Photo by Pouya Dianat
Ah, Maine.
So much state, so much trivia, so little time.
Welcome to our Summer Road Trip Quiz, your opportunity – while taking in the state’s sweet sights – to learn about long-forgotten historic battles, discover whether or not Maine has ties to “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and remember what’s so cool about the iconic home in Kittery once owned by Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates.
Yes. Him. The blond one. Really.
So, driver, turn the ignition, and everyone get ready to learn some funky facts about our great state as you make your way to your Maine destination.
1. What Maine park did Country Magazine call one of the U.S.’s 10 “most beautiful parks you’ve probably never heard of”?
a) Fort Point State Park
b) Whale Tree State Park
c) Baxter State Park
2. Where will you find the fastest elevator in Maine?
a) One City Center, downtown Portland. Hold onto your briefcase!
b) Penobscot Narrows Observatory, over the Penobscot River. Get to that beautiful view, stat!
c) State House, Augusta. All the faster to legislate with!
3. Andrew Wyeth, a world-renown artist who summered in Maine and is now buried here, unwittingly helped inspire what horror movie franchise?
a) “Scream”
b) “A Nightmare on Elm Street”
c) “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
4. Fifty-nine years after famously patenting the ear muff, what other invention did Farmington’s Chester Greenwood receive a patent for?
a) A metal rake with “a plurality of resilient metal teeth.”
b) A roller skate with three wheels “aligned such as a triangle,” for handling sharp curves.
c) A ghost detecting trap, “beaver-lined, of impenetrable design, costing less than 5 dollars.”
5. Why is Bowl in the Pines, located in Sidney, famous in some circles?
a) It’s the last bowling alley in North America with an attendant paid to manually reset bowling pins.
b) It’s the largest outdoor performance stage east of the Mississippi.
c) It’s the only place in the world where wood is harvested for Fender guitars.
6. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the 1838 Battle of Caribou:
a) It was part of the Aroostook War, which started when an American lumberjack built on British land and brazenly flew a flag with an American eagle and six stars.
b) What could have been a vicious battle between Mainers and Canadians ended abruptly when a black bear attacked soldiers on one side.
c) It was the first wartime conflict ever to be contained inside a one-room schoolhouse. And more of a spat, really.
7. Squirrel Point Light, a lighthouse on Arrowsic Island, near Bath, got its name how?
a) In 1717, a frigate named The Squirrel ran aground there.
b) In 1817, settlers survived an entire winter eating squirrel alone.
c) In 1917, the Maine Legislature authorized a then-extravagant $45,000 to power the island. Squirrels ate every wire.
8. Hall & Oates’ Daryl Hall once owned the John Bray House in Kittery Point, which is famous for being:
a) The only home where Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill and John Lennon all spent the night. Though not at the same time, of course.
b) The first million-dollar mansion built in Maine, constructed in 1834 with marble fixtures, copper plumbing and an opulent two-story stable.
c) One of the oldest known houses in the state, although there’s some question how much of the house standing now was built in 1662 by shipbuilder John Bray.
9. In the late 1980s, if you’d been lucky enough, what might you have spotted in the western Maine town of Turner?
a) The Turner Beast with fangs and bulging eyes, who terrorized the land. It was eventually unmasked by a DNA test as just a black dog.
b) Mike and Oogie, an unlikely pair of chickens catapulted to national fame in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.”
c) Dirk McLauren and a Holstein named Audrey that he rode to school every day for all four years of high school.
10. On his official City of Bangor birth certificate, Paul Bunyan’s parents are listed as:
a) Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
b) Jaques Bunyan and Sarah Marie DuBois
c) Pierre Paul and Violette Bunyan
ANSWERS
1. Most beautiful but little-known park?
c) Baxter State Park. So maybe the people at Country Magazine don’t get out much, but it’s still a lovely compliment.
Now go: To Baxter! Hike 215 miles of trails, camp at one of 337 campsites, climb Mount Katahdin to discover the end of the Appalachian Trail or look for moose, but keep a respectable wildlife distance. The park’s often looking for visitor volunteers for different projects, so inquire before you go.
2. The state’s fastest elevator?
b) The Penobscot Narrows Observatory connecting Verona Island and Prospect. According to the Friends of Fort Knox website, the observatory’s one-minute elevator ride is on “the fastest elevator in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont,” which lets you out 420 feet up. Take that, Granite and Green Mountain states!
Now go: To Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Observatory at the head of Penobscot Bay in Waldo County. Both are open from May 1 to Oct. 31. Tour the historic fort and view the river from the tallest public bridge observatory in the world. (Take that, world!)
3. What horror franchise did painter Andrew Wyeth unknowingly inspire?
c) “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” No, really. According to several published reports, director Tobe Hooper says he was inspired by a serial killer, a trip to the hardware store and Wyeth’s painting “Christina’s World,” which depicts a young Maine woman with polio crawling in the grass with a farmhouse in the distance.
Now go: There’s only one place: Rockland’s Farnsworth Art Museum. Its Wyeth Center features works by N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth. (Seeing “Christina’s World” in person will require a longer road trip; it’s in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.)
4. Chester Greenwood’s invention?
a) A metal rake, patent No. 2,066,036. Greenwood had many, many inventions in his lifetime, including a wood-boring machine in 1914 and a kettle in 1929, according to Martin Wallace, patents and trademarks librarian at the University of Maine’s Fogler Library.
Now go: To Farmington! Lovely to visit any time of year, but mark your calendar in December to celebrate the annual Chester Greenwood Day. Watch the big parade. Wear ear muffs. Rake something, ceremonially. Just generally live it up.
5. Why is Bowl in the Pines, located in Sidney, famous in some circles?
b) It’s the largest outdoor performance stage east of the Mississippi, according to Christa Johnson, Snow Pond Center for the Arts’ director of development. The Bowl has hosted outdoor summer performances for more than 80 years in a row, in a really pretty, serene spot.
Now go: To Sidney! Maybe you’ve driven past the exit on I-95 a thousand times — try getting off, exploring the back roads and giving Snow Pond and its Bowl a peek.
6. Spot the false statement about the 1838 Battle of Caribou.
c) It was NOT the first wartime conflict to be contained within a schoolhouse. However, the other two statements are entirely true: The war was started by a brazen lumberjack, and the 1838 Battle of Caribou ended when a black bear attacked three Canadians. Canadians shot the bear, and Americans, thinking they were under fire, shot back, then everyone went home. The fascinating history, told by the New England Historical Society, is definitely worth a read.
Now go: Way up north! And while you’re up there, check out the Aroostook Valley Country Club, uniquely straddled on the U.S.-Canadian border. The parking lot and the pro shop are located in Fort Fairfield and the course is in New Brunswick. For Americans, there’s no passport required, just head on up and play, according to Stephen Leitch, the club’s general manager and golf pro.
7. How did Squirrel Point get its name?
a) A frigate named The Squirrel carrying the governor of Massachusetts ran aground there in 1717, according to the keepers of SquirrelPoint.org.
Now go: Where else? You’re Squirrel Point bound! Getting there involves a two-thirds-of-a-mile hike through the woods about 10 miles outside Bath, off Bald Head Road. The site’s been undergoing an intensive renovation and volunteers would love more help, according to SquirrelPoint.org.
8. Daryl Hall’s former house?
c) It’s known as one of the oldest houses in Maine. Hall bought the property in 2007 and set about renovating it, a hobby of the singer’s. While house namesake John Bray built in the spot overlooking Portsmouth Harbor in 1662, what’s standing now is believed to be more 1720s construction, maybe incorporating some of Bray’s original house, according to an application to the National Register of Historic Place. In 2019, it’s under renovation once again.
Now go: To Kittery: Hit the retail outlet Mecca, do a drive-by of the Pepperrell Road property and enjoy the day on Route 1, catching the cool that is Maine.
9. Found in Turner?
b) Chickens Mike and Oogie, who did such things as sit on their owner’s shoulders while he drove or played cards, which caught the attention of “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.” Turner is home to the largest egg farm in New England and it’s believed the pair might have fallen off a chicken truck in their youth. (Bonus answer: The Turner Beast was a thing, and then a debunked thing, but not until 2006.)
Now go: To stroll the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park in Turner. Look for your own Oogie or your own Beast.
10. Paul Bunyan’s parents?
b) None other than Jaques Bunyan and Sarah Marie DuBois. (And, yes, that’s Jaques without a “c”.) His date of birth is listed as Feb. 12, 1834, and it looks like any other birth certificate, but for the “Record of birth of the mythical Paul Bunyan” typed across the top.
Now go: To the Queen City! Check out Bunyan’s birth certificate hanging inside the City Clerk’s office at City Hall, then have a picture taken with the enormous fiberglass lumberjack on Main Street. It’s 31 feet tall and weighs 3,200 pounds, according to the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce. The city first put the statue up in 1959 to celebrate its 125th anniversary. Mark your calendar for 2084: That’s when a time capsule tucked in his base is slated to be opened.
Kathryn Skelton is a staff writer for the Sun Journal. She can be reached at:
kskelton@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
