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Pristine Deer Isle
Appreciated by Artists
Deer Isle isn’t the only coastal community with fields of lupine
abloom in June, but it’s the first in the area to stage a lupine
festival.a |
There are those
from Deer Isle, the island, and those from Deer Isle, the town. Big
difference, that distinction.
Deer Isle, the town, covers the northern two-thirds of the island
and all of Little Deer Isle, connected by a causeway. Stonington at
the southern end takes up the rest of what is the second largest (to
Mount Desert Island) of Maine’s coastal islands.
Although the towns share two schools, an elementary and a high
school both located in Deer Isle, locals take a special pride in
coming from Deer Isle, the town.
With 1,876 year-round residents, the town covers about 29 square
miles, with 87 miles of shoreline. With dozens of coves and bays,
it’s a pristine, quiet place. Not surprisingly, Deer Isle has drawn
authors, artists and crafters through the years. Galleries abound,
showing the work of many with national reputations.
Also, the renowned Haystack Mountain School of Crafts has been an
anchor of the arts there for more than 50 years. It is located seven
miles outside the village in Sunshine, another small,
causeway-connected island with its own community, mostly fishermen.
Tourism doesn’t yet drive the Deer Isle economy in summer the way it
does on Mount Desert Island. But summer is definitely a different
time of year in Deer Isle, more for the homeowners with seasonal
residences who return than for the drive-through tourists.
Noted First Selectman Neville Hardy: “It’s getting pretty crowded,
especially in the summer.
“We get a lot of new people in who want to change things. But we
also have the older people here who want to preserve the way things
are.”
There is a very active Deer Isle Conservation Commission. Charged
with advising selectmen and the planning board on environmental
issues, commission members also work with the public to keep them
apprised of the town’s and island’s natural resources.
Last year the Commission conducted 25 field trips, lectures and
service projects that, combined, were attended by 315 people. These
were coordinated with the Island Heritage Trust, the Stonington
Conservation Commission and the Walking Trails Group.
The Deer Isle Conservation Commission is supported annually by,
among others, celebrated children’s author Robert McCloskey. As an
acknowledgement, the Commission last year established a Robert
McCloskey “Shelf” of natural history books in the Chase Emerson
Library located in the village.
Locals can’t help but enjoy their natural landscape, especially in
June. That’s when lupines cover and color many fields. In
celebration of the abundance of the wildflower, the first Deer Isle
Lupine Festival was staged last month by the Deer Isle-Stonington
Chamber of Commerce.
It rained through the weekend (June 15-16), but the festivities just
moved indoors.
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