Flings”. She has been juried to exhibit at shows throughout New England and New York. Heather works in the Maine schools as a pediatric occupational therapist, and lives on a farm with her family in Canaan, Maine. Her website is www.spiralworksfelt.com.

Class Hours: Saturday, July 12, 1:00 PM — 5:00 PM
Cost: $75 Materials: $10
Class Maximum Size: 6 (adults only)
Place: Bridgton Community Center

Using your hands, feet, a stick and twine you will create 3 styles of functional Appalachian brooms; a cob chaser, a whisk and a hearth broom. Made from broomcorn, a plant related to sorghum, your brooms will be a lasting treasure and provide many a clean sweep!

Instructor Karen Koch has been making brooms for many years. She has taught classes at the Schoodic Arts Festival, Niagara County (NY) Cooperative Extension and many private workshops. Her brooms have been exhibited throughout Maine, New York and Pennsylvania.

In this “hands-on” class students will learn the Waldoboro method of rug hooking beginning the creation of the pillow cover pictured to the right.

Jacquie is best known as the person who revived the Waldoboro technique, a sculpted style that originated three centuries ago in the Maine fishing community of Waldoboro. Without her passionate preservation, it might have been lost forever.

She became intrigued with early hooked rugs while attending auctions with her husband, Walter. “I kept running across old Waldoboro rugs,” she says, “and many of them fetched thousands of dollars. I was fascinated with the history and thought I’d like to bring that back.” But there were no guides. The technique had vanished with its creators. Jacqueline had to go to Waldoboro—a coastal village roughly 100 miles north of Portland—to trace the history of the rugs. She learned of German settlers who arrived in the 1600s with colorful, sculpted rugs in floral designs. In Maine, these pioneer women hooked rugs from worn clothing and feed sacks, “hoving,’ or raising, the piles of patterns reminiscent of their European rugs. They became known as Waldoboro designs and were made well into the 19^th century.

Jacqueline got in touch with the Waldoboro technique literally, by fondling old rugs in museums and at auctions. “It was trial and error,” she says. “I could feel how high they did the loops, the outlines. And I studied the colors. They often chose apricot, for instance, to highlight red flowers.” Her book on the Waldoboro technique was published in November, 2007 and will be available at this workshop ($19.95).

Jacqueline is a native Mainer who has taught for over 30 years. She studied art at the Massachusetts School of Art in Boston and went on to teach various art classes such as stenciling, watercolors, pastels and theorem painting.

Rug hooking began as a hobby, and was added to her already established business of Interior Decorating at the “Georgian House” located in Westbrook. She later moved to Scarborough, where her shop is known as “The 1840 House”. There she carries complete supplies for rug hooking and teaches classes at all levels.

The Ukrainians have been practicing the art of “pysanky”, or Ukrainian Easter egg decorating for over ten centuries. The word “pysanky” stems from the word “pysaty” — to write. For this is how the process is accomplished; designs are “written” on an unblemished white egg with wax and put through a sequence of dye baths with more wax applications. It is a dye process much akin to batik.

At one time the decoration of eggs was associated with pagan rituals and superstitions, but when the Ukraine accepted Christianity the decoration of eggs took on a deep religious meaning. The decorated eggs commemorated the Resurrection of Christ, and the pagan superstitions were replaced by religious beliefs and legends.

A very old story relates how a peddler on his way to market with a basket of eggs encountered an angry mob, who were mocking a man struggling under the weight of a heavy wooden cross. Ignoring the crowd, the peddler put down his basket and went to the man’s assistance. When he returned to his basket, the eggs had become magically “colored”. Another belief is that the first Easter eggs were colored by the tears of the Virgin Mary, weeping over Christ”s death. The old pagan superstitions, however, die hard and many superstitions and talismans are still associated with the making of pysanky.

In the Ukrainian community eggs are taken to Easter services where they, along with loaves of Easter bread, are blessed by the parish priest. After church services, friends and relatives exchange eggs as a commemoration of Christ’s teachings of peace and love.

Andrea was born and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and is a 1976 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a degree in studio art. She has also done post secondary work in education at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.

Having spent most of her years painting in acrylics and drawing, Andrea began working in watercolor in 2001. She has shown her work locally in the Fryeburg, Gorham, Bridgton, and Greater Portland areas. She is also an accomplished “Pysanky” artist and has appeared on several Boston area television shows and held many workshops demonstrating the technique. Andrea lives on a small farm with her husband Paul, daughter Lily, a dog named Ivan “the truly terrible”, Misty the cat and a marvelous flock of chickens. She welcomes special commissions and would be happy to discuss them with you.

There are some things that women have always and will always love, and the needlework sampler holds a place very near to the top. For artfulness, both naive and sophisticated, use of color, design placement, and technical proficiency, the sampler simply is the best medium.

How did those little girls DO those exacting marking samplers, and why? Where did the older girls get their art sampler pattern and supplies from? How many stitches are there, and how do you know which to use where?

Holly Ihloff of Casco, Maine is prepared to open up an amazing new world to you. In a fascinating 3 hour class, you will closely examine the schoolgirl samplers of two Bridgton sisters whose samplers reside at Rufus Porter Museum. Rebekka Peabody in 1810, and Hulda Peabody in 1812 each completed a 17 1/2" x 16" marking sampler.

Prepared in advance for you, is a sampler of your very own, reproduced capturing the most exciting elements that each of the Peabody sisters’ work has to offer.

Understand how marking transfer was done, learn how much symbolism existed in a genre that was often anonymous, try out the stitch varieties for yourself under the careful guidance of Mrs. Ihloff. Get the feel of needle and thread, experience calm and confidence, and marvel as your very own sampler appears right before your eyes!!

Endeavoring to keep folk-traditions alive, and believing there is nothing more evocative of our collective feminine past than early American Needlework Arts, Mrs. Ihloff will bring the best of her educational and extensive European Travel background to the fore. Because the textile arena is one where she positively shines, a very special experience awaits you.

Majoring in apparel design, and minoring in costuming for the Theatre at the University of Connecticut, Holly Ihloff has traveled to Europe and the Middle East, studying continually in international museum collections. Mrs. Ihloff recreates 17^th and 18^th century bed hangings, counterpanes, window treatments and slip-covers—stitched completely by hand for New England Museums. You may see her work on view at the Wadsworth Longfellow House in Portland, Me.

Imagine yourself surviving the hardships of the ocean crossing on the Mayflower. Imagine disembarking in the wilderness of eastern coastal Massachusetts in 1620: no cordial welcome; no cozy bed awaiting you; no warm breakfast after a hot bath and a good ‘lie-in;’. After that first night of rough welcome, in the cold clear light of dawn you awaken to the reality of no house with welcoming walls, no lumberyard or hardware store; no grocery store and no pharmacy...

With the aid of period diaries, first hand accounts, hours of study, research, and the assisted by a great sense of humor, Holly Ihloff of Casco, Maine will illuminate similarities and differences in the healing practices of Native Americans and European Settlers. Discover who the healers were! Understand what they used! Watch medicines being made right in class! Learn about the many forms that medicine took... Did these preparations really work??

What an experience awaits you! Look at the grace and bounty of the botanical world with new and loving eyes. Let Mrs. Ihloff show you that even in this modern world, all we have is all we need. Healing teas, topical herbal preparations.

Holly Ihloff brings her own intriguing package of experiences and sensibilities to this singular program. For the record, she was first a couture clothing designer. Off the record, she has made a 35 year independent study of herbs and their beneficial properties. She has planted her acre and a half property with an amazing edible landscape, supporting human, insect and animal appetites through organic gardening practices. She and her husband have traveled and toured the most interesting gardens of Europe, the British isles and Middle-East over a 25 year period. She has studied herbal medicine with Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine.

Mrs. Ihloff has delved into the early American experience and mind set in every way imaginable, studying textiles, clothing history, decorative arts, cooking, food preservation, gardening and natural healing throughout New England and along the eastern seaboard at every opportunity. With her partner, master gardener and herbologist, Pat Blake of Otisfield, she hand makes a skin care line that includes an organically grown herbal moisturizer, lip balm, herbal facial masques, mineral bath salts, infant diaper rash salve and pet care ointment... Look for the combined lines of ‘Medieval Magic’ and ‘Native Way.’ Many components are organically grown and harvested on their combined properties.

Theorem painting is an Early American traditional art form consisting of painting on velvet, paper or other materials using layers of stencils. This form of painting was popular among Early American schoolgirls, and was considered an essential decorative craft to be mastered by the polite young ladies of the time. Along with watercolors and needlework, theorem painting was one of several art forms collectively referred to as “schoolgirl art”. Its primary attraction, then, as well as today, is that it enables the less practiced artist to create not only acceptable, but quite beautiful art-forms.

Students in this class will be stenciling a theorem design on velvet suitable for framing or to use as a pillow top. All materials are included. Students are asked to dress comfortably.

Instructor Ginny Eilertson is a charter member of the Stencil Artisans League, Inc. (SALI) and is certified as a Stenciling Teacher. She has both taught and taken classes at the National SALI Conventions. She has had a custom stenciling business, participated in Junior League Show houses in Boston and also specialized in theorem stenciling of fabrics. Her work is on exhibit online at Jean Hansen Publications. The web address is www.jeanhansen.com.

Ginny has also been a volunteer knitter for Graceful Stitches, a 501(c)(3) organization providing funds and support for cancer victims and their families.

Ginny is a summer resident of Bridgton, as well as a veteran Docent at the Rufus Porter Museum. She is happy to share her love of stenciling with others.

Some of the questions most frequently asked by owners of older homes include “How old or what style is my house?”; “How do I solve some of my home’s problems at a price I can afford?”; “How do I adapt my house to the 21st century without destroying its character?”; “What can I do myself, and where do I find safe, competent, honest and reliable people to work on my house?”. These and many other questions will be answered during the morning session of this class. The afternoon session will be spent visiting old houses and investigating problems commonly found in old houses. Both Les Fossel and Linda Griffin have many years of experience specializing in the preservation of homes.

Participants are encouraged to contact either Les or Linda with their specific questions (email addresses will be provided). Students are also invited to bring photos of their homes that help to illustrate the issues that they have questions about. Old house questions are best answered if they can be seen.

Les Fossel is owner of Restoration Resources, a premier building restoration and rehabilitation firm in Maine specializing in early period residential projects. He speaks regularly to historical societies, Boards of Realtors, assessors associations, house inspectors, and at regional conferences. Les and Linda teach a widely acclaimed course on early buildings for real estate professionals at the University of Southern Maine. He has written for and been the subject of articles in Early American Life Magazine, Down East Magazine, Colonial Homes Magazine, and Country Journal. He was the recipient of the 2001 Statewide Historic Preservation Honor Award.

Linda Griffin is a broker specializing in antique homes at Linda Griffin Homes in Windham, Maine. She is a member of Greater Portland Landmarks Advisory Service and many area historical societies. She has restored 22 homes and physically moved two.

A graduate of the University of Maine Orono with a degree in education, Linda is often found on the trail of saving another home for future generations. Her current project involves preserving the Parsons Smith House on River Road in Windham.

Follow the banks of beautiful Stevens Brook and the wander the winding streets of historic downtown Bridgton, Maine with Pat Blake who will spend the day talking with you about the abundance of edible and medicinal plants growing right under our feet. You will learn how to use a field guide, which is part of your materials fee, to identify a wide range of healing and nutritional wild foods. The historical uses, folklore and mystical stories surrounding these local weeds that decorate our roadsides, cracks in the sidewalks and volunteer in our cottage gardens will be discussed. We will gather the seasonally available flowers and plants to prepare long-forgotten recipes to taste test as a group.

Pat Blake has a familiar background with the wild and natural environment stemming from her native roots. She has a small business, Native Way, that specializes in imaginative garden design emphasizing the importance of indigenous plants, edible landscape, wildlife habitat and thinking beyond the ornamental. The business has expanded to include a line of wholesome body care products for you, your baby and your pet using organically grown or ethically “wildcrafted” ingredients from the Native Way gardens and meadows. Pat’s business partner is Holly Ihloff sharing the label of Medieval Magic.

During a lifetime of studying the green world around us and how it affects our lives everyday, Pat has studied with Dr. James Duke, author of several books on herbal medicine and First American healing methods; apprenticed with Corinne Martin and Deb Soule, local herbalists and authors; is an active Master Gardener; worked for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension; had a MOFGA certified farm growing edible flowers, medicinal and culinary herbs for select stores and restaurants on the Maine coast; is a member of WAgN (Women in Agriculture Network) and several other organizations promoting a simpler way of life.