Maine

He’s been to every town in Maine, mostly for something to say. | Column

Published

2 months ago

March 12, 2026

He’s been to every town in Maine, mostly for something to say. | Column

Jeff Hewett of Cape Elizabeth said that there are 454 cities and towns in Maine. He has been to all of them. He keeps a map of Maine near his office in the distribution area of the Maine Trust for Local News. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer)

Several years ago, Jeff Hewett was at a dinner party when the subject of obituaries came up. He realized, other than being “an avid Red Sox fan” — as he’d seen in so many posthumous biographies — he wasn’t going to have much to say in his.

He didn’t have kids and worked the same job for most of his career. Another dinner guest reminded him that he could say he’s a cribbage player, but again, so are most Maine men, he said. Hewett needed something more.

An eighth-generation Mainer who’s proud of his roots, he decided he was going to visit every incorporated town and city in the state — 454, by his count — and, unlike most people who claim to have “been everywhere,” he would take a picture to prove it.

Hewett, 64, who lives in Cape Elizabeth, is easing into retirement from a 38-year career in printing sales that started at the Times Record in Brunswick and, in 2019, was relocated to the South Portland plant that prints the Portland Press Herald, now owned by the Maine Trust for Local News.

In embarking on his quest, Hewett didn’t map out a route to take through the state or choose a certain time or place to start. He just happened to be on Isle au Haut in the fall of 2018, on his annual hiking trip with a group of friends, when — remembering his obituary idea — he realized he probably wasn’t going to make it out to the remote island off the Midcoast again anytime soon. So, he found the town hall and asked his buddy to take a picture of him.

When they got back to the mainland, he realized he could check off Blue Hill while he was there, and Belfast, too.

“It started the ball rolling,” he said.

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Hewett on Isle Au Haut, where he started his mission of visiting every town and city in Maine. (Courtesy of Jeff Hewett)

Every photo after the first one has been a selfie. Not that he hasn’t had plenty of company on his travels. There’s been his neighbor and frequent cribbage opponent Mike Drinan, who gave him a ride on his boat to Chebeague and Long islands in Casco Bay. Client-turned-friend Janet Acker did the same to Swan’s Island, off Bass Harbor. One of his hiking buddies, Ron Morrison, stuck around after a trip to make a few stops by Bangor and has accompanied Hewett elsewhere.

He’s gone by himself at times. Once, after returning from the Sugarloaf area, he realized he’d missed a town. So, one Saturday, he drove back up to New Vineyard, took a photo and went home.

“Some of them were just random. ‘Hey, we’re in Lyman; let’s find the town office,’” he said.

Most of the time, he’s been accompanied by his wife, Mary, whom he met on a blind date, though she knew him from his days bartending in the Old Port, he says, and “wanted nothing to do with me.” Their 30th anniversary is in September.

He says she partly comes along for the free lunch, the quality of which can vary depending on where they are. (They were pleasantly surprised by burgers they had in the Penobscot County town of Lincoln.)

She’s also told him that she likes just standing back and watching him talk to the people he meets wherever they are, whether it’s someone working at a town office — where he takes all his selfies, if the town has one — or giving him directions when the GPS leads to the middle of nowhere. (His car has never broken down, but he’s gotten lost plenty.)

Hewett often explains what he’s up to, which sparks a conversation. He remembers telling a woman working in a town office in northern Maine — in Allagash, he thinks — that he had come a long way to see her that day, from the Cumberland County town of Cape Elizabeth. Oh, she said, I’m from South Portland.

“Being in the business I’m in, you wind up having a connection everywhere,” he said.

He was staying with friends in Houlton when they ran into a man introduced to Hewett as Don Douglas, a member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. He asked Douglas if he knew fellow hall-of-famer Bob Curry from his neck of the woods. Ah, yes, he said, the crafty left-hander.

“People know people,” Hewett said.

His “gift of gab” has helped him get rides from strangers on islands, when boats have dropped him too far from the town office to walk. There was the harbormaster on Chebeague, and the woman on Swan’s in an old Subaru, who offered to show him and his wife the prettiest beach on the island, then left them in her driveway while she went to have lunch with her brother. He flagged down a pickup truck for a ride back to his friend’s boat. When he told her what happened, she said she knew the house he was talking about; that woman was probably one of the Rockefellers.

The same skill for conversation has been essential to his career, as a liaison between commercial printing clients from all over New England and newspaper production staff. It’s also what landed him the job as the de facto tour guide for the South Portland printing plant, being one of few people who can both explain how the process works and entertain a crowd.

His travels have given him something to talk about with people back at home, too. At least a couple times a week, he said, a place he’s been will come up in conversation, when he’s asking someone where they’re from or talking about their Maine vacation. If you’re going to Washington County, he’ll tell you, Eastport has more going on than Lubec. If you’re thinking about visiting Vinalhaven, he’ll suggest you get on the ferry to North Haven instead.

He’ll give you an assessment of the town office there, too, from the utilitarian Quonset huts in places like Passadumkeag and the unimpressive sign on a flagpole in Ripley to the stately Queen Anne-style town hall in New Gloucester and the quaint, white clapboard building in Bowerbank on Sebec Lake.

He can show you. He’s got all the photos on his phone and in a searchable gallery on a website that his brother made for him. Flipping through them shows his thick gray hair and beard getting lighter over the six-year span. Sometimes, he’s in sunglasses or a baseball cap, others a winter hat. In the one in front of the Medford town office, he thinks he looks like a lobsterman who just returned from sea, though his tan is actually from driving with the top down on the 2006 Porsche Boxster he bought in 2020 to improve his cruising.

“Do I look like I’ve had a hard day there, or what?” he said.

A few of the photos are at the signs for town lines, when he couldn’t find a municipal office, like in the Washington County town of Vanceboro. Border patrol agents there couldn’t help him either; they all live in Calais, they told him.

His final stop, at Frye Island in September of 2024, didn’t fail to deliver a tale worth recounting. He and his friend were sitting at a cafe by the ferry landing when a public works crew showed up. The dock plate was broken, and cars — like the one they decided to take over — wouldn’t be able to board the boat to Raymond until it was fixed. Fortunately, a few hours later, they were back on the mainland, his mission accomplished.

Hewett has taken plenty of day trips since then, but in more random directions now that he doesn’t have a destination to check off — to Bath in search of an electric fry pan or Parsonsfield just to go for a ride.

Although he knows about the Boothbay Harbor couple who’s been to every Maine post office, he hasn’t heard of anyone else who’s visited every town.

As he cuts back on his work week, he plans to start tackling the state’s 28 or so plantations, most in far-flung places. He’s looking forward to revisiting Aroostook County and to his first trip to Matinicus, an island 20 miles out to sea.

It will give him something to do with his newfound free time, and something else to say.

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Maine

A Maine couple known for restoring cabins on TV is opening an inn of their own – The Boston Globe

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Press Room

A Maine couple known for restoring cabins on TV is opening an inn of their own – The Boston Globe

But something about it felt right. When the former bed-and-breakfast and historic estate in Monmouth lingered on the market, and its price dropped, curiosity turned into a walk-through, and the walk-through into something more.

“It was built super well, built to last,” Sarah says. “The spirit of the place is amazing. We just kind of fell in love with it.”

Now, after months of renovation, the Morrills are preparing to open Waters Run Bed and Breakfast this July — a 12-room property (including newly built cabins) that blends farmhouse charm with what Sarah describes as “rustic luxury,” and a broader mission: inviting travelers to experience a different side of Maine.

Chase and Sarah Morrill, who purchased the property in 2025.HANDOUT

Hospitality wasn’t an obvious next step. But travel has always been a big part of family life for Sarah, Chase and their four kids.

“We’re inspired by travel,” Sarah says. “And having a place where we could now welcome people in their own travels felt full circle.”

Unlike their television work, which often focuses on seasonal camps and cabins, this project required a deeper, more comprehensive transformation. The existing structure was sound, but time had left its mark.

“Not a single room in the existing structure has really been totally untouched,” Sarah says.

The updates range from behind-the-scenes essentials — electrical and plumbing — to reimagined layouts that prioritize comfort, like expanding bathrooms and reworking awkward room footprints.

They also added five new guest rooms between three standalone cabins and converted a former caretaker’s apartment into a commercial kitchen, allowing for expanded dining and future events.

Even as they modernized the property, the Morrills were careful not to erase its character.

A room at Waters Run Bed & Breakfast in Monmouth, Maine.HANDOUT

“I think we tried to preserve every last thing that we could,” Sarah says.

That includes original fireplaces (now decorative), a vintage kitchen believed to have come from a Sears catalog, and even long-hidden elements of the landscape. Beneath overgrowth, they uncovered stone pathways and garden beds they plan to restore.

The philosophy aligns with the ethos fans have come to expect: save what you can, reuse what you can’t, and find new purpose for the rest.

Local sourcing plays a central role. Throughout the property, guests will find work from Maine artisans and craftspeople — a deliberate choice that reflects both aesthetics and values.

“It’s been really fun,” she says. “We’ve met a lot of people who make cool stuff that looks like it just belongs in our bed and breakfast.”

When guests arrive, the Morrills hope the guests feel an immediate connection when walking through the doors.

Outside Waters Run Bed & Breakfast in Monmouth, Maine.HANDOUT

“You finally get there, and you’re like, ‘Yeah, this is where we were supposed to go,’” she says.

Breakfast, prepared by an in-house chef, will lean heavily on local ingredients like eggs, meats, cheeses, and produce sourced from nearby farms, often within a 10-mile radius with a rotating menu that reflects the region.

On the property, guests will find gardens, fire pits, lawn games, and access to nearby water for kayaking and paddleboarding. A historic barn that was once used as a harness racing training facility is slated to become an event space by 2027.

For New England travelers accustomed to heading straight for the coast, Monmouth might not be the first place that comes to mind. That, Sarah believes, is part of the appeal.

“We’re not in a specifically touristy area,” she says. “But there’s a huge opportunity to have the space to discover what’s cool about Maine — and you’re not standing in line.”

A view from Waters Run Bed & Breakfast.HANDOUT

Within a short drive are lakes in nearly every direction, hiking trails, small restaurants, antique shops, working farms, and Kennebec Cabin Company, the gift shop known as “Home of the Maine Cabin Masters.” The coast is still within reach, but it’s not the main event.

“If you can go for a hike and then go for a swim and then get a great meal,” she says, “that’s a great day.”

It’s a vision of Maine that expands beyond the familiar imagery of lobster rolls and lighthouses.

“I think there’s another whole dimension of Maine,” Sarah says. “The lakes and mountains and being outside, but also the artisans and craftspeople who are doing really cool stuff.”

A sunset at Waters Run Bed & Breakfast in Monmouth, Maine.HANDOUT

Sarah’s hope is that travelers feel like they are seeing something they’ve never seen before, or connecting to Maine in a deeper way.

As reservations begin to fill — helped in part by a loyal fan base — the Morrills are preparing for their first full season. While the project may have started as an unexpected opportunity, its direction now feels clear.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the people who are looking for something different,” Sarah says. “Who want to start and end their day a little bit off the beaten path.”

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Maine

Maine Trash Kings turns clutter into cash across Searsport

Published

15 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Maine Trash Kings turns clutter into cash across Searsport

SEARSPORT, Maine (WABI) – A new Searsport business sees other people’s trash as an opportunity.

Maine Trash Kings got its start at the beginning of April, and with spring cleaning underway, the founders say the business is booming.

“It’s been really good, we started at the beginning of this month, and we just started posting around on Facebook ads and word of mouth. It’s gone really good, just kind of blown up from there,” Alex Dakin, co-founder of Maine Trash Kings, said.

Maine Trash Kings is run by two Searsport High School students. They both say they’ve had to learn how to balance time quickly.

“When we don’t have jobs or something like that, after schools, I get an hour, two hours to myself, but then, I got to post ads. I got to, look at finances, go over that, fix the trailer, work on the trailer and stuff like that,” Isaac Traves, co-founder of Maine Trash Kings, said.

“It can be stressful at times, but you just got to look at the bigger picture and know that all the work you’re putting in now is just going to pay off in the future,” Dakin said.

Traves said he wants to go to college for business in the future. The junior in high school said the business has given him a head start on finances.

“Sometimes there are instances where we have to spend money to make money, and it is scary at first. Some people think oh, I’m going to spend money, that means that I’m going to lose all of that. I’m not going to make that money back. No, it’s not really how it works. You have to spend money to make money, to be honest,” Traves said.

Traves and Dakin’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Derek Ginn is a teacher at Searsport Middle School. Ginn said the boys came to him and asked if he could help them get the business started.

“It’s really great to see kids who, 16, 17, starting life not knowing exactly what they want to do, to see, hey, maybe I want to start a business. Let me see if I can fail. Let me see if I can succeed. Let’s see what’s out there,” Ginn said. “These guys did that all on their own. I’m not saying, you guys should go start this business. You guys should go start this business. No, they came to me and are like, hey, how do I do this? And that’s incredible to see for kids their age.”

Ginn said the boys also help him with his students. They serve as mentors to the younger students in the school. Ginn said that’s how he got to know Traves and Dakin.

The young business owners said they are giving the business everything they’ve got. So far, they say they love the work.

“I like working and I actually quit my job to do this full-time now, so I mean, just putting all my effort into this and seeing it grow is just, I love it,” Dakin said.

Maine Trash Kings serves Searsport and surrounding areas.

They give quotes via their Facebook page or by calling 207-323-6984 for junk removal.

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Maine

A top issue in Maine and Oklahoma governors’ races? Tribal sovereignty. – ICT

Published

1 day ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

A top issue in Maine and Oklahoma governors’ races? Tribal sovereignty. – ICT

This story is part one of a two-part story on gubernatorial races to watch in the 2026 midterm elections as part of the #NativeVote26.

Pauly Denetclaw
ICT

Two of the 39 states with gubernatorial races have tribal sovereignty at the top of their policy agendas: Oklahoma and Maine. The two states where tribal nations have had friction with their state governments. Now Native voters in both states will be electing a new governor, and the results will impact the relationship between tribal governments and the state for the next four years.

Wabanaki Nations in Maine had a challenging time getting state legislation signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills, Democrat, that would strengthen tribal sovereignty. The 38 tribes in Oklahoma had a tumultuous relationship with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Eighteen of the 39 governor races in 2026 will have incumbent candidates, according to the National Governors Association. Stitt is the 2025-2026 chair of the association.

What’s happening in Oklahoma?

Over the past seven years, tribal nations and the state of Oklahoma had a contentious relationship — especially after the McGirt decision. Current governor, Stitt, who is a Cherokee Nation citizen, has been outspoken against the McGirt decision, tribal compacts for tobacco and car tags, and tribal gaming compacts.

Tribal-state compacts are legal agreements between federally recognized tribes and state governments. It is most commonly used for class III gaming — slot machines and table games.

“There was a time and a day when we used to compact with the tribes. That is not a unique thing across the nation. It wasn’t a unique thing in Oklahoma,” Chip Keating said during an April 6 candidates forum. “We absolutely have to hit the full reset button with the tribes — work together, treat them with the respect that they should have been treated with, and we’ve got to get back to compacting.”

Tribal leaders are looking forward to new state leadership, said Michael Stopp, president and chief executive officer of SevenStar Holdings.

“It’s good for the tribes and the tribal leaders are happy about it,” said Stopp, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “It has very much been a sticking point with tribal leaders that Governor Stitt has a very different perspective on sovereignty and what role the tribes play in this state. Obviously, we’ve had some big changes with the reservation status here because of the McGirt decision in 2020, but Governor Stitt, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, has been more of an antagonist when it comes to that, than trying to help with the transition. I can definitely say the tribal leaders are looking for leadership change.”

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin called Stitt the most anti-Indian governor in the state’s history. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described Stitt as having a “penchant of racism against tribes,” during an April candidates forum. He added that it was unacceptable.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is pictured during an interview in his office Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole has recommended clemency for death row inmate James Coddington. Stitt said that he hasn’t been formally briefed on Coddington’s case, but that with any clemency recommendation, he meets with prosecutors, defense attorneys and the victim’s family before making a decision. (AP Photo, Sue Ogrocki) Credit: Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is pictured during an interview in his office Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole has recommended clemency for death row inmate James Coddington. Stitt said that he hasn’t been formally briefed on Coddington’s case, but that with any clemency recommendation, he meets with prosecutors, defense attorneys and the victim’s family before making a decision. (AP Photo, Sue Ogrocki)

Tribal nations and state governments have to work together often. As seen in Oklahoma, Stitt vetoed several tribal compacts, despite overwhelming support by the state’s legislature, and this slowed the process for establishing the tobacco, car tag and gaming compacts between Oklahoma and tribal nations.

“Governor Stitt came in thinking that he could renegotiate this contract, and quite frankly, it just doesn’t work that way. Instead of listening and coming to the negotiating table, (Stitt) tried to come in with a really strong stance and ended up losing, honestly,” Stopp said. “I think that was unfortunate for him and for the tribes. Again, missing out on the chance of negotiating and I think the tribal leaders are definitely looking forward to having someone on the other side of the table to negotiate with.”

Oklahoma governor candidates

There are nine Republican candidates on the ballot for Oklahoma’s primary election set for June 16:

Gentner Drummond: 20th Attorney General for Oklahoma
Chip Keating: Former highway trooper and former Oklahoma Secretary of Public Safety
Mike Mazzei: Former Oklahoma state Senator and former Secretary of Budget
Charles McCall: Longest-serving Speaker of the House in Oklahoma history
Jake Merrick: Local radio host and former Oklahoma state Senator
Kenneth Sturgell: Local, small business owner
Leisa Mitchell Haynes: Former marketing director and former city manager
Calup Anthony Taylor
Jennifer Domenico-Tillett

Three Democratic gubernatorial candidates are also running for the primary election:

Cyndi Munson: Oklahoma House Minority leader
Connie Johnson: Former Oklahoma state Senator
Arya

Candidates will have to get more than 50 percent of the votes to avoid a runoff. If there is no outright winner, the top two candidates for each political party will head to a primary runoff election on August 25.

An additional three Independent candidates will automatically head to the general election this November.

Two important issues this election in Oklahoma are tribal sovereignty and a commitment to working with tribes.

During an April 6 Republican candidates forum, Gentner Drummond, Charles McCall, Chip Keating and Mike Mazzei, were asked to raise their hand if they shared Stitt’s perspective on the McGirt decision. Stitt was quoted as saying that the McGirt decision has torn Oklahoma apart and has created two justice systems based on race. None of the four candidates raised their hand.

“For three and a half years I’ve been working with every tribal leader in the state of Oklahoma, and I recognize them as unique among themselves, just like France is different from Germany,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said during a candidates forum. “We have to honor and respect the culture of diversity that they bring to the table and the needs that they have. We have been working with tribal law enforcement each of the last three years to take the fight to organize crime in our rural communities. They are a great partner.”

All four candidates promised their administration would work with tribal nations and negotiate tribal compacts.

Mazzei said at two different candidate forums that he would be a strong negotiator with tribal nations.

In a recent interview with KOCO 5 News, local small business owner Kenneth Sturgell said tribal nations are their neighbors and should be treated as such. He also said that the state and tribal nations have to work together.

Jake Merrick, local radio host and former Oklahoma state Senator, was pleased that the state Supreme Court affirmed tribal nations’ right to hunt on their own lands, during a March 30 candidates forum.

Democratic candidate Cyndi Munson, Oklahoma House Minority leader, said in a recent press release that her caucus supports tribes.

“The Oklahoma House Democratic Caucus supports tribal sovereignty and acknowledges that our tribes fill important gaps in our education and healthcare systems, as well as other areas throughout our state,” Munson said. “I am extremely grateful for the work our tribes have done and continue to do despite vicious attacks on them by the Governor.”

A respectful working relationship between tribal nations and the state has shifted significantly since the last gubernatorial race in 2022.

“I think every one of them [Oklahoma governor candidates] has said something about it,” Stopp said. “[It’s] different than four years ago. It was an issue in the governor’s race, but it wasn’t a good issue. Here everyone’s saying yes, we want to change the tone and start the conversation differently. So I think as far as Indian voters go, that conversation is going to change regardless of who wins.”

Dawnland

In Maine, Gov. Mills repeatedly refused to sign a law that would strengthen tribal jurisdiction and recognize Wabanaki Nations right to access federal Indian laws. She vetoed the bill twice despite overwhelming support from state legislators.

“We’ve had multiple opportunities to send [legislation] to the governor’s desk and not just party line votes,” said Maulian Bryant, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance and former Penobscot ambassador. “We generally have Democratic support, but we have gotten Republicans voting on these issues too. So, the governor has seen some great bipartisan work reach her desk and has still decided to veto some of these efforts.”

In order for tribes to access federal Indian laws, the state has to approve it. The Wabanaki Alliance, created to educate the people of Maine about tribal sovereignty, has been working diligently to amend the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.

Through the settlement, tribal nations ceded land in exchange for $81.5 million. However, it also drastically limited tribal sovereignty, and brought tribes under the jurisdiction of the state. Tribal nations that predate the state, are subjected to state jurisdiction and treated more like municipalities. The act was meant to be a living document but the state resisted changes for decades.

The Wabanaki Alliance has been able to increase tribal sovereignty and self-governance one legislation or amendment at a time. Throughout her two-terms, Mills has resisted a complete overhaul of the 1980 act and this created tension between the governor and tribal nations.

“If we had a governor that came in and fully embraced the inherent rights and inherent sovereignty of our people, and fully recognized that, it would strengthen our communities and it would also uplift the entire state of Maine,” said Bryant, who is Penobscot. “Our tribal communities are near rural places that could really use economic opportunities and could really use tribal businesses that are able to grow without all of these bureaucratic restrictions. We really are coming from a place of friendliness and we want to be good neighbors and we want to uplift the communities around us.”

The Wabanaki Alliance held a gubernatorial candidates forum in March where nine governor candidates participated:

Shenna Bellows, Democrat
Rick Bennett, Independent
John Glowa, Independent
Troy Jackson, Democrat
Derek Levasseur, Independent
Hannah Pingree, Democrat
Nirav Shah, Democrat
Angus King III, Democrat

None of the eight Republican candidates participated.

Most of the gubernatorial candidates generally supported increasing tribal sovereignty, recognizing inherent rights and working with tribal nations. Angus King III said he wasn’t educated on the topic enough to make any commitments and would have to look into it. This sentiment was shared by John Glowa and Derek Levasseur.

Hannah Pingree, Rick Bennett, Shenna Bellows and Troy Jackson firmly supported tribal sovereignty for Wabanaki Nations.

“If a governor comes in, and isn’t afraid of recognizing tribal sovereignty and sees it as an opportunity, I think we could see some real progress for everyone,” Bryant said.

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