Post by Oakley Jackson
This past Tuesday (May 26, 2015) the Penobscot Bay Stewards joined us for a sunny tour of Hurricane Island. This was the Steward's third annual visit to the island and we were happy to see many new faces along with a few familiar ones. The author of The Town That Disappeared, Eleanor Motley Richardson, accompanied the group and led a highly informative history hike on the granite-quarrying boom that took place on Hurricane between 1875 and 1914. Although I have read up on Hurricane’s history and often deliver a similar tour to students, I was thrilled to learn several new interesting facts from Eleanor. I now have several more ghost stories to tell around the campfire, including a tale of two people drowning on the ledge off of the main pier in a thick fog. They could be heard yelling for help, but no one was able to rescue them.
I also learned that Hurricane and the surrounding islands were part of a microcontinent that collided with the mainland during the Paleozoic era. This fact adds to the unique lure of the islands and the drifting continent is made more mystical by the fact that it was named Avalonia. The Stewards were all intrigued to learn about the island’s colorful history as well as our current use of Hurricane as the setting for bringing together vibrant communities of teachers and learners. We look forward to welcoming back the Stewards next year and are hopeful that some of them will visit before then.
