I had the pleasure of visiting Maine a few weeks ago. More specifically, I visited Limerick, Maine. If I recall, I don’t think the town has a traffic light, if there is, there can’t be more than one. I was there on the invite of Rex Harper. He is a ham radio operator of some renown and he invited me to come to the town library and give my Appalachian Trail presentation.
Maine, being one of the most challenging and interesting parts of the AT, easily lures me up there for any reason, and this was no exception. I found Rex’s home in mid-afternoon and after refreshing a bit, we went down to the town library. The library is an older building, substantial, and impressive. The halls, walls and rooms all tell a story of place that is loved and cherished by it’s citizens. Just as many enjoy holding an old book in their hands, this library had that same feel.
The librarian, Cindy, greeted us and help with setup. In such a rural setting I was expecting maybe seven people to show up; traveling to the library when gas prices are so high is an expedition in rural areas. Much to my surprise I think maybe 30+ showed up. I was stunned. We started on time and I did my best to give such a wonderful audience my all. They were fantastic. After about fifty minutes of presentation we started with the questions and answers and they went on for a very long time. I learned a lot about Maine and I hope they learned a lot about the Appalachian Trail.
There were a fair number of radio hams in the audience, I think Rex (ham call letters: W1REX) primed the pump so they would show up. Not only did this educate the locals about the trail, I think it may have also given them some insight into amateur radio, at least I hope so.
It was a fabulous evening and I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to come and tell them about the trail and the book. Hopefully, I will hear from a few of those that took a book home to read.
Thank you Maine and especially Limerick…
Dennis “K1” Blanchard
