The Thistle
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There are some towns in the world that just look like
they were made to be on postcards. Places where nature and
history
have combined to make the perfect image of what a tourist wants to
see. One of these places is Boothbay Harbor, Maine, located about
an
hours drive north of the city of Portland. Here a picturesque
natural
bay lined with tall evergreens and rocky shoreline combine with seaside
cottages, wooden piers and tall masts to produce the kind of
quintessential New England harbor one envisions.
People come from all over the continent to visit this town, with its
seafood, shopping and sightseeing. The harbor is encircled by
hotels,
all claiming to offer the best views of the North Atlantic. The
piers
are mostly occupied by visiting yachts and tour boats offering
excursions to see the areas lighthouse, islands and wildlife or perhaps
to find the best fishing grounds in the area. In between those
vessels, you can find dozens of beautifully worn lobster boats, still
the backbone of the small community's local economy.
However you look at it, either from the tourist or local point of view,
Boothbay Harbor is surrounded by the sea. The same can be said
for its
local watering holes, of which there are many. Though it may not
have
the "view" offered by taverns located closer to the water or inside the
expensive hotels, The Thistle Inn is consumed by
the spirit of the
mariner. |
The bar was constructed from a working
dory.
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| Like many of the larger homes found along the Maine coast,
the house
that became the Thistle Inn was built in the 1860's for a wealthy and
prominent captain. About 100 years later, it became an Inn.
In the late 1960's, a local doctor donated a wooden dory that navigated
the waters around Boothbay to The Thistle Inn and it has served as the bar
ever
since. Also dotting the walls of the tavern is an oar donated to
the Thistle by the U.S Coast Guard who patrolled the harbor.
There is also a life ring from the Cuckolds Light, which is also
believed to have been donated by the Coast Guard. |
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The
guardian of the spirits
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The Dory's
backbar
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This lighthouse
is one that has fascinated me since my childhood. Its
loneliness and solidarity is haunting. But at the same time, one
can instantly see how important it was to the survival of those who
worked these waters. Located just off the tip of Southport
Island, the light sits on top of an island of rocks and is surrounded
by even more barely visible ledges. The Cuckolds, as the rocks
came to be called, was a deadly obstacle for mariners in the fog and
dark. How many lives this lonely lighthouse saved is impossible
to calculate
The
Cuckolds Light
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As a child, and now into my adulthood, my father
and I take to the
harbor's sheltered waters in a yearly search for the soul of
such
places as the Cuckolds. We go back every year and stare at the
same lighthouses and uninhabited islands, or just to feel the tide pass
below my father's boat. It's a somewhat spiritual
and often
unspoken pilgrimage to Maine's coast and it sometimes flows
past us
like the waves over waves crashing onto the Cuckolds. But after a
day on the water, with the salt still in your mouth, the breeze still
in your hair, and the sea still rolling you side to side, to have a
seat at The Thistle Inn's
dormant dory
and drinking one of
Maine's many
terrific beers is a perfect way to bring it all into perspective.
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Like so many lighthouses along Maine's coast, the
Cuckolds is
in
disrepair. Since modern technology allowed for the lights to be
automated, many have been slowly decaying. Nature has battered
the proud guardian of the sea, but thankfully there is now an effort to
save the light from an inevitable and natural destruction. They
call it the Cuckolds Rescue Team and they are endeavoring to restore
the Lighthouse to its former glory. The hope is that someday
soon, with the help of others, the team can make the Cuckolds Light
beautiful again and bring people back to these ledges to experience
this unique place.
To
learn more about the history of the Cuckolds and the effort going
into saving the lighthouse, I would suggest checking out www.cuckoldslight.org, the website for
the rescue group.
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No
caption is adequate nor necessary
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