When Stockholm celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006, Dana Nelson of Ellsworth honored the occasion with a story written in the voice of his ancestor John Nelson who came to Maine from Sweden at the age of 9.
Nelson’s story of a Stockholm family is one of several family stories in the recently released edition of Echoes magazine, published in Caribou. Issue 107 also features the Gardners of Allagash, the Parkers of Bangor and families in Westfield and Presque Isle.
The Nelson story, to be continued in Echoes 108, begins in Sweden and typifies the experience of many an immigrant family in Maine in the 19th century.
Westfield native Ron Laing remembers the garden of Nellie Smith as the prettiest place in his hometown, and Catherine Phillips Jewitt of Nobleboro commemorates the creativity of her great uncle in a childhood memory frequently recalled by her mother and aunt, Cecilia Phillips and Joan Allen of Presque Isle.
Writers Gordon Hammond of Westfield, Glenna Johnson Smith of Presque Isle and the late Marvin Dow of Virginia all focus on the extraordinary qualities of particular dogs.
Depression-era winter carnivals is the topic of Karla Wolters’ column “Past Tracks: Aroostook’s Ski Heritage.” Editor Kathryn Olmstead devotes her column to new books by three Aroostook County natives: Leonard Hutchins, David Estey and Cathie Pelletier. And in his regular column “Beyond Washburn Street,” Houlton native John Dombek of Santa Clara, Utah, reflects on how things change and remain the same with the passage of time.
A stunning center-spread photo of a starry winter night by Paul Cyr of Presque Isle is the backdrop for poems by Michele Pavitt of Brunswick, and Peg Patton Winston of Caribou. On the cover, a dog walker crosses a field on snowshoes in a frosty morning photograph by Michael Gudreau of Presque Isle.
For more information visit www.echoesofmaine.com.
