Hi, everyone, I hope you’re having a great summer.
Please reach out and tell us what’s happening in your life.
Roy Teal wrote from his home in Columbia Falls, MT. “I retired to the mountains of northwest Montana several years ago after almost 30 years with the Tennessee Valley Authority where I was the senior manager of geographic information and engineering. The surveying engineering program at UMaine did an excellent job in preparing me for an enjoyable career in GIS, mapping, and surveying. Now most of our time is spent in the mountains: hiking, paddling, skiing, camping, and biking. Fellow Maine alum Bob Cowdrick comes for a visit most years to do volunteer work restoring old fire towers in Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Recently, the Stanley Cup made a visit to the rink where I play ice hockey. (The owner of the NHL Champion Vegas Golden Knights also owns Whitefish Ski Resort and lives here.) The “Keeper of the Cup” approached me with a cheer of “Go Black Bears! That’s Paul Kariya’s [’96] team!”
Also writing from the west, Dan McGraw said, “Although I haven’t been back in 30 years, I think of Maine every time the wind blows, sounding our wind chime from our home at the top of Rose Canyon, Utah. The bell is beautiful and has a deep, pure tone, clear as a bell. We bought it from a Maine craftsman along Route 1. Clarity and craft, that’s what I got from the University of Maine physics professors Krueger, Rooney, Morrow, and Unertl. See my substack page at folkphysics.substack.com for my latest efforts to put that into practice.
After teaching and conducting research at UMaine for 38 years, Greg Porter ’82G has retired. Greg, a professor of plant and soil science, led UMaine’s potato breeding program, which released the Caribou Russet. The Caribou Russet tolerates stress, is versatile — suitable for baking, French fries, and chips — and is now one of the top 15 potato varieties grown in the U.S. Last year, the Maine Potato Board gave Greg the Maine Potato Industry Recognition Award for his work in pioneering new strains. The next time you snack on chips, fries, or another potato dish, you may have Greg to thank.