Maine

Storm Washes Away Maine's Historic Fishing Shacks

Published

2 years ago

January 15, 2024

Storm Washes Away Maine's Historic Fishing Shacks

For more than a century, fishing shacks sat at Fisherman’s Point, Willard Beach, in South Portland, Maine—until Saturday, when a record high tide washed them away. Water levels reached higher than 14 feet, leading to significant flooding damage, USA Today reports. The three iconic shacks, often used as a backdrop for photos or even marriage proposals, were among the casualties. They were the last of a series of shacks built by fishermen along the shore and moved to Fisherman’s Point in the 1880s, and had just been repaired and repainted last October. Saturday’s storm also brought high winds, reports the Bangor Daily News, which gives a rundown of the damage.

“It’s sad they’re gone,” one local tells the Portland Press Herald of the fishing shacks. “I take a picture of those shacks every single morning. And I have for years.” The South Portland Historical Society says it is launching a fundraising campaign to raise money for historically accurate reproductions of the shacks to be constructed. In late 2022, concerned about the potential loss of the shacks, the society had architectural drawings and 360-degree images of the shacks recorded. Of the original shacks, many were lost early on to vandalism or storms, but five survived at Fisherman’s Point until 1978, when two were lost in a storm. (Read more Maine stories.)

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Maine

Thieves caught on camera stealing copper pipe from Bailey Island gift shop

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

Thieves caught on camera stealing copper pipe from Bailey Island gift shop

BAILEY ISLAND (WGME) – A pair of thieves were caught on camera stealing copper pipe at an iconic gift shop.

The owner says at least 200 gallons of propane leaked out of the severed pipe right under their shop.

Since 1959, three generations of the Hutchins family have owned and operated Land’s End Gift Shop at the end of Bailey Island.

In one night, they say they could have lost it all from a propane leak and buildup under the gift shop.

“When I got to the top of the stairs, I was overwhelmed with the smell of propane,” Land’s End Gift Shop Owner Karen Hutchins said. “So I went down to see if there’s anything obvious, like a broken line or anything like that, I didn’t see anything. So then I’m thinking I better turn off my propane heaters in the store.”

She did so despite the risk of an explosion.

A technician later found the source of the leak.

“He took a walk around the back of the building, and that’s where he discovered from the regulator to under the building, copper piping was missing,” Hutchins said.

It was stolen in the middle of the night.

“The propane was spilling out,” Hutchins said. “And actually rising up towards the building.”

Her daughter checked their security camera footage and saw two people pulling up 40 feet of copper pipe around 1 a.m. Wednesday.

“She saw two people,” Hutchins said. “And she could actually see them pulling up the line.”

The entire theft took six minutes.

Because it was dark, security cameras didn’t get a good look at the vehicle.

All they saw was it had running boards.

A scrap yard in southern Maine says 40 feet of copper would likely only be worth $50 or $60.

“You can salvage it and get a little bit of money, but not much,” Hutchins said.

Hutchins says the propane leak caused by the theft could have cost, not only her business, but her and her daughter’s lives.

“For 8.5 hours, it was just coming out into the atmosphere and under the building,” Hutchins said. “So the potential could have been catastrophic for the whole area.”

She hopes the suspects are caught to prevent this from happening to someone else.

“My biggest thing is not the cost of repairing this, but the potential for someone else getting hurt,” Hutchins said.

If you have any information about this theft, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office would like to hear from you.

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Maine

Arlington National Cemetery’s new exhibit showcases rare artifact from USS Maine explosion

Published

22 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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Arlington National Cemetery’s new exhibit showcases rare artifact from USS Maine explosion

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — There’s a new exhibit at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), showcasing a rare artifact from the USS Maine, a U.S. Navy ship that exploded in the Havana Harbor in 1898.

The exhibit’s centerpiece is a wooden fragment of the Maine’s spar mast, which survived the explosion that claimed more than 260 lives and ultimately led to the Spanish-American War. The piece was recovered after the ship sank, ANC said.

The fragment was donated by the Pascack Historical Society in New Jersey in 2023.

SEE ALSO | Honoring the brave: a journey through five poignant memorials in the heart of our nation

“The Maine was one of the most famous ships in American military history,” Arlington National Military Cemeteries Command Curator Roderick Gainer said, “and its destruction was a critical event in our nation’s history.”

The new exhibit is located in the Memorial Amphitheater Display Room, which is just behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier plaza. It is open to visitors from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

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